prairies and farms Where Seldom Is Heard....

A B&W version of a previously posted photo. Do you have a preference?

I'll position them so you can flip back and forth, starting with the right

arrow. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated (especially

regarding the many options available in B&W conversions). Thanks.

Black & White definitely. Those clouds are much heavier and meaner looking. The old tired house has to weather yet another prairie storm. Much more of a suspenseful, emotional feel to this version.

Very cool, BTW I ordered those books you suggested , thanks

Man oh man do you have good luck with dramatic clouds. This has some great drama and who doesn't like good old building. Well done, Stephen! One little nit, the two bottom corners could use a little darkening as they are lighter.

Great work !

dramatic atmosphere...

regards

RA

Thanks for the comments -- they are appreciated.

Leo, about the corners.  B&W processing offers so many options, and treatment of the edges and corners is one.  Rather than the more commonly used dark vignetting, I chose just the opposite: a lightening of the edges and corners.  That just seemed to make the dark house and dark clouds stand alone -- they weren't competing with the edges or corners in terms of density.  Putting the black border around the photo (it may need to be a bit heavier) seemed to me to keep the viewer's eyes from sliding out of the photo, and that "enabled" the center to be darker than the edges.  At least that was my initial opinion when comparing dark edges/corners with light edges/corners.  If folks have any thoughts on this, I'd appreciate your opinions.

The clouds really stand out in this photo! Its kind of eerie yet soothing as well. Excellent work!

Here's the same processing (as close as I can remember), but with the edges burned.

And here's the same processing with vignetting (no burning).  Of course, the degree of burning and vignetting in both examples can be varied, but I've tried to get an amount that would be as aesthetically pleasing as possible.

I like it in either of the interpretations...also like the other to postings today They cover broad spectrum of the color gamut.  Take care, rek.

A simple but very effective shot, though your post production work means you have worked hard to improve an already good shot into an excellent shot. Worth every second of the work you put into it, best wishes William

Outstanding! The tonality is fantastic and excellent composition as well. 

Very nice Americana.  K.C.

B&W anytime!

B & W or Colour? The difference is surprisingly quite pronounced.  Both are aesthetically very pleasing. The colour version looks warm and inviting, the B & W version looks moody and forboding. To summarise I think the B & W projects it's atmosphere with more force and drama and therefore gets my vote.

Best Regards

Alf

Excellent shot.Very nicely composed with a dramatic sky at backdrop along with a great exposure & tonality. Thanks for sharing it.

My best regards.

Kallol

Amazing what a good black & white treatment can do.  The mood of the original photo has been transformed with this version.  There is absolutely an ominous feel to this one, and I do think making the house darker than the perimeter of the frame lends it a weight that is necessary to compete with the drama of the clouds.  

Stephen...  The b/w work just seems to fit the subject better.  The nostalgia is palpable in this shot and it just isn't as strong in color.  Not that it matters, they're all well done, but my favorite is the 10:52am version... Mike

quite amazing, the B&W really does the trick here

Thanks again for the comments - they are much appreciated.

I like the B&W (I might want to back off on the darkest of the clouds), which seems to have the most support from those who have commented.  This is somewhat of a dilemma for me.

I use Nik's Silver Efex Pro 2 to do my B&W conversion.  Nik offers a lot of flexibility to mimic special effects and film types, alter contrast and structure, affect things globally or locally, adjust toning, adjust vignetting and edge burning, set different frames, and a host of other options.  It's just mind-boggling how much one can do with a B&W photo.  I went through each option to create the mood and feel that I was after, starting with a "soft structure" preset and going from there.

With the color, I took the RAW image and made some basic adjustments in contrast and structure to get it to look pretty close to how I remembered it.

This is not too different from getting a color slide back from the lab versus working on a B&W print in a wet darkroom.

My dilemma is that I could have added a lot more contrast, structure, saturation, etc. to get a really dramatic color rendition (I think, presuming my PS skills and familiarity with Nik were sufficient), perhaps something rivaling the drama of the B&W photo.

But it wouldn't have been true to life, just as this B&W isn't true to life.  However, it might have looked real, or it might have looked unreal.

We all have to decide how much digital manipulation to use to either reproduce or create the image we're after.  I'm still struggling with that.  My color foot is one place, and my B&W foot is in another.  Your comments help, and they also make me aware that I'm still dealing with many issues in my own photography.  I don't see that coming to a resolution anytime soon.

When working with clouds and sometimes the whole image try this: Filter>Unsharp Mask with Amount set to 20 and Radius to 60. Let me know what you think?

Stephen

I prefer the black and white version better. The sky just pops in the b&w image. The rain also stands out more. And I like one of the 2 versions with the darkened edges. It helps focus on the subject.

 

One thing I did notice is there seems to be a water spot just above the peak of the roof and to the right.

 

Other than that, you have an outstanding image.

Don, those are not water spots but rather some stray, lower-level clouds.  They gave me a fit for a while because I thought I was getting a greenish tint from them.  I did the whole conversion over just because of that.

The detail in the house and the aggressive sky are great!

Wow Stephen, this is really fine art photography. This is one that could sell very well in galleries or at shows, as well as perform well in contests. My eye immediately connects with the small dot of light in the upper window. Not saying it should be removed, just sayin! The horizon feels tilted left, but I believe I see the true horizon as the grass line. The virga between the clouds and the hills really add so much to the image. Congrats on such an excellent catch!!