Old Country Church B&W Processing: I have been working on my B&W processing in Lightroom and I recently completed a tutorial by Serge Ramelli. I downloaded a couple of his presets and...

kenievans Loc: Dallas

I have been working on my B&W processing in Lightroom and I recently completed a tutorial by Serge Ramelli. I downloaded a couple of his presets and applied one to this church then made my own adjustments as well as using radial gradients and some brush adjustments. I recommend his YouTube tutorials. They have really opened up my eyes to some different techniques and how to improve my tonality. What do you think?

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fergmark Loc: norwalk connecticut

Looks quite good Keni. I had a look to see what he was doing. Fun to see someone going through the steps.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

kenievans wrote:

I have been working on my B&W processing in Lightroom and I recently completed a tutorial by Serge Ramelli. I downloaded a couple of his presets and applied one to this church then made my own adjustments as well as using radial gradients and some brush adjustments. I recommend his YouTube tutorials. They have really opened up my eyes to some different techniques and how to improve my tonality. What do you think?

Keni Great job post processing.Superb image

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

You need to make the outline where the sky meets the church quite a bit lighter.

NikonGal Loc: Central Oregon

Keni, I love what you've done with this church. I've watched a couple of Serge tutorials and downloaded a couple presets too, and I like his approach. I've also found Jim Welninski's (friend of Blake Rudis) Black and White Artistry (Altered Space Photo) to be beneficial. Between the two, I have a better feeling for handling the light in black and white. https://alteredspacephoto.com/2020/02/05/nowness/
Enjoy your journey, Bev

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Overall it looks like a good B&W conversion. The bright patches in the sky on the left look a bit out of place to me and there's a noticeable dark halo round the spire and roof.

kenievans Loc: Dallas

fergmark wrote:

Looks quite good Keni. I had a look to see what he was doing. Fun to see someone going through the steps.

Thanks Mark! I have watched other tutorials but this was really easy to follow and understand once you get used to the French accent.

kenievans Loc: Dallas

PixelStan77 wrote:

Keni Great job post processing.Superb image

Thank you Stan. I am trying to take this time working from home, since I have more free time, to pack in as much learning and practice as I can but what I wouldn't give for a big juicy steak fresh off the grill from my favorite steak house.

kenievans Loc: Dallas

Fotoartist wrote:

You need to make the outline where the sky meets the church quite a bit lighter.

Thank you for the advise. That at lease is an easy fix.

kenievans Loc: Dallas

NikonGal wrote:

Keni, I love what you've done with this church. I've watched a couple of Serge tutorials and downloaded a couple presets too, and I like his approach. I've also found Jim Welninski's (friend of Blake Rudis) Black and White Artistry (Altered Space Photo) to be beneficial. Between the two, I have a better feeling for handling the light in black and white. https://alteredspacephoto.com/2020/02/05/nowness/
Enjoy your journey, Bev

Thank you Bev. It really was an eye opener for me. I know I still have a lot to learn but this was one of those ah ha moments for me. I will look into Jim Welninski as well. Thank you for the recommendation.

kenievans Loc: Dallas

R.G. wrote:

Overall it looks like a good B&W conversion. The bright patches in the sky on the left look a bit out of place to me and there's a noticeable dark halo round the spire and roof.

I appreciate your comments R.G. I didn't notice the halo and now that I think about the direction of the light I think you right about the light on the left. The sun was just starting to peak through the storm clouds on the right when I took it. I didn't need to add it on the left or at least tone it down some.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

You are making good use of your "down" time, Keni! The muddiness around the spire is noticeable; I think that's same as what R.G. is referring to. And if I, ahem, pixel peep, I see white areas between the leaves of the trees.

A terrific subject for b&w conversion and I'm so glad you are enjoying Serge and all the rest of the pp tips you are learning and have shared with us.

kenievans Loc: Dallas

Linda From Maine wrote:

You are making good use of your "down" time, Keni! The muddiness around the spire is noticeable; I think that's same as what R.G. is referring to. And if I, ahem, pixel peep, I see white areas between the leaves of the trees.

A terrific subject for b&w conversion and I'm so glad you are enjoying Serge and all the rest of the pp tips you are learning and have shared with us.

Thank you Linda. I went back totally reworked it. I couldn't get rid of the "muddiness" in the original. I also couldn't get rid of the halo around the top of the church. It was not there in PS. I blew it way up to make sure but when I brought it into LS to finish there was a little thin line around the edge. Not sure what to do about that but here it is.

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yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Beautiful image Keni - well done!

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

kenievans wrote:

Thank you Linda. I went back totally reworked it...

This is also a different pov than your first. I like this composition better, being able to see more of the second steeple with its building/annex. Also, the far right edge is now trees instead of an additional building.

I think the composition and your new edits are terrific.