# Black&White Challenge: Only Negatives



## gk fotografie

Welcome!

The Black&White Challenge is a fun thing, no competition, no prizes, but hopefully a lot of learning, experimenting and also experiencing how others approach a theme. Every digital photographer and film photographer can participate with as many photos as desired during each challenge.


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## gk fotografie

Fuji X-E1 + Typonar f/2.8 - 105mm

View attachment 189078


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## photoflyer

Was out to capture a little spring color but this was actually pleasing to me in BW and interesting, to me, as a negative.


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## gk fotografie

View attachment 189111


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## smithdan

Found myself with some time to kill late last week.  It was mostly cloudy with brief moments of sunlight, not the best.  Fortunately apart from the occasional dog walker I had the park to myself.  So armed with almost a kilo of Nikkormat FT2 with some HP5 inside and this challenge in mind, proceeded to get my boots muddy.

..things look different with the lights and darks reversed.  


 

..the old tree some 100 m behind the ice warning sign looked interesting


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## gk fotografie

View attachment 189155


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## gk fotografie

View attachment 189156


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## photoflyer

Black&White Challenge 3/29 - 4/11 : Only Negatives

Reminds me of the space station in 2001 but maybe that's because I just watched a documentary on how that movie was made.


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## jcdeboever




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## jcdeboever




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## smithdan




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## waday

Little Halo by Wade, on Flickr


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## gk fotografie

View attachment 189196

View attachment 189197


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## johngpt

Some of the strongest images yet at the b/w challenge series!
Outstanding work folks!


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## jcdeboever




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## smithdan

Meanwhile, back in the river park, a negative of a perplexing negative...


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## waday




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## waday




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## johngpt

sugar skull inverse

Just making an inverse of the original color image created something really ugly.
The skull was almost totally blown out white in every channel.
So instead I created a range of luminosity Light and Dark channels.
I used the Darks 3 channel as the base and above it an inverse of the color background's Red channel, masked out and selected portions painted back in.
.


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## zulu42




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## jcdeboever




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## jcdeboever




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## zulu42




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## waday

Flower by Wade, on Flickr


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## smithdan

No idea as to what this was or is,  couldn't find #1 anywhere, didn't bother looking for #3..


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## rslt




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## smithdan




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## gk fotografie

waday said:


> Flower by Wade, on Flickr



Beautiful effect!


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## Tropicalmemories

Tried to take a high contrast black and white portrait that would look interesting as a negative image.


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## waday

Violin by Wade, on Flickr


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## waday

gk fotografie said:


> waday said:
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> I really like the powerful effect that a black and white negative can cause, this photo is a good example, I think this photo will appeal to me more in negative than as a positive image.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I quite agree, although it’s hard to take a bad picture of cherry pie. 



gk fotografie said:


> waday said:
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> Flower by Wade, on Flickr
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Thank you!


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## zulu42

gk fotografie said:


> no idea what it is


Yes, it is a slice of red onion lit from the side. Thank you!


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## jcdeboever

I got out yesterday, Lansing MI was a ghost town. Nikon F2, Nikkor 43-86, expired XP2 super, HC110 1:63. Custom made filter with automotive matte uv clear coat, and low grade acid etch on glass for adhesion of clearcoat. I was drawn to the bar code shadow from the fence.


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## johngpt

esav a ni sllehs

Another inverse created using luminosity channels.
After creating five channels based on decreasing levels of luminosity (Lights) and then five channels of their inverses (Darks), I then began using those Darks channels as layers, starting with D5 at the bottom all the way up to D1. Masks prevented the layers from being seen, and then painting on the masks revealed parts of each layer.

If I hadn't, just creating a b/w and then inverting it would have looked like this:





Which wouldn't have been bad, but that glaring brightness really bothered me.
The straight inverse didn't seem nuanced enough.


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## smithdan

..say hello to Junior and his cool canvas case.

..mid to late '30s 620 Brownie Junior - UK model.


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## gk fotografie

View attachment 189356


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## jcdeboever




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## jcdeboever




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## waday




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## smithdan

(Deserted) Playground "Jeep"


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## gk fotografie

waday said:


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wow, very nice, abstract is really my thing!


