A bw conversion comparison

Thank you for your suggestions in my thread asking for advice on converting color images to black and white. I'm going through the list, trying them all eventually. I would like you opinion on the two conversions below. The first is Tom Niemann's (sp?) action at the default settings..



and the next one is using the color conversion tool within Nik Color Pro..



There are two things in digital photography that I've been struggling with for years. One is the bw conversion and the other is getting just that right amount of sharpening. I seem to get too much or two little, and I want to do it just right. If there is such a thing

Anyway, please give me your opinions on the above as far as bw conversion and proper sharpening. ... good, bad, terrible, throw it out and start over or leave it alone that's as close as you'll get.
Thank you for your help.
Jarrell

--
D100, Canon S3 and 990
http://members.cox.net/jarrellconley/
'At my age, if it's over 100 feet from the truck, it ain't photogenic.'

Jarrell Conley said:

There are two things in digital photography that I've been
struggling with for years. One is the bw conversion and the other
is getting just that right amount of sharpening. I seem to get too
much or two little, and I want to do it just right. If there is
such a thing
Anyway, please give me your opinions on the above as far as bw
conversion and proper sharpening. ... good, bad, terrible, throw it
out and start over or leave it alone that's as close as you'll get.
Thank you for your help.
Jarrell

Click to expand...

From the images above I like the second one the color conversion tool within Nik Color Pro however I would add some more contrast to the image.

When I make a B&W conversion I use PS, duplicate the color background create new layer, channel mixer select monochrome and then try each slider at 100% to find which looks best (red blue or green) then mix to taste. I'll follow this up with a curves layer (or you can use levels then brightness and contrast) adding unsharpmask or grassian blur last. When I finish a shot i like to open it in a full screen viewer and stand a few feet away (I have a 24inch widescreen) if the image jumps off the screen then I have a winner.

Goodluck for th future conversions.

--
Daniel
Darwin Australia

Jarrell,

Both look good and to a degree illustrate two styles in black and white. I like the first one (see Tom's credits ;-) as it gets good details in the shadows. The second one, while not being an extreme example of 'contrast' that can be quite effective in some shots, loses some detail for the sake of contrast and that's an artist decision. Another main consideration of mine in B&W is how well certain hues are separated. In many conversions, there is no difference between say, red and orange - both are represented as a single gray tone, which is why I like selective color adjustment layer which not only addresses each color but each cmyk makeup of each color.
--
Kent

http://www.pbase.com/kentc
For prior discussions on most questions:
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or d/l 'archives' at:
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Personally I like the 2nd one best. I like the increased contrast and on my monitor looks sharper. The 1st one to me is too grey - but both are good. What really matters is which one you like.
--
Bert D

It really does come down to what the photographer likes and I've always leaned toward more contrasty images (too much some of the time) for their snap. I've done so at the risk of losing detail in shadow and/or hilite areas. It just depends on the subject matter and what the photographer wants to convey in the final image.
Again, thank you for your help.
Jarrell
--
D100, Canon S3 and 990
http://members.cox.net/jarrellconley/
'At my age, if it's over 100 feet from the truck, it ain't photogenic.'

The second looks great ..