Snowscape b&w

SquarePeg · Dec 23, 2020

I don’t do a lot of b&w so your critique is appreciated.

jcdeboever · Dec 23, 2020

I really like this and good use for b & w conversion or an Autochrome look. One thing I like about digital and b & w conversion is that you can play with the color sliders to enhance the image. This is a difficult scene in that you have the white of the sky and patches of snow, reflections and high contrast scene. I would approach this scene by spot metering the different challenges and make a decision based on the readings. Inwould also shoot this in manual exposure. Not sure if I would average them or focus on what I want the image to display. Hard to say, if I am not doing it or there in person. I would definitely bracket as fuji makes this super easy to do. Also a linear or circular polarizing filter may offer something not hard to say not being there.

Having said all that, I think this image has nice tonality, depth, fidelity and probably would look nice printed.

Grandpa Ron · Dec 23, 2020

Great shot and excellent grey tones.

One of the nice things about winter is it lends it self to B&W.

CherylL · Dec 23, 2020

I like the composition and the sharpness of the ice on the lake. I can't add to the B/W. Usually I play with the sliders.

bulldurham · Jan 29, 2021

While it has snowed here in NW Florida a time or two, like hen's teeth, it is quite rare and for that, my eye knowledge of how snow/reflections really look is limited. However, my sense of contrast is still rather much intact. I love the scene; very bucolic and appealing to anyone's eye but I find that I am (excuse the pun) glaringly drawn into the background. To tone this down, I did a simple select by color in photoshop and selected the brightest spot on the far bank which gave me the ice reflections as well as part of the sky. I then used my eye dropper to select a light, neutral sky area, changed the opacity to about 13% and painted that into the selection.

Again, and as always, it is merely a suggestion by an untrained snow eye but one I feel allows the richness of the scene to shine through without making a glaring statement. Cheers!

Dean_Gretsch · Jan 29, 2021

Beautiful scene, but I think I like the contrast in @bulldurham's edit better. Please keep the snow on your side of the table :1247:

bulldurham · Jan 29, 2021

Dean_Gretsch said:
Beautiful scene, but I think I like the contrast in @bulldurham's edit better. Please keep the snow on your side of the table

Y'all keep that snow and other nasty cold weather north of the Mason Dixon

SquarePeg · Jan 29, 2021

bulldurham said:
Dean_Gretsch said:

Beautiful scene, but I think I like the contrast in @bulldurham's edit better. Please keep the snow on your side of the table

Click to expand...

Y'all keep that snow and other nasty cold weather north of the Mason Dixon

I heard it got as far south as North Carolina this time. We’re coming for you!

bulldurham · Jan 29, 2021

No, no, NO...but it did get down to 32 last night....had to cover a lot of plants. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Photo Lady · Jan 29, 2021

Wonderland of beauty

sleist · Jan 29, 2021

It's an OK image. It's a bit flat. Looks like a nice location. I'm guessing this was a grey day as there are few shadows. I would go back and try again with better light - maybe a misty with morning with light streaming through the trees.

The framing seems off. I would try to get the whole tree next time as opposed to cutting off the top.

The focus is sharpest on the water/ice so my eye is drawn to that. The trees pull me back, but they are a bit on the soft side. I guess I'm struggling a bit as to what the subject of this shot is - where I should focus my attention.

The mono conversion seems fine given what you were working with - sometimes (often?) more color creates better B&W. This scene was probably almost mono as a color image, so it really needed some contrast/shadows etc. to make it pop.

I think this is a good start to exploring this location and what it might have to offer in differing times of day and light.

SquarePeg · Jan 29, 2021

sleist said:
It's an OK image. It's a bit flat. Looks like a nice location. I'm guessing this was a grey day as there are few shadows. I would go back and try again with better light - maybe a misty with morning with light streaming through the trees.

The framing seems off. I would try to get the whole tree next time as opposed to cutting off the top.

The focus is sharpest on the water/ice so my eye is drawn to that. The trees pull me back, but they are a bit on the soft side. I guess I'm struggling a bit as to what the subject of this shot is - where I should focus my attention.

The mono conversion seems fine given what you were working with - sometimes (often?) more color creates better B&W. This scene was probably almost mono as a color image, so it really needed some contrast/shadows etc. to make it pop.

I think this is a good start to exploring this location and what it might have to offer in differing times of day and light.

Thanks your detailed feedback is greatly appreciated. I have been to this location a thousand times as it is where I take my dog for hikes. Unfortunately, with my current schedule I don't often get up there very early in the morning but sunset works sometimes. The original photo I was facing into the sun which was behind some thin clouds and I really blew out the sky but I thought the texture of the ice was interesting. It is a really great spot when the light is better. This was taken the same day but from beside the trees in this b&w and before the clouds thinned out.

the Fells by SharonCat..., on Flickr

Photo Lady · Jan 31, 2021

gorgeous!!

Scott Whaley · Jan 31, 2021

SquarePeg said:
View attachment 201546

I don’t do a lot of b&w so your critique is appreciated.

How about dropping the exposure down a little to bring out the detail in the clouds and snow. Then, brighten the trees a little.

bulldurham · Feb 3, 2021

Our beaches are as white as your snow. Combine that with tons of water reflectivity and one has the same issues as Sharon did with both shots. Polarizers are the next best thing to shooting Zone, only here when I shoot Zone at the beach, I spot meter for the brightest spot on the beach, and process for the shadows in post. Quite the opposite of an analog setup as illustrated by Ansel Adams, yet exactly the same as in the digital aspect, the sensor is far more sensitive to light, thus giving a far greater range of tonal possibilities. The first image below is beach sand taken at 8:00 am on a bright, sunny day. The problem with the polarizer, while it softens the glare, it also hardens the shadows. I wanted both areas soft.

The second image, again on a bright day, shows both the sand and the water, each projecting at least a stop to a stop and a half of + light. This can also be adjusted using your EV, depending on what you want to achieve as per detail.