DPP Assignment 3 - Monochrome

For this, the third assignment, we were asked to produce between 5 and 10 photographs , in black-and-white,  on a theme chosen by ourselves. Considering the requirements "to bring out the monochrome image qualities of form, tonal contrast and texture", I decided on a set of images around the theme of 'Canal Bridges' which I could take within 200 metres of where I live. This appealed to me because of the opportunity to explore the different shapes of the various structures as well as their composition. The day on which I took the photographs had total cloud cover but I was able to use reflections off the water in many of the compositions.

All shots were taken in Raw with the camera LCD screen set to Monochrome so that I was able to check the image and histogram before moving to the next location. In post-production (using Lightroom 3), I first set the white and black points and adjusted the white balance of each image before making my b and w conversion. After the Lightroom adjustments, I opened the images in Photoshop to set sRGB via 'Convert to Profile' and saved the images as jpegs.



1. Malt House (f/5.6, 1/200sec, ISO 400 @ 73mm. Canon 70 - 200mm f/4 L lens).

The first shot was taken towards the Malt House pub. I waited for some figures to walk across the bridge and along the tow path. I felt that the contrast in the ironwork of the bridge would work well in black and white. The histogram has a very large tonal range with a strong spike on the right. I used the black and white mix sliders in Lightroom to increase the contrast, with the main changes being in the red (to plus 93) and the blue (to minus 36). I made a slight increase with the Contrast slider also.

2. Broad Street Bridge and Tunnel (f/5.6, 1/640 sec, ISO 1000 @ 145mm. Canon 70 - 200mm f/4 L lens)

The image of the Broad St tunnel is another with a large tonal range but here there are spikes at both the dark and light ends of the histogram. Here, I was attracted to the reflection of the sky under the bridge which I felt would give me strong contrast with the dark brickwork and bridge reflection. I adjusted the Raw image using the black and white mix sliders - principally orange (plus 36) for the brickwork, green (plus 48) to increase contrast along the sides of the canal and blue (plus 48) to lighten the clothing of the figure on the left. There was a slight tweaking of the Contrast slider also.

3. Sheepcote Street Brickwork (f/5.6, 1/60secs, ISO 400 @15mm. Tamron 11-16mm lens)

I wanted to take at least one close-up image giving detail of the brickwork found in the construction of these old canal bridges. Here, using a wide angle lens almost parallel to the face of the bricks, I have tried to capture the texture of the different bricks (and all seemed different from each other). The histogram shows Again, this image has a wide tonal range but strong mid-tones rather than spikes at each end so that I could not rely on blacks and whites within the image to give me the impact I sought. Instead, the texture was emphasised using the B&W sliders with the orange (minus 68) and yellow (minus 68) bringing out the dark and light tones respectively and then using the Contrast slider to plus 79.

4. Miniature Boat through bridge (f/5.6, 1/60secs, ISO 400 @70mm. Canon 70 - 200mm f/4 L lens)

This miniature boat is permanently moored and can be seem through the archway of this footbridge. I was attracted by the almost perfect reflection of the bridge and boat and, as the boat is blue, I knew I would be able to choose between a bright and dark tone using the b&w mix blue slider in Lightroom. The water trail left by the duck was a bonus but has added to the image both by adding some interesting light shape but as a lead into the bridge/boat. In the event, I lightened the tone of the boat by pushing the blue slider to plus 32 although, clearly, it could have been lightened further but this would have been too much, in my view. The orange slider (to plus 66) lightened the brickwork on the wall through the bridge, behind the boat, and this helps the contrast.

5. 'Paddington' towards Sheepcote Street Bridge (f/5.6, 1/125secs, ISO 400 @ 15mm. Tamron 11 - 16mm lens)

Another wide-angle lens shot towards Sheepcote St bridge with the working canal boat 'Paddington' in the foreground. I wanted to include the boat both to anchor the shot and because the red paintwork would give me some flexibility in deciding on the tone to use when converting it to black and white. The histogram shows a wide tonal range but with a spike on the right. In post-processing, I decided to use a dark tone (red at minus 34) to give contrast when compared to the sky and the patches of snow. I used the blue slider at minus 55 to tone down some of the brightness in the water.

6. Crossing from the NIA (f/5.6, 1/1000secs, ISO 400 @ 16mm. Tamron 11-16mm lens)

This wide-angle shot was taken at the junction of two footbridges and I liked the reflections in the wet surface as I was walking up the slope. As I didn't have a tripod, I set my camera on the ground with a 10 second delay. I was aware of two people approaching from the right and hoped that I had timed the exposure so that they would be in the shot. I was delighted with the result above. The main adjustments were aqua to minus 91, to darken the light green fence, and red (to plus 61) to slightly lighten the brickwork and the young woman's shopping bag. I was in two minds with the red slider; a minus setting giving a stronger contrast. I had to make some 'noise' adjustment to the final image.

7. Brewmasters Bridge Staircase (f/5.6, 1/40secs, ISO 1000 @ 70mm. Canon 70 - 200mm f/4 L lens)

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The appeal of this image was the staircase but also the different colour bricks which, I hoped, would show up well in black and white. The histogram showed a wide tonal range with a concentration of high tonal contrast towards the dark end. I was able to bring out the pattern of the brickwork with a mixture of red (plus 61) and orange (minus 73).

8. Looking North (f/5.6, 1/250secs, ISO 400 @ 70mm. Canon 70 - 200mm f/4 L lens)

This final image looks towards the north from the junction of three canals. To the left is the National Indoor Arena and, to the right, the Malt House pub. In this image, as well as the footbridge, I liked the various reflections and the different shapes and tones of the buildings on either side of the canal. I waited until there were some figures using the bridge. I accentuated the reflections, and darkened the roof-tops, using the blue slider at minus 95 and then added contrast.




Conclusions


Overall, I am pleased with the results of this assignment and the fact that I was able to find a variety of suitable subjects close at hand. I had never used the black and white mix sliders before this module and they certainly provide a way of giving different possibilities for each image. For example, the brickwork texture really benefited from conversion to black and white.

I will certainly study the use of black and white in greater detail, using both Lightroom techniques and through wider study (I recently bought 'Black and White - from Snapshots to Great Shots' by John Batdorff  - Peachpitt Press 2012 which I find very informative, so far). Perhaps I will consider additional sofware (e.g. Silver Effex Pro 2 - which seems to be well recommended) but only after more practice taking photographs, in different lighting conditions and with different types of subjects. This is certainly another of those areas where the truism "the more you know, the more you realise you don't know" applies!