Mono Images with Impact

-
As a long time user of Nik Color Efex Pro 4 software, which is a plug in filter system for Photoshop and Lightroom, I had a nice surprise in my email inbox when I was offered the full Nik software suite for free, which included the Silver Efex Pro 2 package.  I tested this software last year and it converts colour images from colour to black and white, with several creative effects quickly available. 
Being a traditional photographer who started his career producing black and white images in the darkroom, I like using photoshop in the traditional way by dodging and burning manually.  The Silver Efex package is very good but I couldn't justify spending £160 on the software.  However as I now have it for free I can now produce mono images a lot faster and easier using Silver Efex.

Here are some examples of how I use Silver Efex, the first shot is the converted mono image and the second is the original colour image.






-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION

If you like what you see on this blog please visit our Facebook page and click 'like'

MORE IMAGES CAN BE VIEWED ON FLICKR AND ON OUR WEBSITE

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

REVIEW: The New Fujinon 2x Converter

-
Image
Yesterday Fujifilm launched the latest edition to the Fujinon XF lens line up, the XF 2X TC WR teleconverter for use with the XF50-140mm f2.8 and XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 zoom lenses.  In April I was invited by Fujifilm to test the new converter and here are my thoughts on this new lens. Before I go into details I need to be upfront about something.  I've never been a fan of 2x converters because the optical quality of the lens is usually affected to a large degree.   I did have a 1.4x and 2x converter for my lenses when I was shooting with Nikon. While the 1.4x converter was regularly attached to my long f2.8 lenses, the 2x converter was probably used about three times in the 18 years I used Nikkor lenses.  I didn't like the results when using the converter so tended to not use it. Anyway back to the X-Series!  The 1.4x Fujinon converter was launched in 2015 and I have been a fan of this diminutive lens attachment on both the 50-140mm and 100-400mm....
Read more

REVIEW: Using Nikon Lenses on a Fuji X Camera

-
Image
I've been using the Fujifilm X-Pro1 for the past month and I haven't enjoyed my photography so much since I bought the Fuji X100 12 months earlier.  The only issue I have with the X-Pro1 is the lack of a long telephoto lens.  The longest lens I have is the 60mm f2.4, which is the equivalent of a 90mm telephoto; it's a great lens but I sometimes wish my Fuji system had a bit more pulling power.   Fuji have provided the X system with a telephoto zoom, the 55-200mm f3.5 / f4.8 R LM OIS and I will be testing this lens next week for three days. I will be showing the results on this blog. However my Nikon kit has one of the best short telephoto zooms in the world, the Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 AF-D.  I bought this lens brand new in 1996 for £1600.00 and it has been a faithful companion ever since. I've bought and sold plenty of SLRs / DSLRs in the past 18 years but I've never felt the need to upgrade the 80-200mm because it is still optically the best lens I own and it ha...
Read more

Comparison: Fujinon 16mm f1.4 v Fujinon 18mm f2

-
Image
The small but perfectly formed Fujinon XF18mm f2R has been the lens I have used the most since I bought it in 2013.  The fast f2 aperture along with the small size and 27mm equivalent angle of view makes the 18mm f2 my 'go to' lens.   However has the new 16mm f1.4 usurped this position?  The slightly wider 24mm equivalent focal length is one that I used to have when I used film cameras and for landscapes it is a great lens to have in the bag.  But how different is the 18mm and 16mm?  Is that 2mm going to make a huge amount of difference?  and will that extra stop on the aperture compensate for the difference in the physical size of the 16mm compared to the 18mm?  I went for a walk along the coastal path in Dunbar down to the harbour and took there shots with the X-T10 fitted with the 18mm f2 and my X-T1 fitted with the 16mm f1.4.  As usual for this blog I need to point out that this is NOT a technical test, I don't do that, I just report...
Read more