Exercise: Colours into tones 2

Aim: The aim of this exercise is to use the colours in an image to selectively emphasize parts of an image.

Procedure: I chose images in Lightroom that seemed suitable for this exercise. I 'optimized' the colour image first. I then created a default black and white conversion as my starting point for this exercise. Then I have simply adjusted the colour sliders (using the drag on image method, which I find to be very effective). Further tweaks were done as necessary with exposure sliders etc. I also removed noise when it was necessary (for example in the portrait image). The images were exported into my project folder.

Photos: Below are the examples, as mentioned in the coursework text

Image 1: Landscape in which you emphasize the depth. This is done by raising the blue level in the image. The images I have selected were taken in the Blue Mountains, in NSW. These images are particularly 'blue' due to the eucalyptus oil in the air above the big valleys, so this effect should be quite marked. Below I show the colour image, default black and white and the black and white version with the blue levels raised. I have also raised the green a little to bring out the vegetation in the foreground.

Colour

Default BW

Blue Up

Another example which shows the effect more strongly than the first:

Colour

Default BW

Blue Up

Image 2: A portrait in which you lighten the complexion. Here I have chosen a simple image of my son. His face (and the bucket) are mainly in the orange zone, so this is the slider which has moved to lighten the complexion in the second monochrome image. It makes the skin tones look much more realistic.

Colour

Default BW

Orange Up

Image 3: A picture of a garden in which the green vegetation appears light in tone. I have chosen an image taken at Mt Cootha Botanic Gardens here in Brisbane. The default conversion is fairly 'flat'. The second mono conversion has the green levels raised and the blue levels dropped slightly to darken the sky. The third example of black and white is created using the Lightroom 'InfraRed' conversion, and then I have brought it back a bit (decreased exposure slightly and dropped back the red and blue levels). This makes for quite a dramatic image - it would be interesting to do some more reading about infra-red. This was mentioned in the Freeman (2009) book on Digital Black and White. I also note a fellow student has been experimenting with a converted SLR (which seems to be the way to go with modern Infra-Red). I do like the 'other-worldly' effect in her (and others) images, though I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my 'back-up' camera just yet!

Colour

Default BW

Green Up, Blue Down

Lightroom InfraRed setting, with red and blue down

Conclusion: This exercise has cemented some procedures in my practice. I now regularly 'play' with the channels when converting to black and white to see what the effect is on my images. It is a useful and added bonus of working with digital raw files for creating mono images. It also explains to me why previously my black and white images lacked any 'punch', as I have never used filters (for film) and not before adjusted the various colour channels. Perhaps now is a good time to review some older (mono) images and try to make them more dynamic.

References:

Banks, C. (2012), People and Place Blog [Online], Available at: http://catherinebanks.wordpress.com/2012/12/06/continuing-with-infrared-the-muslim-burial-ground/ [Accessed 11/12/12)

Freeman, M. (2009), The complete guide to black and white digital photography. East Sussex: Ilex