Crocked Leg - Black and White Practice!

All right, all right, I know that three book reviews in a row is a bit much, but my leg still hurts so the closest I've got to taking some pictures is this quick practice at HDR's, with a black and white / sepia conversion!

Too Big To Frame Taken With Fujifilm S5700, Macro, Manual, Processed To HDR With Multiple Exposures (Varying Shutter Speeds), F6.8, ISO 64, Focal Length 6.5mm, On Bricks

So, I was hobbling around the house thinking was sort of static shots I could practice on next, when I thought about my and my Son's R/C cars. I wanted to get that "deep" sort of HDR treatment similar to what I achieved with my still life set. I wanted the pictures to look real, but have that almost painterly look, while outside too.

I didn't achieve quite what I was after, but the shots did give me a chance to practice my Photoshop Black and White conversion techniques, which is always a good thing.


Let's Go Racing! Taken With Fujifilm S5700, Macro, Manual, Processed To HDR With Multiple Exposures (Varying Shutter Speeds), F6.8, ISO 64, Focal Length 6.3mm, Tripod

I used a smaller aperture to get most of the subject in focus, and tried some unusual (for me!) "tipped over" shots. In this shot the car body shell is really bright red, and if you look closely you can see where it has pixelated in the b&w conversion. I've got the crop wrong too. The top of the frame is too close to the filler bottle and fuel container.

I should have taken more thought about the background. The bright wood on the right is distracting, as is the concrete floor.

MT2 Taken With Fujifilm S5700, Macro, Manual, Processed To HDR With Multiple Exposures (Varying Shutter Speeds), F6.3, ISO 64, Focal Length 6.9mm, On Bricks

To make these images I first took a custom white balance to make sure I wouldn't get any strange colour casts. I then chose a smaller aperture to maximise depth of field. I then took a number of exposures in manual mode, starting off with a slightly overexposed shot, working my way down by increasing the shutter speed until I had a really dark shot. Photomatix was used to merge to HDR and tone-map, then Photoshop converted to Black and White with the B&W adjustment layer, but you could just as easily use the channel mixer. I then played around with the settings to get something I liked, and added a sepia tone. I tried to use the burn tool to darken any areas that were too bright and distracting. With the MT2 shot I had to lighten the tyres to make them stand out from the dirt.

I like the fact that I've forced myself to work with more black and white images, and I think the more I practice with the conversion process the better I'll get. My legs are starting to feel better already, so watch out for some outside shots!

Thanks, Rob.