*** August Photo Contest Theme - "In Black And White" ***

[HappyCynic]

The August photo contest theme is: In Black and White

The photo submitted can be of any subject, as long as the photo is in black and white. Sepia will not be accepted.

To convert a photo to black and white, just adjust the "Saturation" all the way down. For example, using GIMP, select "Hue-Saturation" from the "Colors" menu, grab the saturation slider, and move it all the way to the left (the value should read -100).

For those who don't do much if any black and white, the main thing to keep in mind is that black and white emphasizes contrast and texture. Something that might be an eyesore due to too many bright colours or something that isn't very colourful could work really well as a black and white photo.

Here's an example. It's not a great photo but will help illustrate the point. The first photo is in full colour:



For me, there are too many distractions in this photo: the red in the top left, the redhead at the bottom, the bright grass patch on the right, the red and black patch on the blue knapsack, etc.

Here's the photo in black and white:



Notice how all the colour distractions are much reduced or gone. Many of the background elements have receded more into the background due to the softer focus while the performer's arms, shoulder, and head, which are in sharper focus, stand out more.

Hope this helps.

Submissions will begin August 16. So, get shooting and experimenting! And above all, have fun!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. thanks. good luck, all.

[Earth_First]

2. Looking forward to submitting this month...

Have fun!

[Mz Pip]

3. Here's another technique to convert to B&W

If you have Photoshop you can get quite a bit of control using the Channel Mixer.

http://video.about.com/graphicssoft/black-and-white-photo-making.htm

[HappyCynic]

4. Reminder: One more week to submissions

One more week before submissions start. I hope everyone's having fun with black and white and I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone submits.

[HappyCynic]

5. Final reminder before submissions

It's the last weekend before the submissions thread goes up on Tuesday. Hope you're all enjoying the theme.

[handmade34]

6. enjoying black and white