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## waday

gk fotografie said:


> waday said:
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> wow, very nice, abstract is really my thing!
Click to expand...

Thank you! I’m really liking this topic!


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## rslt




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## rslt




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## Tropicalmemories

rslt said:


> View attachment 189577


Nice!  That's a striking image.


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## Tropicalmemories

Another fun shot from the weekend - I was just about to transfer some shots from my camera, when my better half started some exercise on a balance board, and I thought it may make an interesting monochrome abstract.


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## waday

Night by Wade, on Flickr


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## smithdan




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## waday

Intersect by Wade, on Flickr


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## zulu42




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## rslt

rslt said:


> View attachment 189577





Tropicalmemories said:


> rslt said:
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> View attachment 189577
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> Nice!  That's a striking image.
Click to expand...


Thank you very much


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## rslt

waday said:


> Intersect by Wade, on Flickr



Like the abstract nature, what is it?


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## waday

rslt said:


> waday said:
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> Intersect by Wade, on Flickr
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> Like the abstract nature, what is it?
Click to expand...

Thank you! The black dot is the moon, lines from it are lens flare from my phone lens, and the intersecting shorter line is from a jet.


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## smithdan




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## vintagesnaps

I wouldn't eat that glowing banana!


edit - Dan, some of yours make me think of solarization/Man Ray... not quite but a little of that look. Are you shooting these on film?


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## smithdan

Thanks Sharon.  The last two and the Brownie are digital conversions inverted, the others are film.  They do look a bit like solarization, especially the bistro set.  Think that look is probably due to the subject and some random dodging and burning.

Back in my darkroom days I tried solarization but didn't get it quite right.


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## johngpt

.


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## rslt




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## rslt

This is a light with a dome shade made of metal rings (like chainmail) and plastic 'jewels', was giving of a nice pattern so I laid it on the floor, viola.


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## waday

rslt said:


> This is a light with a dome shade made of metal rings (like chainmail) and plastic 'jewels', was giving of a nice pattern so I laid it on the floor, viola.
> View attachment 189695


Very pretty!


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## smithdan




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## zulu42

Inspired by @waday 's shot.  Just a cloudy airplane picture and I applied a radial filter around the center to bring *up* the exposure and make it* darker. *It has been interesting and educational to think in opposites for this challenge.


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## johngpt

super pink moonset, inversely

Again I layered and masked the inverses of luminosity based channels.
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## waday

zulu42 said:


> Inspired by @waday 's shot.  Just a cloudy airplane picture and I applied a radial filter around the center to bring *up* the exposure and make it* darker. *It has been interesting and educational to think in opposites for this challenge.
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> View attachment 189755


Cool shot!


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## zulu42




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## waday

Clouding by Wade, on Flickr


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## waday

Bug by Wade, on Flickr


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## gk fotografie

Last one for me in this challenge...

View attachment 189803


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## johngpt

And a last one for me too.




new growth photinia mono inverse 10Apr20

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## acparsons

DSC_1152s by Machiavelliar, on Flickr


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## zulu42




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## zulu42




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## johngpt

zulu42 said:


> View attachment 190029


This is ultra cool!


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## photo53

zulu42 said:


> Inspired by @waday 's shot.  Just a cloudy airplane picture and I applied a radial filter around the center to bring *up* the exposure and make it* darker. *It has been interesting and educational to think in opposites for this challenge.
> 
> View attachment 189755


I really like this ,, very well done.


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## zulu42

photo53 said:


> I really like this ,, very well done.



Thank you!


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## zulu42

The image above was converted to black and white with the "red filter" in LR, then switched to negative. Here it is converted back to color after all that



 

From this original


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## johngpt

zulu42 said:


> View attachment 191294
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> The image above was converted to black and white with the "red filter" in LR, then switched to negative. Here it is converted back to color after all that
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> View attachment 191296
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> From this original
> View attachment 191297


Pretty darn cool


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## zulu42

johngpt said:


> Pretty darn cool


Thank you. The b&w almost looks like a @waday ink to me


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## waday

zulu42 said:


> johngpt said:
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> Pretty darn cool
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> Thank you. The b&w almost looks like a @waday ink to me
Click to expand...

You humble me.

Your photos are spectacular!


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