Amsterdam by night

Very film noir, giving a nostalgic feeling. Very powerful in setting a mood. It would be great as a poster in a den, library, or cafe.

Wonderful photo in every way, Gunnar. Can you share some of the details with us? Film or digital? I love your whole portfolio.

Neat picture. All very nice everywhere, no doubt. Technically, I don't think there's anything too complicated here, except perhaps that I'd guess the conversion to B&W was probably done using mostly the green and the red channel - while neglecting the blue channel - which is what gives you this crisp feel. I took the color version and did more or less the same thing in 3mn, and here's what I got. Almost the same as the tones exhibited in this POW.

 

Basically, this is "Modern Digital Photography 101", no more, no less. Nothing really challenging in any way either, for this photo, whether at post-production stage, whether when shooting. Get a tripod, put it were most people before you probably put it, and click. If the theme of the week is Photography 101 tips about night photography, you've got a perfect shot for the lesson.

"Technically, I don't think there's anything too complicated here, except perhaps that I'd guess the conversion to B&W was probably done using mostly the green and the red channel - while neglecting the blue channel - which is what gives you this crisp feel." --Marc G.

 

Marc, I don't know whether you are right about the crispness coming from using only the red and green channels. I cannot quite replicate the effect that Gunnar achieved with any kind of channel splitting procedure. Much less was I able to do it by simply desaturating the color version, and then manipulating brightness and contrast, followed by a healthy dose of unsharp mask.

 

In my opinion (which is admittedly not a particularly well-informed one where the technicalities of using Photoshop are concerned), Gunnar must have done something different from (or in addition to) what you have done in order to get that crisp effect (which I am beginning to appreciate more and more the longer I try to reproduce it--with no success). He certainly did more than what I can do with simple channel splitting or with no channel splitting, rather a simple sequence of manipulations of brightness and contrast (along with sharpening) of the desaturated image.

 

Maybe Gunnar will set me straight on this. I would really like to know how to achieve this effect. This is the difference between you and me, Marc, that you are so advanced that this is not interesting enough to be Photo of the Week, but for someone like myself who has not yet mastered the technical aspects of Photoshop, it is more than a pretty picture. It is a fascinating puzzle.

 

--Lannie

About technique and details. It is a digital photo. I took the original (not the post-processed colour version) and made a conversion using the filtered b/w channels. To be honest, I cannot remember all the details on what exactly and how much I did with this image in post-processing because I have made several, around 20, b/w versions of the photo with different b/w variations and with different tones, levels and contrast adjustments, and degrees of sharpness. With this version I have tried to get an engraving effect, and it depends on the combination of contrast and sharpness.

 

(Btw, for me it is quite interesting that most people prefer the b/w version. I am still trying to understand why the b/w version is more interesting (or more attractive or better) than the coloured one?) Thank you for your time!

Magnificent processing of this image. In my opinion the color version lets you move your eyes all over the photo. It's not the atmosphere that is attracting you, but just the mix of colours. This B/W conversion gives you just one impression (well, actually two, if I include "great shot"): I want to be there and experience the atmosphere! It's great!

So, channels indeed, it seems... And I forgot to mention, that the version I uploaded later wasn't resharpened at

all before posting... I just worked on the tones. Sharpness, to me, is a nonsensical question as far as internet

viewing is concerned anyway. Meaning that this picture is obviously perfectly sharp, and there's no step above

that on the scale. :-) Sharp than sharpest ? :-) No such thing. Also keep in mind that adding contrast will add

some impression of sharpness too - the sharpness tool being just, at the end of the day, an enhanced and

localized contrasting tool.

 

As a side-note, if you open the channels window and view the different channels of the color version separately,

you will be able to see clearly that the blue channel is adding some dark tones, but is also messing the whole

clarity of the picture. That's very often the case for night shots and all sorts of shots involving lots of blue,

of course. By reducing the blue's impact on the picture, you'll therefore add clarity in your b&w conversion.

Thanks Marc for reminding me how channels work. I didn't know that the blue channel makes photo blurred.

Usually because the Blue Channel records the most noise. Again, nice photo Gunnar. Well done.

"With this version I have tried to get an engraving effect, and it depends on the combination of contrast and sharpness." --Gunnar Vaht

 

Marc, you did accomplish a great deal with channels, and I am glad for the lesson. Even so, Gunnar himself reminds us that the "engraving effect" is also accomplished with, as he says, a "combination of contrast and sharpness."

 

You suggest that sharpening for internet posting is a non-issue. There are many variables that affect our perception of sharpness, crispness, or whatever one wants to call it--and, yes, over-sharpening is something that can happen and does happen on the web quite frequently. Under-sharpening can occur as well, and even the most perfectly processed image can often benefit from a small application of unsharp mask. As much as I like the picture, I still would not personally say that it is perfectly sharpened. I do think that there is an optimum with regard to sharpness, and I do think that the picture is ever so slightly on the side of over-sharpening. That said, it is still much better than anything that I could have produced.

 

--Lannie

Thanks for your response, Gunnar. Again, I really love this photo.

 

Maybe it is simple digital photography, but IMHO, sometimes less is more. And this one is more.

Absolutely stunning piece of B&W work Gunnar, your attention to detail and sharp focus make this a wonderful site to look at & enjoy regardless of what others view as Technical conversion techniques, Outstanding job sir ! ~Bill

"If the theme of the week is Photography 101 tips about night photography, you've got a perfect shot for thelesson."

 

I would agree with that. The scene is well lit, that even a single shot can produce acceptable results (with sometweaking) without resorting to layered bracketed shots - we don't know if this was a blend of bracketed exposuresor a single exposure.

 

Since this a POW and we are supposed to be candid with critique, I would say that the clock face below the flagand the area just below dead-center (near the water line) should have been properly exposed since it is aprominent feature. There really isn't a reason for pictures such as this to be imperfect these days, given moderntools and techniques such as HDR specifically tailored for this type of work.

very nice, some filter work, emboss (or something similar) to get some of the effects, excellent black and white

Congratulations. I think its a wonderful shot. I like the black white and all shades of grays that are can be seen here. Regards.

i'd like to do something like this. i will be sharing my shots with you soon. thanks to visual knowledge.

Though it is a time spent doing some night capture the take on the subject is if not classical at best an exercise well conducted but which doesn't convey any mood at all and just a night photography at best. Night gives a chance to have a take on something that we don't see or don't look at in the same way we do during the day. Nothing new here. Just another night shot.

There is a wonderful crystalline effect here that occurs only in the B&W, and which is lost with the R,G (makes sense, because blue is refracted the least of the 3 colors and so gives you the sharpest image aspects) and desaturation, etc. approaches.

 

This approach may just be the perfect approach to what I feel are imperfect images I got recently with time exposures in Paris at Point Neuf, the Louvre, etc...I may have just gotten (reinfected with) the B&W bug

 

...and, ah, Dutch...maybe I should also revisit my Otraband in Curacao shots in B&W!

 

Thanks for the inspiration!

... very good night shot ...

Nice night shot and excellent BW conversion. Congratulations. Best wishes.

the b&w conversion gives an amazing silver look... nice work!

"I am still trying to understand why the b/w version is more interesting (or more attractive or better) than the coloured one?"

 

I think both are very good, but the conversion gives more detail to the photograph. Very nice work.

Congrats on your beautiful nightshot of Amsterdam!

Gunnar, black & white is exciting, no?! :)

 

I hope this means that we will see more b/w from you now.

 

Cheers, Maria

The effect of B&W is immense on this very fine picture. Nicely composed and exposed. Congratulations...