Blackrock Cottage “Close-up” (Monochrome) Version – Glencoe

Just thought I’d also post the monochrome “close-up” version. What do you think?

Blackrock Cottage_mono

This entry was posted on May 2, 2012 by JimR. It was filed under Blog, Landscape, Landscapes, Nature, Photography, Photos and was tagged with Blackrock, Blackrock Cottage, Buachaille Etive Mor, Glencoe, Landscape, Photography, Photos, Rannoch Moor, Scotland, Stob Dearg, Tourism, Travel.

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17 responses

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Anne Jutras

Such a pretty little house, Jim! I really love your B&W version, it’s beautiful!

May 9, 2012 at 12:08 am

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- JimR
  
  Many thanks Anne. I do think B&W can sometimes really bring out the detail better. I suppose it really it depend on the range of tones in the original colour image. This image is from a single exposure. If I had bracketed +2 0-2 stops and then either blended in Photoshop or processed in Photomatix, before the B&W conversion then there would be a very large tonal range, which should result in more detail in the final B&W image.
  
  May 9, 2012 at 6:02 pm
  
  Reply
  - Anne Jutras
    
    How interesting!Thank you for sharing, Jim!
    
    May 9, 2012 at 10:54 pm
Judy

Great photo! I do love this shot! You pick up on the textures much more in this photo, since the color isn’t there. The texture of the grass is very evident. I guess I like both of them for different reasons.

May 8, 2012 at 6:09 am

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- JimR
  
  Thanks Judy; monochrome really does emphasise the texture detail. I spent some time in photoshop trying to get the conversion right.
  
  May 8, 2012 at 6:16 pm
  
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  - Judy
    
    I guess I don’t know what monochrome is. But I liked the result very much! The conversion sounds difficult,
    but it’s worth it. I wonder if PhotoShop Elements has it.
    
    May 8, 2012 at 8:37 pm
  - JimR
    
    Hi Judy. Monochrome is just another term for black and white or grayscale. The conversion requires you to desaturate/remove the colour from the image and then manipulate the grayscale/b&w image. You do this, using your own judgement by increasing contrast, darkening and lightening the image to bring out the detail and texture. In the full version of Photoshop there are sliders that you move to get the basic effect you want. The sliders act on the whole image. I find I usually still need to use the dodge and burn tools to improve specific areas of the image.
    You can do the conversion in Elements 7 and the following video link should help. http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-photoshop-elements-7/getting-started-17-converting-color-to-black-and-white/
    If you have elements 5 try this link http://www.better-photographs.com/monochrome.html
    Hope this helps.
    
    May 9, 2012 at 5:43 pm
  - Judy
    
    I have PSE 9 and I’ve seen the term: remove color. I have never used that. I’ve never heard of dodge and burn tools! There’s a whole other world out there I have no idea about! 😉 Thanks for the link, Jim. I’ll check it out.
    
    May 9, 2012 at 6:47 pm
  - JimR
    
    Try this link for PSE 9 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlu9y5MfvjQ
    
    May 9, 2012 at 11:21 pm
  - Judy
    
    Thanks Jim….you are so helpful!
    
    May 10, 2012 at 6:34 am
Ian Beattie

I like both versions equally and don’t have an issue with the sky makes it quite a bright and cheery photo. Don’t know what you did to the mountains in this one Jim, but they just seem to leap out at you.

May 3, 2012 at 12:45 pm

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- JimR
  
  Thanks for your comment Ian. I do think that the sky may need to be darkened down a little to give it a little more impact. However this might reduce the impact of the mountains. I suppose it really is just a matter of personal preference.
  
  May 3, 2012 at 10:10 pm
  
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