I feel like I’ve run out of photos to process now that we’re a couple of weeks into this corona lock down so I thought I’d revisit some older shots where the light and colour wasn’t inspiring and see what I can make of them in black and white.
This was shot in Jasper national park in pretty flat light last year.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Any. I’m not very experienced in B&w. I was thinking that there might not be enough tonal separation from the trees in the center of the frame and the mountain in the background.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
I typically process black and white low key and contrasty but I’m happy to hear others opinions.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
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Nathan, this is an iconic scene, but as they say, it is an icon for a reason. What I love most about this image is just how creamy the water looks. In the Canadian Rockies chances are it’s often cloudy enough that you don’t have to worry about not getting long exposures like this. The composition looks very well balanced here, and includes just enough sky to communicates a sense of a stormy day.
I have suggestions for tweaks. The vignette in the URC feels a little heavy. I agree with your hunch on needing a little more tonal separation of the trees on the island from the mountain. I would also clone away the rock in the river that merges with the frame edge. I would like to see some very slight dodging of the highlight areas on the foreground rocks to sculpt the light there a bit.
I took a stab at these comments in a rework. I may have gone a little too far on the foreground rocks. I think getting tonal separation of the island requires dodging ( perhaps with zone based luminosity masks). I think the colors in the island and mountain are so close together in the color image are so close together that it would be hard to tease this separation out during the B&W conversion.
I applied a bit of clarity to island and mountains while leaving the rest unchanged. I don’t know if this is better or worse. I thought you could do with some contrast in the darker areas.
I think this is a great image and would work on it. You have a great sky to go with it.
I’ll leave the processing suggestions to the experts @Ed_McGuirk and @Igor_Doncov. They’re much better at it than I am. I think they made a great image even a little bit better.
The B&W treatment is a great idea, especially considering how many dead trees are in the area these days. Honestly, a lot of Jasper really needs a good burn to clear out the beetle infestations.
I like the treatment and adjustments you and others have made to the image. There is visually a bit of a halo at the top of the mountain to watch out for.
-Mike
Hi @Nathan_Klein, fanstastic shot. I love composition, B/W works very well. In my opinion you can increase contrast much more pulling down the dark tones. Thanks for sharing, great image.
Nathan,
Wonderful mood with the B&W conversion! It sounds as though you already have some great advice from @Ed_McGuirk and @Igor_Doncov. My PS skills are not the greatest, but I like to use Silver Efex Pro 2 when converting images
to B&W. The filters I use the most are High Structure and Full Dynamic Range as I just like the look of the final product. This may not be what you had in mind, but here is a repost using the High Dynamic Range.
Thank you for your input on this image. I think that a combination of brightening the tree island as well as clarity are my next steps. As well as some more detail to the edges of the frame.
@Ed_McGuirk you’re right in the colours of the trees in the mid ground and background being similar therefore resulting in a similar tonality when converting to black and white.
@Michael_Schertzberg I agree with the pine beetle comments. Jasper National park seems to be much more effected than Banff and Yoho parks. The browns for the dead trees look unusual in the mixture of the even greens and the ealy fall colour.
You certainly have a wonderful scene captured here. I’m sure you were limited with the focal length, but I am wishing the right side wasn’t as clipped and we had the full view of the curves on both sides. But honestly, it’s not a deal killer because everything flows and comes together at the bottom. So all is good with the comp.
My first thought was this was a little dark in general, although I think the silky water looks great as presented. There are some great suggestions below and for me I favor something between Igor’s and Ed Lowe’s versions. I like where Ed took the lightness, then am I thinking it’s too light - but only because we have the reference of the original? what if Ed’s version was posted? I wonder what processing feedback there would be.
For sure you have a wonderful scene from which to work!
