B&W Black & White, monotone and sepia

Just wonderful tones in that first one (I don't normally like lower-contrast stuff, but this is superb) and wonderful handling of depth of field there too ... there's such a vivid sense of vitality about the subjects, about the immortality of the moment
When I see a shot like this, I get a "I wonder why I bother" feeling about my own photography ...

I sometimes feel that way too in this forum. But I just bought a $4000+ M8.2 camera so I have no choice but to keep pushing. :D

It took me a minute...until I scrolled down, Traam.

I'm glad you got it! I can hear the breakbeat start playing in my head in the final photo.
 
Moody shots around Start Point 25th January 2011

I decided to convert some of this mornings shots of a rather disappointing sunrise at Start Point into somewhat moody Black and White images.

All taken with a Panasonic GF1, iso 200

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Voigtlander 15mm, f/4.5 Super Wide-Heliar @ f/8, 3.2 sec

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Voigtlander 75mm, f/2.5 Color Heliar @ f/8, 1/4 sec

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Voigtlander 15mm, f/4.5 Super Wide-Heliar @ f/8, 1/160 sec


Barrie
 
Thanks Traam,

The graduated filter was applied in the software (Bibble Pro 5), I've yet to finish a project to make a holder for real graduated filters so that I can hold them in front of 12mm and 15mm Voigtlander lenses (no filter threads built into them), although the flexibility of the software grad makes me wonder if it's worth using the real thing.

The disappointment related to the quality of the sunrise, but hey I still came back with something, so I guess that's a plus :)

Barrie
 
The graduated filter was applied in the software (Bibble Pro 5), I've yet to finish a project to make a holder for real graduated filters so that I can hold them in front of 12mm and 15mm Voigtlander lenses (no filter threads built into them), although the flexibility of the software grad makes me wonder if it's worth using the real thing.

The 'graduated' part looks like it extends a little into the ocean, separating the sky and ocean from the land, it would be hard or impossible to do that with an actual lens on the camera so the flexibility of post is a plus. On the other hand I was thinking that you'd need the filter to use in more extreme light differences, the only way to do it without actual filters would be to go into HDR territory which is fine by me I suppose.
 
The 'graduated' part looks like it extends a little into the ocean, separating the sky and ocean from the land, it would be hard or impossible to do that with an actual lens on the camera so the flexibility of post is a plus. On the other hand I was thinking that you'd need the filter to use in more extreme light differences, the only way to do it without actual filters would be to go into HDR territory which is fine by me I suppose.

Yes Traam, it would be good to be able to contour the edge of the filter effect, the sea has been darkened too much in the area around the two off shore rocks on the right hand edge.

I'm working on a home made mount to enable me to put ND grads in front of either the 12mm or 15mm Voigtlander lenses, neither of which have filter threads. I've no experience of grads in the field and wonder how easy (or difficult) it is to get them in the best position, one has infinite control over that aspect in post processing, still all part of the fun.

Barrie
 
Please excuse if I have posted this elsewhere in SC. Saturday morning I took a friend down to Flagstaff Point, Wollongong where there are some old rock pools for bathing. The one we wanted to go to was difficult to access due to waves breaking across the path we had to go so we went to the Ladies Baths. It was an absolutely terrible sunrise - it just didn't happen. Quite similar to the previous time I was there - just flatter with little colour. The solution was to do a black and white HDR. Never done one before...

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The Ladies Baths at South Flagstaff Point bw by peterb666, on Flickr

Taken with a Nikon D90 and Nikon 10-24mm lens. A 3-stop hard grad was used to tone down the sky bring out the shadow detail of the rocks etc. The sky was really flat without the HDR. The HDR also gave me a lot of detail in the foreground decayed concrete and rocks which I think adds interest.
 
I like it. I know some people have an innate hatred of anything that has any remote HDR to it, but I'm interested in the visual results. Honestly, I've liked every version of this picture so far, Peter. I'll have to check out your Flickr stream to see them nearer each other, I think, to compare.

The textures are superb!
 
Thanks BB, I think I have only posted the one of this particular shot but there may be another from a different angle that is not HDR.

