Maestro and His Shadow

It looks like this subject is turning into a series: black and white portraits of Maestro!

In the other photos in this "series", I saw him in one of his usual spots and took a picture. In this case, however, he was kind enough to pose for me, and wait there until I was done composing the shot. So, I suppose that makes him my first official model...

The color conversion was done in LAB mode. I used a couple of layers with different blending modes (partial overlay) to increase contrast, and also selected the carpet with the lasso tool to darken it with Curves. Maestro's nose and left eye were much too dark, so a little dodging was necessary.

As always, I welcome your comments.

f/6.7, 43 mm., ISO 400, 1/90 sec.

Lamp and Sky

Here is another photo that has been subjected to selective desaturation, with yellow as the only color spared.

The B&W was obtained by desaturating the red channel, as it offered the most interesting contrast in the clouds. The yellow of the bulb was isolated by Photoshop with the "Select color range" command.

I also added a mirror gradient layer (black and transparent) to frame the shot a little more and darken the mood.

This photo was actually taken in broad daylight. Here is the original for comparison.



f/22, 24 mm., ISO 200, 1/60 sec.

Le regard

Here is yet another photo of Liliana, a profile this time. The light turned out perfect for this picture, even though I had nothing to do with it: Lillie was looking out the window at the time, in the late afternoon.

The editing consisted of a conversion to B&W by only saving the lightness channel in LAB mode, followed by one Curves layer. Contrast was further enhanced by a second layer of the picture set to a partial Soft Light blending mode. I also cropped it, as the original was a landscape layout and made the composition uninteresting.

f/5.6
55 mm
1/90 sec.
ISO 400

The Barn

This is a photo of a barn that I see regularly. I like its straight lines, proportions, and the fact that it sits isolated in the middle of a field. All of these characteristics help it reflect the seasons and changing weather patterns without distraction. I will probably post many different views of this barn. My family thinks it humorous that it is one of this Parisian's favorite buildings!

I had a look in mind for this photo as I started editing it that I did not know how to obtain. I have seen it a lot and reminds me a little of what Ansel Adams did. I experimented quite a bit and ended up with 9 layers in Photoshop. They include the usual Levels, Curves, Desaturation, but also a couple of duplicate layers with different blending modes (Overlay, Darken), and a red photo filter. I even had to isolate the sky from the field and building to process them separately.

Well... I think I got close. What do you think?

ISO 200
f/16
26 mm
1/250 sec.

Snowy Path

Here is a little reminder of the season that just ended, and a good candidate for some experimentation with vignetting.

I used a layer mask with an ellipse to get the vignette effect. But, at first, the corners were completely black, and I did not care for it very much. So I decided to make that layer transparent and obtained the shadowed corners. What do you think of it?

To do the B&W conversion, I used a desaturation layer, and increase the contrast with a Levels and a Curves layer.

f/22, ISO 400, 55 mm, 1/125 sec.

Lillie's Light

I find the light and shadows projected onto the wall by this light post fascinating. The complexity and clarity of the geometric angles made it obvious this photo would be in B&W. After isolating the ceiling and applying a Gaussian blur filter, I used a desaturation layer to convert it from color.

ISO 800
f/19
Focal length 40 mm
Exp. time 0.1667 sec.

Westie in his favorite spot...

My dog Maestro loves laying in the sun. Throughout the day, he finds the warmest spot to sleep, and follows it as the sun moves. Sometimes, when the angle of the light through the window is such that only a square inch is left, we find him sleeping there... with his nose catching the last rays.
This photo was relatively straightforward. I did the B&W conversion in LAB mode, then added a couple of Curves and Levels layers. I also had to dodge the bottom of his right paw, as it was completely black.

f/16, ISO 200, focal length 45 mm, exp. time 1/125 sec.

Yellow Road

This photo was obviously edited in Photoshop! First, there were two road signs in the foreground that were too distracting. Then, I used five different Curves, Levels, and Hue/Saturation layers to obtain enough contrast in the trees without making them too dark.
The yellow lines were the easiest. Since they were the only yellow element, I duplicated the photo and used Select/Color Range to select them, erase the rest of the color photo, boost the saturation a little, and superimpose them on the B&W version.
Please let me know what you think.

Pentax K100D Super
Aperture Priority mode
ISO 400
Focal Length 55mm

Black and white tree: winter scene

I saw this tree while driving on a country road. I quickly turned around and stopped the car on the edge of a field to take the shot, when a truck pulled next to me and the driver asked"Are you OK?" This has happened to me several times since I have gotten "hooked" on photography!
f/22, ISO equiv. 200, focal length 38mm, Pentax K100D Super. Then, in Photoshop, B&W conversion in LAB mode, and a simple adjustment with a Levels layer.
I welcome your comments.

Hello!

Welcome to LeStro's Photos! I am a new photographer, trying to learn and improve everyday. Because I have learned so much from other bloggers, I in turn want to help others (in a limited way) by posting photos and information about how the shot was taken and about whatever post-processing was done. I also hope to learn more from your comments.

Here is the first photo. It is of my dog Maestro, a westie (West Highland White Terrier). I thought it appropriate to start with him, as his nickname (LeStro) is the inspiration for the blog's name.

The photo was taken in Aperture Priority mode, f/19, ISO 800, focal length 35mm. Exposure time came at 1/10 sec.

Then, in Photoshop, I converted it into LAB mode to use the lightness channel as the basis for the B&W version. I then duplicated the layer, set the top layer on multiply blend (15%), along with a couple of adjustment layers (Levels and Curves).

Et voilà!