Between monthly contests, let's have a challenge. Here is

[alfredo]

a photo of a cyclocross racer. I feel this image will work in B&W. Let's see your interpretation.

The challenge is to convert the image to black and white, make adjustments, explain what you did, and if you can, why.

[Celebration]

1. How about this?

I tried to make it topical, adding some current events. Is this what you had in mind?

[Mira]

2. You are crackin' me up. Well done.

[alfredo]

5. Ha! That was totally unexpected.

[Mira]

3. Alfredo,

with the entire thread you made me maudlin. All year I have not been on my bike, since on Valentine's day I broke my humerus in two in the left arm.
I loved the photos. Loved your allowing me to "be there". But I was so sad on a personal level I did not speak up.
This one was one of my favorites of the lineup.

I'll dare ride in the spring.
I'm quite healed - finally - but I don't dare to risk stressing that bone. And I do fall off. Often.

[Celebration]

4. I can relate!

I just had pins and screws taken out of my ankle. I am careful.

In the park I saw some sort of bicycle substitute that looked more like a crosstrainer. I might investigate it.

And Alfredo, I DO LOVE YOUR PHOTOS. Otherwise I would not have bothered with my joke.

Truth is, I tried to do a straight answer, and everything I tried was inferior to just a straight conversion to black and white. Go figure! Software wins!

[Mira]

7. You have been very stalwart and non-complaining. A long time under the weather! Congratulations.

I look forward very much to you stalking birds and wonderful other images.

[alfredo]

13. Are the like a stair stepper with moveable handles?

I am happy that you felt you could riff on the image.

[Celebration]

16. your bike rider

looked like a 99% guy to me. I think it is an incredible image.....if they can do it to the most iconic images in the nation, I figured it put your bicyclist in good company.

Anyhow, you have a great sense of humor.

I wasn't happy with what I tried in the normal sense, and I was frustrated that nobody else had tried.

[alfredo]

17. The whole point was to give people a chance to play with their editors.

Play is the important word.

Cycling has long been a working class sport. It was a way for some guy from the village to better himself. Cyclocross began as a fun way to keep in shape during the off season.

[alfredo]

6. My whole lifestyle centered on the bike. Now my feet can't handle

The pedals anymore.

[Mira]

8. Sorry to read that! I'm selfishly grateful your hands around the camera

still work so very well.
:hug:

[alfredo]

10. That's OK. walking is really my preferred form of locomotion.

[BuddhaGirl]

9. Here you go

I did this in Topaz's new Black and White program...I'm not really sure what I'm doing yet LOL

I like your original image very much; it conveys the grit and challenge of the race! :-)

[alfredo]

11. I like that there is still a bit of color. It really catches the eye.

[postatomic]

12. Did this late last night on the laptop

Not sure I like it now that I look at it on my main monitor. I only have PSP on the laptop (with no filters) so I did the best I could doing a 'wash out' of sorts with an additional B&W conversion layer. I wanted it to look cold bleak wet and muddy all at the same time. Was also trying to have more of the movement showing. If you need all the gory details I can provide them.

[alfredo]

14. Whatever you did, you brought out the face. The face is

what makes this image. You recovered the shadows well.

[Johnny Noshoes]

15. My version

I used PSP and Nik Software Plugins. I used Viveza to boost saturation,then Colorefex bleach bypass effect, SilverEfx to go B&W using a green filter setting of 25% and then titanium toned it. I like the graphic effect.

[alfredo]

18. It looks like an old image. That's one thing I was hoping to see. There is a

Timelessness to the subject..Your treatment is almost cinematic.

[NV Whino]

19. I went or the lighten and blur, too

I wanted to make this as bleak as possible.

[BuddhaGirl]

20. Nice!!!

Love the blur!

[Johnny Noshoes]

21. Nice

This has a great feel of speed - I like it.

[alfredo]

22. Very nice image, it draws you to his face.

Here's my effort. I went for a more or less journalistic approach, or more like a photo you'd see in some old sports bar in Belgium. I recovered the shadows a bit using G'mic, and tweaked the curves. I used an Ilford plugin for conversion.

[Stevenmarc]

23. I had to give this one a shot.

First of all I have to say that I miss being able to contribute to the forum but family has to come first.

Now for the conversion, I used Nik Silver Efex Pro and used the red filter to knock down the red tones in the skin so I got more of a contrast between the mud and the skin.

Then I put a control point on the helmet and toned down the brightness so the eyes werent drawn to it before the face. I put another control point on the face and added a touch of contrast and structure. (note on Structure on faces, the cosmetic industry makes billions on products to reduce fine lines so unless you want to make someones skin look like the grand canyon, avoid it)

I put another control point on the torso and bumped up the brightness and another point on the tape and bumped it down a tad. The final point went in the upper right sky to even out the tone.

[alfredo]

24. The helmet is a distraction, you did good. The exertion

really shows on his face. That's why you see so many cycling photos on ascents and sprints.