Elsie Allen
February 2025 - Untitled
Original
About the Image(s)
This image was taken from my window last week when it snowed in Atlanta!
My desire was to capture snowflakes in motion; but, alas, my shutter speed was incorrect and the snow was waning.
Nevertheless, I would appreciate any suggestions to improve the lighting.
Specs: EOS 6D Mark 2 24-70 mm 2.8 lens
33 sec f11 ISO 800 Focal length 24 mm
After initial edits in RAW, color was optimized with NIK color efx before conversion to b&w with silver efx.
7 comments posted
Hi Elsie. I like your image! I think it is very nicely composed and I like that your camera angle is not straight on to the window. The framing gives the real sensation that the viewer is standing there looking out. There is a mystery here. Who was it that walked down the drive? What were they doing? Did they make noise and woke you up? Did you get up to look out the window to see what was going on? These are things that keep a viewer engaged. Very nicely conceived!
Some things to ponder: Long exposures smooth out things that are in motion (the snowflakes) and with very long exposures can cause those moving things to disappear completely. This was a tough lighting situation and I assume the long exposure was required to get the general scene exposed properly. You might have upped your ISO to get a faster SS and dealt with the noise later in post.
Interesting that you used Color EFX on the original image BEFORE you converted it to B&W. I've never thought of doing that and I'm curious as to why you did?
Color vs. B&W: When I'm out with my camera I generally know if I will render my subject in color or B&W. Some questions to ask are whether rendering it in color will add anything or will it detract? Is color important in telling the story I want to tell? Does the scene lack color but have interesting textures, tones and shapes? In the case of your image, my personal opinion is that your Original, color image is more impactful than the monochrome version. I like the warm glow emanating from the house and street light - it feels cozy to me. Your Original image gives me a greater sense of reality than does your monochrome version and at the same time it doesn't have quite the sense of mystery that the monochrome version does. But remember, this is just my personal opinion and it really depends on what YOUR intention for the image and the viewer is.
Lastly, when you show an image with dark borders on this forum, it presents better if you add a lighter stroke to better delineate the frame. Posted: 02/04/2025 16:49:15
Some things to ponder: Long exposures smooth out things that are in motion (the snowflakes) and with very long exposures can cause those moving things to disappear completely. This was a tough lighting situation and I assume the long exposure was required to get the general scene exposed properly. You might have upped your ISO to get a faster SS and dealt with the noise later in post.
Interesting that you used Color EFX on the original image BEFORE you converted it to B&W. I've never thought of doing that and I'm curious as to why you did?
Color vs. B&W: When I'm out with my camera I generally know if I will render my subject in color or B&W. Some questions to ask are whether rendering it in color will add anything or will it detract? Is color important in telling the story I want to tell? Does the scene lack color but have interesting textures, tones and shapes? In the case of your image, my personal opinion is that your Original, color image is more impactful than the monochrome version. I like the warm glow emanating from the house and street light - it feels cozy to me. Your Original image gives me a greater sense of reality than does your monochrome version and at the same time it doesn't have quite the sense of mystery that the monochrome version does. But remember, this is just my personal opinion and it really depends on what YOUR intention for the image and the viewer is.
Lastly, when you show an image with dark borders on this forum, it presents better if you add a lighter stroke to better delineate the frame. Posted: 02/04/2025 16:49:15
Elsie Allen
Michael,
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I appreciate the advice regarding shutter speed and the suggestion to add borders is also very helpful. It is something I usually overlook.
Color shades impact my tonality edits in Silver EFX. I use Color EFX before monochrome conversion, because I think that an optimized color image is a good basis for the best monochrome conversion. But, this may be a misconception. I do not always do it and would be interested in your opinion and that of others.
Thanks again for the great feedback! Posted: 02/05/2025 15:44:41
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I appreciate the advice regarding shutter speed and the suggestion to add borders is also very helpful. It is something I usually overlook.
Color shades impact my tonality edits in Silver EFX. I use Color EFX before monochrome conversion, because I think that an optimized color image is a good basis for the best monochrome conversion. But, this may be a misconception. I do not always do it and would be interested in your opinion and that of others.
Thanks again for the great feedback! Posted: 02/05/2025 15:44:41
Elsie, I will have to give it a try. Thanks for the tip. I don't have as much experience with Color EFX as I do with Silver EFX. I did notice, however, that there is a B&W option from within Color EFX (go figure!) that does give some interesting looks.
Another way to manage tones if you use LrC is to first click on B&W to convert. The Color module changes to B&W and by using the sliders you can change the tonality of the colors independently of one another. Posted: 02/06/2025 17:56:05
Another way to manage tones if you use LrC is to first click on B&W to convert. The Color module changes to B&W and by using the sliders you can change the tonality of the colors independently of one another. Posted: 02/06/2025 17:56:05
Beautiful work Elise. The interior and the Exterior layer are making a great story. The shiney point perhaps can be avoided if you stood in such a position that the mullion would hide it.
Posted: 02/13/2025 01:28:58
Posted: 02/13/2025 01:28:58
Elsie Allen
Thank you, Adi! Posted: 02/13/2025 19:33:39
I really like the b/w conversion you made. The foot prints on the driveway added a lot to the photo, made me think what's behind the scene. I do think the bright light burst in the middle is somewhat distracting. Posted: 02/22/2025 05:15:09
Elsie Allen
Thank you, Don. Posted: 02/22/2025 15:56:04