This month through your adapted lenses -- July 2019

Thank you! Good ideas too!
Wish I could shoot in B&W, when I tried it I just ended wishing I had shot in colour and when I edit to B&W I'm never happy with the result. Mind you I think it's because I don't photo people, most the best B&W photos I've seen have been people.
In fact, B&W suits itself for nearly every subject, but it's not always a matter of removing the colours. It's important to learn to see the luminosity contrast while shooting, as opposed to the colour contrast (which can fool us into thinking some parts are lighter or darker than they actually are)

With people-images, backgrounds become much less distracting due to the lack of colours, and emotions are emphasized. This makes that people-shots often have a higher impact in B&W.

But urban landscapes also work well in B&W, In fact, in B&W you have more options, such as a more abstract approach with high contrast, or a more vintage look with grain and low contrast, etc.

I think the easiest way to try & learn is to shoot raw, with the purpose of making B&W. Then back home, try and develop some images with the most promising composition.

I've been shooting the Leica Monochrom almost exclusively for a year now. An interesting side-effect is that I also have become much more aware of colour... which isn't registered at all by the camera!
 
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Thank you! Good ideas too!
Wish I could shoot in B&W, when I tried it I just ended wishing I had shot in colour and when I edit to B&W I'm never happy with the result. Mind you I think it's because I don't photo people, most the best B&W photos I've seen have been people.
In fact, B&W suits itself for nearly every subject, but it's not always a matter of removing the colours. It's important to learn to see the luminosity contrast while shooting, as opposed to the colour contrast (which can fool us into thinking some parts are lighter or darker than they actually are)

With people-images, backgrounds become much less distracting due to the lack of colours, and emotions are emphasized. This makes that people-shots often have a higher impact in B&W.

But urban landscapes also work well in B&W, In fact, in B&W you have more options, such as a more abstract approach with high contrast, or a more vintage look with grain and low contrast, etc.

I think the easiest way to try & learn is to shoot raw, with the purpose of making B&W. Then back home, try and develop some images with the most promising composition.

I've been shooting the Leica Monochrom almost exclusively for a year now. An interesting side-effect is that I also have become much more aware of colour... which isn't registered at all by the camera!
Thanks for the tip... I've done the opposite, shooting B&W jpeg + raw and it's a good learning experience too.

I want to keep exploring B&W, it's not as easy as some people think...
 
The second is my favorite as well, but I still love the first one. The orange-browns at lower right, set off against the blues at upper-left, with the mountain dominating in between. And in the second, the bright green of the pine against the bright blue peeking through the clouds at upper-right, with the sense of the valley cupping around the center as it flows off to the sea.
 
@ f/5.6

Not completely sure about the crop on this one... all I did was a slight rotate to try and get the vertical lines vertical, but maybe removing a bit on the foreground or on the top could be nice? Suggestions for welcome :)

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I'd say just a smidge from the foreground and right, but not too much. There's enough activity going on in the center that having some relatively 'clean' space helps balance it.

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Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_prof67/ Warning: Heavy Learning in progress.
 
Thank you! Good ideas too!
Wish I could shoot in B&W, when I tried it I just ended wishing I had shot in colour and when I edit to B&W I'm never happy with the result. Mind you I think it's because I don't photo people, most the best B&W photos I've seen have been people.
I feel much the same way; I just don't 'do' people, with very little exception, and I'm not good at all with B&W. I just prefer color, preferably nicely contrasting or complementing color.

I really ought to try working with it more, though; I need to push myself.
 
Thank you! Good ideas too!
Wish I could shoot in B&W, when I tried it I just ended wishing I had shot in colour and when I edit to B&W I'm never happy with the result. Mind you I think it's because I don't photo people, most the best B&W photos I've seen have been people.
I feel much the same way; I just don't 'do' people, with very little exception, and I'm not good at all with B&W. I just prefer color, preferably nicely contrasting or complementing color.

