The Last Light [Canon 5D]
White Sands National Monument May 3, 2009
(click in the image for a larger version)
Here's another image from my trip to White Sands last May. This one started out quite differently: In color, of course, but also much lighter. We often hear that we should do our utmost to preserve shadow details to portray the fullest range of tones possible. But for some photographs, there is more visual power in darkness and contrast, and the rich blackness of the shadows brings more to the image than the details that might be found there.
This image was processed using Lightroom, but for those of you who do not have that program the exact same steps could also have been made in Adobe Camera Raw since they share the same raw processing engine under the hood. My first step was to make the image look good in color, which is what I usually do, even if I know right from the start that I will be using a black & white interpretation, as was the case here. Why? Because I like to have a good, well-adjusted color version of the file in case I ever need one. I also believe that a properly adjusted color image with good contrast is the best starting point for a black & white conversion.
To preserve this version I make a Snapshot of the file with the initial color adjustments (the Snapshot pane is found in the left-hand panel in Lightroom's Develop Module, or the last tab on the right in Camera Raw). You could also create a Virtual Copy in Lightroom, but sometimes a Snapshot is just as good. After applying the Develop settings to make a good color version of the image, I converted to grayscale. Then I just kept pushing it darker and darker using the Exposure and Blacks sliders, as well as the Tone Curve. The darker it got, the more I liked it. A final tweak was made in Photoshop to lighten the sky area just a bit, but overall, turning to the Dark Side worked very well for this photograph.
Here's two views showing what the photo looked upon import and after the initial color adjustments (click in the image to see it larger):
Next Workshop
My next workshop on Creative Collage with Adobe Photoshop is coming up in a little more than a month and takes place in southern New Mexico about an hour's drive from the amazing landscape of White Sands. It's a perfect opportunity to combine a creative Photoshop workshop with a visit to one of the natural wonders of the Southwest!
Creative Collage with Adobe Photoshop
November 5 - 8, 2009, Mesilla Digital Imaging Workshops
Mesilla, New Mexico
Click here for more info
The deadline for signing up for this workshop is fast approaching. If you are interested in learning some of the most essential Photoshop techniques for creating multiple-image collages, sign up soon!
Thought I posted this already, but I'm not seeing it...
Marvelous photo - very moody and stark. It looks like a still frame from "Woman in the Dunes"...
Posted by: Brian Duggan | 02 October 2009 at 08:30 PM