MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Well, I’ve been working up my courage over the last few weeks and decided to finally “just go for it”. So here it goes!

A recent presenter at our camera club opened my eyes to the possibilities of converting from color to black and white. I thought this shot of a Snowy Egret in breeding plumage lent itself to such a conversion.

Included are my “Before” and my “After”. The Before is SOOC from my trip to Florida last spring. The After is a crop and a simple conversion from color to monochrome on my iPad.

Before - as shot

(Download)

After - Obviously!

(Download)

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

The conversion is very nice, great sharpness, however I would like to see the birds whole head.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Converting to B&W is all about doing away with the distraction of colour, and that, together with the crop, allow us to concentrate on that "look in the eye". Is it my imagination or do birds always look more purposeful when you zoom in on that look?

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Your "simple conversion" turned out well, with details in most of the white area, and nice contrasts and tonal range. I like that the background has a hint of what could be interpreted as sun rays rather than being a solid black or conversely, too busy and distracting.

Your close crop and monochrome makes the image about the bird's eye, and you've positioned it pleasingly in one of the sweet spots of rule of thirds.

As a personal preference I tend to like negative space on the left, leading me to the subject, so that's another plus for me with this composition.

Does your result please you, Karen?

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Eye on the prize?

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

hmmmm - maybe! But then to be fair I’ll have to be careful and ignore someone’s critique. You have a good memory, woman.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Thank you! Actually I played with the crop quite a bit and tried it with the full head and then just the eye and portion of the beak. My preference was with the focus on the eye. However, I do appreciate your sharing your opinion.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Thanks, R.G. I think that what led me to go with the conversion on this particular shot was that there wasn’t much contrast. Ironically, the color in the breeding plumage was what initially drew my eye to this bird in the first place!

I agree completely that birds do look more purposeful when the eye/face is zoomed in on. They sometimes have a very intense look.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Thanks, Linda. The contrasts and tonal range are, I think, a result of my being able to “get the exposure right in camera”. I’ve been trying to think back to recall the lighting conditions and I’m pretty sure it was bright sun or close to it. My recollection of the background is that the bird was forward of leafed branches with sun showing through. Also, there was a fair amount of separation between the bird and the background. Your impression of the sun’s rays was spot-on!

As I mentioned above somewhere, I played with the crop on this quite a bit. This was the most pleasing to my eye and it accomplished my intention of drawing attention to the eye of the bird. It just lost something when I cropped to include the entire head and beak. You caught me out on the rule of thirds, though. When I was cropping, I had the grid up (I think it just comes up automatically!), and used that as a guide to very deliberately position the bird’s eye.

And, YES! my result does please me. It was rather surprising because this was my absolute first attempt ever to convert from color to monochrome.

Thank you for your very helpful comments!

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Apparently not so good as I'm drawing a blank on the reference in your reply. Send me a pm to enlighten me

Great to hear the result of your choices turned out as you'd hoped. Don't be a stranger to FYC, now, y'hear?

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

OK - working on the PM now!

Katydid Loc: Davis, CA

I like them both alot.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Thank you, Katy. Appreciate your taking the time to look and to comment.

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

These are both very good, Karen. I think that I like the conversion better if only because the background in the SOOC version is a bit distracting in the upper right. I'm nit-picking here, of course; but the conversion with the crop makes those distractions go away while still maintaining texture as Linda pointed out. I can understand why some folks would want to see the whole head. I can also see that some people might want to see the color in the beak.

The important thing here is that the crop makes you happiest with the end result. It's nice to please other people and I think we all try to do that. I find, however, that I have to like the look that others might suggest. You said you tried many iterations of the crop. The one you posted was the one you liked best. Kudos.

Don't be bashful about posting here on FYC. We don't bite often, and when we do, it is seldom venomous. You will get lots of comments on your photos and that will help you to figure out what pleases you the most.
Erich

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Thanks so much for that detailed critique. I started to re-think my crop and decided to post one that I’d considered and decided against. IMO, it just doesn’t have the impact of my final choice.

Entire Head But with the distraction in the upper right cropped out. Of course, this is post-conversion!

(Download)