More B&W techniques

I've been playing around with converting another photo to black and white. This time, I chose a photo of Skipper, my maternal grandparents' Eskie.

Note: You can click on any photo to see it bigger. They all look better that way, I think.

For curiosity's sake, here's the original photo:


I gave the complicated technique I wrote about in my last post one more try:


I was disappointed with how things went in the last step or two of that technique, so I went back and dodged (lightened) his eyes a bit and softened the graininess. I think the results are more pleasing this way:


I also put poor Skipper through yet another technique for transforming color digital photos into B&W. This one uses some functions I haven't tried before, such as the Lab Color mode and the Highpass filter. The author suggests using this method for cityscapes, dramatic scenes, and street photography / photojournalism. Skipper doesn't really fit into any of those categories, but I don't really "do" cityscapes, etc., so I didn't have much to choose from. (g) Anyway, here's the finished photo:


For one final b&w comparison, I put the photo through a simple technique. Convert mode to Grayscale, then apply curves (make whites whiter, blacks blacker-- basically the same kind of curve you see in the tutorial linked above).


And just for fun, I took the image above and changed the mode to Duotone to achieve a sepia effect. I also used the dodge tool to lighten the eyes, which tended to get too dark, in my opinion.


I'm still not sure which black-and-white technique I prefer. . . I'll have to look at them all at the same time to decide. And even then, it probably depends a lot on the particular photo in question.

Who would've thought that "simple" black and white could be be so complicated? ;o)

B&W Three Ways

GoogleReader suggested a blog full of Photoshop tutorials, so I decided to give one of them a try after lunch.

The first tutorial that caught my attention teaches a different way to convert a regular color digital photo into an "old-fashioned" black and white photo that's supposed to look more like a print from film. It's definitely more time-consuming. I'm not sure yet whether or not I think it's worth the extra effort. . .

Here's the same photo with three different B&W treatments. (You can click them to see them bigger.)

First, here's the easy way. Just go to Image > Mode. Select "Grayscale". If it's not quite dark or bright enough for you, a quick fix with Curves fixes that. (I lightened this one a little.) As quick as that, you're done.



The more involved method (which I won't describe here, since you can get it at the link provided above) yields something like this:


It seems to have left behind some color. The grass looks a little green, still, and I'm not sure I like it. . . I used a little less grain than they call for, because it made the grass look "snowy", in this photo.

Finally, I did a little "combo". I don't even remember what all I did. I started with the basic grayscale, but then I played around with a couple of other things, including adding graininess.


Looking at all three of them at the same time, I think I may like the easiest one the best. (g) Maybe this is one of those techniques that works better on some photos than others. Or maybe I just don't know what old-fashioned B&W film prints are supposed to look like. . .

Any opinions?

P.S. The dog in the photo is Kolby, one of my family's Shelties. I think Donald may have taken this one. . .

Fabric Designs

I read this morning about a place that prints fabric with patterns of your own design. The cost is prohibitive, of course. It's supposed to get cheaper with time, but I have a feeling that their idea of cheaper is my idea of no-way-not-happening. ;o) Still, it's pretty neat that the option is even out there.

So then I started looking around at the fabric pattern designs people have posted on Flickr. I'm loving the retro patterns, especially, but I can't help wondering how long those retro looks will be "Oh, cool! It's so retro! This is exactly like the wallpaper I remember from my grandma's 50's-era kitchen!" and transform back into "Ugh! I hate those colors! They're so out-dated! They look. . . old!"

Nothing so fickle as fashion, right?

This was pointless, but oh well. (g)

Happiness (this evening) is. . .

Happiness (this evening) is. . .

• A Molly-dog jumping two or three feet into the air to pop soap bubbles.
• Red beans and rice simmering on the stove, wafting a pleasantly spicy aroma my direction.
• The soft glow of a summer evening lighting up the house from every window. (No electricity necessary.)
• A/C and ceiling fans keeping the house at a comfortable 81 degrees.
  
• Freshly-washed dishes dripping dry by the kitchen sink.
• The familiar whistled melody of The Andy Griffith Show on the television.
• Leisurely adding to my grocery list (with visions of yummy Santa Fe Stew dancing through my head).
  
• Looking forward to supper with a companionable companion.

Ah. . . :o)

Mood-killers

And now I shall treat you to grumpiness, followed by a petulant outburst.
Please do us all a favor and skip this one. ;o)

It's amazing how a pretty decent mood can be ruined with just one or two little things. (sigh)

One of the "little things" is so little that it's not even worth mentioning-- especially since the "perpetrator" may happen to read this. Unlikely, but you never know. Besides, like I said, it's a little thing.

The other is a not-so-little thing-- a political thing-- some weird thing I just happened across that suggests that because of our nation's fiscal irresponsibility, the country could "go into foreclosure". Now, I'm not saying that I think that's actually going to happen, but my defenses were already down, and it managed to put a damper on my mood.

Politicians! Bloggers (in general)!
Stupid people in a stupid world, squabbling over idiotic nonsense.
Why can't they all be perfect, like me? ;o)

Ok, I'm feeling a little better, after that. (g)
Now just a little dish washing to seal the deal. . . ;o)