Tag Archives: monochrome

Photographs: Coastal Redwoods, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Two Fairy Bell Flowers

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Two Fairy Bell Flowers

Two Fairy Bell Flowers. Muir Woods National Monument, California. April 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of a pair of fairy bell wildflowers at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

In this black and white photograph of two fairy bells flowers I decided to go with a very diffused rendition. The color and tonalities of this scene were fairly subtle in many ways – for example, the color of the flowers is only a bit more yellow than that of the leaves. The very soft light on the floor of the redwood forest and the very narrow depth of field created by the close distance, long lens, and large aperture contribute various types and amounts of soft and diffused character to the image. I thought it would be interesting, having done so many realistic wildflower photographs in recent weeks, to try something a bit more abstracted.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: fairy, bells, wildflower, flower, wild, leaf, light, bokeh, blur, branch, plant, foliage, redwood, forest, grove, woods, shade, muir, national, monument, park, golden gate, recreation area, marin, county, california, usa, black and white, monochrome, stock, nature, scenic, travel, petal, branch, Disporum hookerae, Disporum hookeri

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so often you run across an article that offers some unfortunate advice on an important subject – perhaps it offers outdated advice or suggests a less effective technique.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 →

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Trillium Flowers, Muir Woods

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Trillium Flowers, Muir Woods

Trillium Flowers, Muir Woods. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

New trillium flowers blossom on a damp morning near the end of winter at Muir Woods National Monument, California. (Black and white rendition)

Copy of the text posted with the color version of this photograph: “This weekend I visited Muir Woods again – I’m working on building a varied set of photographs from this park. While the previous weekend was more of a typical winter day with overcast and drizzle, this weekend was the first with fair weather after several weeks of rain. Plants and flowers were coming up everywhere and water was flowing everywhere. Among the new flowers were many, many trillium plants, and many were already in bloom.”

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: muir, woods, national, monument, park, marin county, nature, california, usa, winter, wake robin, trillium, redwood, flower, foliage, leaf, stem, three, blossom, bloom, petal, stock, plant, shade, monochrome, black and white

Photographs: Central California

Cypress Tree and Steps

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Cypress Tree and Steps - Point Lobos
Cypress Tree and Steps. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. August 24, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of rock steps leading to a lone cypress tree. Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

I’ve visited this spot many times in the past. It is along a short trail at Point Lobos that leads through the Monterey cypress forest and right along the tops of the coastal cliffs. I’ve always been intrigued by this little section of trail with this carefully constructed stone stairway leading to a small lone cypress right on the edge of the cliff. It was foggy on the day when I made this photo – I set up the camera and tripod and waited for some light to begin to filter through the thinning fog.

keywords: black and white, monochrome, cypress, tree, branch, trunk, steps, stairs, trail, path, rock, boulder, plants, point lobos, state, reserve, california, usa, ocean, park, carmel, monterey, peninsula, travel, scenic, landscape, detail. stock, nature