Spooky old tree

:S3:

A Black wing Kite rests from hunting on a rather imposing tree close to my place here in Portugal
Crop to fit and turned black and white as there pretty much no colour OOC
7D 100-400 F 8 IS0400 1/1250 ME

I like the tree and the way you composed the image. I think, though, that the wonderful texture of the tree could be emphasized with a different conversion to black & white.

Hi

I am all ears Dennis can you advise on that different method please

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Richard Unsworth

Hi

I am all ears Dennis can you advise on that different method please

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The method would depend on what you have available. I'd use Nik Silver Efex because of all the presets and the opportunities to mold them to my purposes. However, I decided to see what I could do using a couple Photoshop adjustment layers. In Levels, I moved the black slider a bit to the right to get more blacks and sent the white slider fairly far to the left. I also moved the midtone slider to the left for some more lightening. That achieved most of the change. To get just a bit more detail, I used a black-to-white Gradient Map.

I often (almost always, maybe) use a black & white Fractalius layer at Multiply blend mode to add detail. It would add black to the edges of what you see, here.

Hi Richard, I like your concept and composition. Dennis has a good idea, not sure I would go quite as far with the lightening but its all subjective. I was thinking that a b&w HDR treatment might work well.

Richard, I love the composition and placement of the kite. Maybe a rendering in between the two images? Do you have Nik Silver Efex or Topaz B&W>

Thanks all

I will investigate the program and pp suggestions put forward

:S3:

Hours of fun!

Used multiply and dodge layers, sel colour for neutrals/blacks
while I invest in some plugin magic

Good show. The greater range of tones makes a difference.

Richard, I like the repost a lot! The image now has taken on the look of a block print. Very nice! If you find yourself staying up way too late at night, you know you are hooked. :c3:

Richard, good work on the repost:S3:

Very nice subject and composition, Richard. I actually prefer the original image because it emphasizes the shapes and negative spaces created by the branches more.

I like the composition and favor the first image

Each image has a look that I like. Each one brings out something a little different in the image. Here is another version for your consideration. I used brightness/contrast to increase the brighteness, and unsharp mask to sharpen it a bit. Glad you had a good time playing with editing.

Hi Anita

thanks, that brought out some great details.
Yes its fun; probably have more to post soon...