Mary Ann Carrasco  


Bridge Into the City by Mary Ann Carrasco

November 2020 - Bridge Into the City

November 2020 - Mary Ann Carrasco

Original

About the Image(s)

Since the colors in the original were not too spectacular, I decided to try it in black and white. I have not done much black and white but would like to do more. Comments and suggestions are very welcome.

I used the Nikon d500 with the Tamron 18-400 lens. The settings were 1/800; f/8; 58mm; ISO 100.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
12 comments posted




Michael Hrankowski   Michael Hrankowski
Hi Mary Ann. Nice to virtually meet you! I like the image and agree that monochrome was the best choice here. The bridge forms a strong diagonal leading the eye along to the buildings in the distance. The vertical lines of the bridge towers and the skyscrapers create a very nice balance. Also nice are the textures and highlights in the river which seem more pronounced in the monochrome version. I'm curious as to what editing app(s) you used and whether you managed the conversion manually, or by using a preset such as the ones that come with Adobe LR Classic and Photo Raw?

I find the bridge design quite beautiful and I would've like to have seen more detail emerge from the shadows. It would be an interesting comparison to perhaps mask the bridge and play around with the exposure, highlights and shadows to see if you could bring out more of that detail.   Posted: 11/03/2020 18:16:15
Mary Ann Carrasco   Mary Ann Carrasco
Welcome Michael to the group! I have been a member for about 3 months and have appreciated the feedback on my photos very much. I use Photoshop elements to edit which starts with bringing the raw photo into Camera Raw. I was unhappy with the color when I originally edited it so I brought it back into Camera Raw and changed to monochrome and went from there. I like your suggestion about bringing out some detail in the bridge and will give it a try. Just fyi which I should have included in my summary, this is the Oakland Bay Bridge taken from Treasure Island going into to San Francisco. Thank you for your comments and your suggestions!   Posted: 11/06/2020 21:00:55



LuAnn Thatcher   LuAnn Thatcher
Hi Mary Ann,

I am in agreement with Michael (our new group member) on this image. I love the diagonal line of the bridge coming into the frame. The suspension towers and buildings help the image look and feel balanced vertically, good job protecting the highlights on the water, and I love the monochrome image-my personal favorite.

I see you edited with Photoshop Elements, according to Lightroom's exif data. So I took your image into Lightroom, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2, and Capture One Pro to see if I could develop any suggestions for you. I did not find anything. I tried the presets in LR, I tried editing the original in Capture One, but didn't see any improvement to offer. Part of the problem is that we only have jpegs to work with and not the raw file; you can only push jpegs so far. before the sky's start to look odd. But I wanted to find out why the tonality of the monochrome image appears flat to me.

Next, I looked at the histogram for the color image; there is minimal data in the blacks, a rise in midtones, plenty of highlights, and almost nothing in the whites section on the far right. For the monochrome image, the histogram shows the right amount of blacks, a little more in the midtone range, the most data in the highlight area, and almost nothing in whites.

In Lightroom, the Exif data says the time of day for the color photo was 2:00 am; this could explain the lack of quality light that I am seeing. If I see this correctly, I don't think you will pull any more whites out of the image for a brighter monochrome; at least not in these jpegs, maybe in the raw file.

This bridge image is a beautiful scene. What do you think about the brightness levels in the photo, Mary Ann?

I look forward to hearing from the rest of the group to hear what they think.

Best regards,
LuAnn

  Posted: 11/06/2020 14:41:03
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Mary Ann Carrasco   Mary Ann Carrasco
Hi LuAnn. Thank you for all your efforts with this photo. I do plan to take the raw photo and try to bring out some detail in the bridge. The time this was taken was in the afternoon so I don't know about the time that was indicated on the file! I will be sure to let you know how it goes. Thanks again.   Posted: 11/06/2020 21:13:19
LuAnn Thatcher   LuAnn Thatcher
Perhaps the time in your camera is off; just check to see if the time is accurate. When evaluating an image time of day is helpful and good to add to the list of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture; it's the key to good light.

LT   Posted: 11/07/2020 05:10:30
Mary Ann Carrasco   Mary Ann Carrasco
I have tried to bring out some detail of the bridge. Does this seem better? When I change a photo to b&w, is it better to edit the color file first or change the raw file to b&w and go from there? Thank you, Mary Ann   Posted: 11/10/2020 16:09:15
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Ruth Sprain   Ruth Sprain
Mary Ann, I too like the diagonal line of the bridge that leads my eyes to the city. The buildings on the right side balance out the towers of the bridge nicely. I agree with Michael that more details of the bridge would add interest for me.   Posted: 11/08/2020 18:37:23



Lisa Cirincione   Lisa Cirincione
(Group 85)
Hi Mary Ann, great shot! I love the leading lines into the city, the black and white conversion is great. I think I would like a tighter crop into the city, and maybe some more contrast. But just my preference, your photo is great.   Posted: 11/11/2020 14:29:24
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LuAnn Thatcher   LuAnn Thatcher
I really like your edit, Lisa!

LT   Posted: 11/15/2020 12:29:39



Kieu-Hanh Vu   Kieu-Hanh Vu
The composition is great! I like the details of the suspension cables starting from the left side that lead the viewer's eyes to the city with skyscrapers on the right. The conversion to B&W with more details of the bridge in the revised version is excellent!   Posted: 11/12/2020 05:30:40



Michael Hrankowski   Michael Hrankowski
Mary Ann, I like seeing the increased details in the bridge architecture. I'm just learning Photoshop and Lightroom, and am, by no means an expert. But, I have always been told to do your major edits first on the color image before making the conversion, then tweak the monochrome to your liking. If you do a lot of monochrome, you might consider upgrading to the full version of Photoshop with Adobe Camera Raw (essentially identical to Lightroom). In Camera Raw and LR, there are a whole host of monochrome presets, each giving a different look. I've only just started playing around with it but it's been fun so far.   Posted: 11/12/2020 13:52:44
Mary Ann Carrasco   Mary Ann Carrasco
Michael, thanks for the tips. My Photoshop Elements does bring the photo into Camera Raw first and I have been changing it to black and white then before using any of the sliders. I will experiment with editing the color version first.   Posted: 11/12/2020 15:43:19