The image of the boat in the textures/lines thread I have 3 different versions, a moderately strong colour HDR, a black and white version of the same (which is the one I think I posted and my favourite) and a subtle HDR more akin to what I normally do with HDR. I have been using HDR for a year and in most instances you cannot tell. As you know, I do a lot of extreme lighting stuff like sunrises where you cannot get the tonal range other than by using HDR or exposure fusion. The other time HDR comes into play is when the light is flat and sky is an amorphous grey gloom as in the one above. It gives the option of adding interest and saving an otherwise dull shot from the discard pile.

Thanks for your feedback.



I like it. I know some people have an innate hatred of anything that has any remote HDR to it, but I'm interested in the visual results. Honestly, I've liked every version of this picture so far, Peter. I'll have to check out your Flickr stream to see them nearer each other, I think, to compare.

The textures are superb!
 
Yes Traam, it would be good to be able to contour the edge of the filter effect, the sea has been darkened too much in the area around the two off shore rocks on the right hand edge.

I'm working on a home made mount to enable me to put ND grads in front of either the 12mm or 15mm Voigtlander lenses, neither of which have filter threads.

I'm not good making things so I envy people who can and do. I'm surprised that the 12mm and 15mm don't have filter threads, one would've thought that one of the primary purposes that people get these wide angle lenses for are landscapes and that surely people would want to have some kind of polariser or other filter installed.


I like it. I know some people have an innate hatred of anything that has any remote HDR to it, but I'm interested in the visual results. Honestly, I've liked every version of this picture so far, Peter. I'll have to check out your Flickr stream to see them nearer each other, I think, to compare.

I don't understand why people dislike HDR. I have no problems with it, it's just another photographic technique or style that is available to the photographer. I can't imagine that people would have the same criticism of a painter for exploring and utilising different painting techniques.
 
I posted the following over at mu-43s recently in an HDR discussion thread. I have read several other photography pundits say the same thing that the debate is internal among photographers and that outside that circle, their customers like HDR and want more.

Photog Scott Bourne at photofocus.com had a blog post in the recent past about HDR...

I’m No Trey Ratcliff But Here’s My Basic HDR Primer « Photofocus

The post is a basic primer on HDR, but his last paragraph contains his subjective views on HDR. I personally think that it can be effective if not overdone, but do I do believe Scott Bourne's observations are probably valid and HDR is not going away especially as it now appearing as a built-in option in some of the newer cameras now hitting the market. The referenced paragraph is...

HDR is a controversial subject in the photo community. Just as the jump from B&W to color was controversial; Just as the jump from film to digital was controversial; Just as the use of filters and plugins was controversial; So is HDR – but note I said IN THE PHOTO COMMUNITY. Outside the photo community, there is no controversy. People LOVE looking at HDR photos. So if you think you’d like to try your hand at it, don’t be put off by the controversy. Go for it and have fun. HDR is a great way to retune your eye and your photography.
 
I'm surprised that the 12mm and 15mm don't have filter threads, one would've thought that one of the primary purposes that people get these wide angle lenses for are landscapes and that surely people would want to have some kind of polariser or other filter installed.
.

For the sake of correctness I feel that I should point out that the current M mount 12mm Voigtlander lens will take 67mm filters, my original screw mount had a removable filter adapter, I purchased mine second hand and the adapter was not with it. Likewise the current 15mm Voigtlander lens takes 52mm lenses, my second hand screw version had no such provision.

Barrie

PS, since these lenses were designed for a true film type rangefinder camera there is no way to adjust a polariser when fitted to the lens, the photographer doesn't look through the lens, the same would apply to a ND graduated filter.

BW
 
I don't understand why people dislike HDR. I have no problems with it, it's just another photographic technique or style that is available to the photographer. I can't imagine that people would have the same criticism of a painter for exploring and utilising different painting techniques.

Because it is too easy to use it to excess. There are too many HDR shots out there that want to make my eyes bleed.
 
I love peter's b & w HDR. I've never seen one in black and white before and I much prefer it to the colour ones I've seen. I must admit I have liked the odd colour HDR but mostly find them too unrealistic to be pleasant viewing.
 
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