Fog Bound Loon

[Randy Stout]

This loon was imaged last summer on a very foggy morn. It cried out for a B&W conversion.

D4 600VR f/4.5 1/800s ISO 1000

Post: B&W conversion with Silver Efex Pro. Some noise/grain showing up, which I don't find objectionable in such a conversion

(Grew up shooting Tri-X pushed, a lot. Now that was some serious grain)

Advice and comments appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[WillieHall]

nice subject for the B&W, I will have to remember this. Pleasing placement in the frame also. I also like how this approach shows all the details of these great birds!

[Tiago Caravana]

Great option to do a B&W version of this photo! The small noise level is not a question for me, as in this kind of B&W photo it adds some class to it (IMO)
I would like to see the eye, or a bit of a better head/body angle, but it's true that this position shows the nice feathers and pattern of the wings and the loon back.

[Randy Stout]

Tiago:

Agree about the eye, but they close them in almost every case when doing the wing flaps. Of the many 100s of wing flaps I have imaged, almost all of them have the eye at least partially closed.

Cheers

Randy

[Daniel Cadieux]

A perfect candidate for B&W indeed! I was going to comment that the noise looked rather grain-like from the days of film. I like the water sprinkling off the bill.

[dankearl]

Pretty cool, love the drops and the pose.....

[Steen Torner]

Hi Randy,

It is not often that bird images looks best in B&W. However, this one is definitely a super B&W choice and a great photo.

Especially the foggy weather and the pattern on the wings make this a fine B&W for me. I also like the action in the head with the water droplets and the rotation shown by turning up the light strip of feathers on the "chin".

And the framing is fine.

Regards Steen

[Joseph Przybyla]

I am not normally a big fan of B&W but this image works wonderfully. The image and tones are very appealing, making a very pleasing image.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Great thought to convert this one Randy. A very powerful image in BW. I know it's a foggy atmosphere, but I might still try to selectively darken some of the blacks just a tad

[arash_hazeghi]

Great dynamic pose and low angle, would love to see this in color too.

[Glenn Conlan]

Your presentation with out color is outstanding, very striking

[Diane Miller]

Gorgeous B/W! I also shot a lot of Tri-X and you'll rarely hear me complain about grain here! In cases where it can rise above common noise, it can give some subtle surface detail ("tooth") to an image.