Darlene Elwin
About the Image(s)
Last summer in Yosemite, I saw this lone tree silhouetted between the hard, cold rock and huge, soft bellowing clouds. Converting to B&W gave it the dramatic look I wanted. I cropped from the top and right side, processed in Camera Raw and NIK Silver Efex. Added some Curve adjustments and Burning and Dodging. Finally, used curves for a final Midtone lift overall.
Shot with Olympus OMD and Leica 14 - 140 lens. Handheld. f/18, 1/250, ISO 320.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
9 comments posted
Jim Hagan
Darlene Elwin
Thanks for your comments and suggestion. Just before submitting the image, I thought the same. But when I lightened the cliff it seemed to fight for attention with the clouds. I could be wrong!   Posted: 11/19/2023 06:10:55
Henry Heerschap
Wonderful composition and processing choices, Darlene. You do have a bit of white fringing along the transition between the dark rocks and the light sky that should be touched up. Otherwise, this is excellent.   Posted: 11/08/2023 23:39:03
Darlene Elwin
Oh, no! Your eagle eye caught it! I worked very hard at eliminating any halo-ing, but that one straight stretch below the tree would not go away. Suggestions???   Posted: 11/19/2023 06:13:28
Henry Heerschap
If you are using Photoshop or a program with a similar clone stamp tool, this is my preferred method. Set the clone stamp brush blend mode from normal to darken. Set the opacity to 80%. Zoom in on the image (200% isn't a bad place to start) and sample areas similar in color and tone to the fringed area. Brush over the fringed area, resampling frequently. Adjust opacity as needed or use the fade tool (in the Edit menu) to reduce the effect. This technique (which I swiped from Mark Johnson many years ago) works most of the time. Here's a version of your image after using it.   Posted: 11/19/2023 19:16:09
Darlene Elwin
BIG difference! Thanks for sharing your method since it appears to work better than what I did! I'm anxious to try it.   Posted: 11/20/2023 16:29:23
Christian Serre
What a stark difference with the original; the magic of B&W.
Notwithstanding Henry's remark, independently of the global evaluation of the image, I really love the dark rocks.
  Posted: 11/09/2023 02:40:43
Notwithstanding Henry's remark, independently of the global evaluation of the image, I really love the dark rocks.
  Posted: 11/09/2023 02:40:43
Very nice image, great job on the conversion. I like your mono conversion minus the fringing on the transition.   Posted: 11/19/2023 14:25:39
Jim Bodkin
Excellent image, Darlene. I particularly enjoy the luminous clouds contrasting with the darker mountain face. My personal style is a darker, high contrast image and your fits the bill on all counts. The tree makes it!
  Posted: 11/20/2023 17:06:09
  Posted: 11/20/2023 17:06:09