Tag Archives: curves

Commentary, Technique

Some Thoughts on Black and White Conversion in Photoshop

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Every so often you run across an article that offers some unfortunate advice on an important subject – perhaps it offers outdated advice or suggests a less effective technique. I saw such an article today on methods for converting color digital images to black and white in Photoshop. Sometimes seeing such an article encourages me to write something about the same topic as a counterpoint – and that is what led to this post.

I cannot claim to be the master of this conversion process, and I recognize that there are several ways to do it that are both effective and different that what I’ll describe. In addition, this will be more or less an overview rather than a detailed tuturial. IN any case, I want to offer some ideas that might be a bit more contemporary, flexible, and powerful than those I read about in that article. Continue reading Some Thoughts on Black and White Conversion in Photoshop →

Commentary, Technique

Combining Exposures in Wide Dynamic Range Scenes

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My apologies, but as a result of a move to a new hosting company this article is no longer available. I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to recreate it or a replacement eventually.

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

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Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains

Morning, Death Valley Dunes and Funeral Mountains. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Photograph of curving Death Valley Dunes in morning light with the Funeral Mountains in the background.

Perhaps closer to the classic “dune photographs” from this area, shot along the top of one of the highest dunes with the line of the dune summit leading toward the Funeral Mountains along the east side of Death Valley. I hadn’t actually intended to shoot a scene like this one, but I ended up on top of a rise in the dunes after shooting the area behind them… and one feels almost obligated to photograph a scene like this one when visiting Death Valley. :-)

keywords: death valley, national park, sand, dunes, ripples, waves, curves, desert, funeral, mountains, sky, clouds, hills, stovepipe wells, california, usa, peak, footprints, steps, morning, light, stock, scenic, travel, landscape

Photographs: Death Valley, Photographs: Desert

Death Valley Dunes, Morning

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Death Valley Dunes, Morning

Death Valley Dunes, Morning. Death Valley National Park, California. April 4, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Morning light at Death Valley Dunes near Stovepipe Wells with the lower slopes of Tucki Mountain in the distance.

This is a different version – a landscape orientation, in this case – of a scene that produced one of my favorite photographs from this trip, a black and white portrait orientation photograph of these dunes with Tucki Mountain in the background and clouds above. This color version focuses more on the texture and warm tones of the sunlit sand itself.

keywords: death valley, dunes, national park, tucki, mountain, folds, valleys, waves, ripples, light, shadow, curves, stovepipe wills, sand, desert, light, scenic, travel, landscape, stock, california, usa