I really ought to try working with it more, though; I need to push myself.
I think perhaps the best way to try is to go some big event where the are lots of people who won't notice you taking photos of them. One where the is likely to be some characters like a bike rally or steam engines perhaps Morrace dancing even. I just can't see myself asking people in the street if I can take the photo and if I don't ask I'll likely get punched in the head :-)
 
I just can't see myself asking people in the street if I can take the photo and if I don't ask I'll likely get punched in the head :-)
Challenge yourself, and do ask. You'd be surprised how many people agree to have a portrait taken. Just be open and friendly.

Of course, an event is a great idea, as the theme of the event can make it easier to engage into a conversation (be it steam trains, or a band, or whatever)

But a busy shopping area during daytime also works, or (even better) a sunny evening at the boulevard.

If people ask why, you can e.g. say you're doing a photocourse (which is often true in my case) you're learning to make portraits, you're gathering impressions from the city, etc. If they ask if it will be published, I simply say it's for my personal portfolio.

But on days where I have a more introvert mood, I'll most likely also make less people-shots, and more abstract things ;-)
 
I just can't see myself asking people in the street if I can take the photo and if I don't ask I'll likely get punched in the head :-)
Challenge yourself, and do ask. You'd be surprised how many people agree to have a portrait taken. Just be open and friendly.

Of course, an event is a great idea, as the theme of the event can make it easier to engage into a conversation (be it steam trains, or a band, or whatever)

But a busy shopping area during daytime also works, or (even better) a sunny evening at the boulevard.

If people ask why, you can e.g. say you're doing a photocourse (which is often true in my case) you're learning to make portraits, you're gathering impressions from the city, etc. If they ask if it will be published, I simply say it's for my personal portfolio.

But on days where I have a more introvert mood, I'll most likely also make less people-shots, and more abstract things ;-)
I think perhaps I'll choose a seafront walk, perhaps print a t-shirt with the phase "Can I take you photo" and hand each person a card with details of where the can view their portrait later :-)
 
Now, given the added images I would not crop more than one window width, use the total height whatever there is in the RAW, and leave that bike in view at the left. My monitors are calibrated and profiled for printing, so have reduced luminosity, the hybrid image seems better now at the unprofiled SRGB setting of one monitor, so not the light image.


Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst
No photographer's gear list is complete without the printer mentioned !
 
Deliberately out of focus fireworks. Helios 44-2 58mm f2, edited it RawTherapee

Shot wide open, and you can definitely see some of the signature swirly bokeh in the shape of the outer dots.



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I'd say just a smidge from the foreground and right, but not too much. There's enough activity going on in the center that having some relatively 'clean' space helps balance it.
Thanks Travis, good points. I think you found exactly where my doubts were.
 
My monitors are calibrated and profiled for printing, so have reduced luminosity, the hybrid image seems better now at the unprofiled SRGB setting of one monitor, so not the light image.
Yes, valid points, for printing I would need to brighten up a bit, but for web viewing I settled on something very close to the "hybrid" version.
 
Great idea. Great execution.

Regards,

Alan
 
This lens was in parts on my bench 24 hours before as I cleaned the fungus from it. It's a nice lens and I'm sure the are some great images in it but I bit iffy on distance shots I think.



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Look forward to more great days in the future. We owe that much to those no longer able to share our great days !
 
So I bought this 60D with had a crack on the LCD so I got it cheap. Then I found out Canon are not great with manual focusing and Canon do sell a aid for this but I thought I would try one of the Viewfinder hoods that fit over the LCD screen. On this camera it mean I can use the magnify button to zone right in to with inches from stand about 5ft away. Yesterday we went for a picnic in Keyhavon and I like the kids loose with this camera - I say kids, they are both over 30 :-)

Just thought anyone who was wondering if these things are any good might like to see this, it cost about £20 - the brand of this one is SevenOaks



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Look forward to more great days in the future. We owe that much to those no longer able to share our great days !
 
Nice! Dog pics are actually not that easy, usually they look away exactly when I press the shutter :-)
 

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