Absolutely lovely and masterful use of b/w. I can't imagine that color would have been nearly as effective. Thank you!
I'm so happy to find someone who feels like I do! I've felt this way all my life (going on 83 as of now). Unfortunately, as I've also recognized that most photographers don't share my (our!) view, I've therefore shot virtually no streams and waterfalls - shame on me for capitulating to "custom". If you've exercised your preference, would love to see some of your pictures. THANK YOU for bringing this up - I'll be interested to see how many others are like-minded.
All great, but 2 is priceless.
Linda From Maine wrote:
Black and white is usually most successful with less busy subject matter, where you want to emphasize shapes and shadows or textures. Or where there is a greater tonal range from pure white to pure black with a lot of gray in between. It's also about the impact of the subject matter, where color is either distracting or irrelevant.
This might be the single best concise evaluation of b&w strengths and weaknesses I've ever read. Good job, Linda.
As a b&w former film guy myself, I also prefer the color in this case for the above reasons.
Lovely set beautifully done. My favorites are On Tour, and the two unnamed views. Would love to see these in person. Thank you!
Excellent shots of these cute guys. Constantly admire and enjoy your birds and other nature shots, Regis.
Beautiful - #1 is perfection. Thank you.
Many smiles while reading this - thanks, Nightski.
Could have been me. Turning 80, and while I'm also the happy owner of a new Sony A77, my happiest moments are when I can take a day and get out with my 4x5 Calumet view and 90, 150 and 300mm lenses. B&W film in 6 film holders, sturdy Zone VI (remember them?) wood tripod, good handheld meter, and focusing cloth; I'm in heaven. Can be anywhere and find endless good subjects, but especially enjoy ghost towns and desert scenes in the west.
I also HAVE to add that my particular Calumet is the studio version, not the field camera. No, it's not as handy as the latter, but was a Christmas gift from my very generous wife of 1 year when she noticed me admiring this in an ad. When she then learned that it also needed a lens, she even went and got me my 150mm! After all that, this is still my most cherished possession (next to her, of course, though she'd really resent being considered a possession) and I'd never dream of using anything else.
(Maybe I should also mention that my "light carry" camera prior to the A77 was a Mamiya RB-67 with 3 lenses. Really liked that one too, and walked miles with that and the same Zone VI tripod. Always wondered why people were complaining about the weight of 35mm cameras?)
As a (now retired) chemist I've enjoyed mixing my own developers (Kodak D-23 and D-25 were faves) from scratch for over 65 years now. Of course the whole darkroom bit was the icing on the cake. Somehow actual burning and dodging were always more satisfying than Lightroom or Photoshop, but I have to say I greatly respect the latter also. Unfortunately after our most recent move I no longer have my extensive printing setup (donated to a university), but still develop my film and now scan the negs for PP.
Especially enjoyed the remark about view camera outings vs the 5000 shot outings. Detailed setup and prep are still so ingrained in me that I have to force myself to take backup shots with the A77, and bracketing is an incredible luxury. Still undecided about HDR; don't dispute the value when used judiciously, but think I've seen way too much where it's excessive and wholly unreal. Though maybe that's the intended design, and if so, my apologies.
Also apologize if necessary for the gratuitous rambling. Just happy to see there's still some interest in and appreciation for the old school approach.
WONDERFUL shot. Agree with you about the lighting.
Truly superb, congrats. Like Biker Chic, I'd love to know your camera and lens.
Many thanks for the link, Imagemeister. Really can't think of adequate superlatives for these shots. As a new owner of an A77 myself, these sure set the bar - though she's obviously in an altogether different league from me. Wonderful, thanks again.
Sorry to hear of your disappointment, hj. I used them three different times all with excellent results. Yes, they were slow. Curious about the differences here, but we'll probably never know.
I agree with bertloomis. Unless you have thousands of slides or negs and you want to save them all, scancafe does a great job very reasonably. In addition to just a base scan, they run each through digital ice, which removes virtually all dust type and nominal scratch imperfections - this is time consuming to do yourself in large quantities of images either using the same program or in post. Suggest you consider sorting out some of your favorites and trying them.