Black and White Photos

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

I don't think it has been done here, and if it has, please point me in the right direction.
However, I thought it might be interesting to start a thread on Digital Black and White photos.
The rules are simple,

• Take a photo with your digital device, set to Black and White, or using a B/W Photo app on your iPhone.
• No touching up, just as is.
• No converting a colour photo to B/W.

This was taken on my iPhone 7 (yes, I know, they still used valves (vacuum tubes) then...) with the Lenka app.
The subject is a Paperbark Gum Tree in the Mount Annan Botanical Gardens, just over the road from where I live.
The time is late(ish) afternoon.

 

[mollyc]

No touching up, just as is.

Why can't we "touch up"? I shoot raw on my cameras, so my images default to color. Therefore I do have to edit them to convert to bw.

I don't think we've ever had a "no touching up" rule before.

 

[r.harris1]

The criteria seem arbitrarily limiting given the thread title . Just to clarify, unless you have an imaging device without a color filter array (most of us don't as they are specialist and pricey), you're still shooting with full color information being recorded in the raw data and having the camera convert it for you in the cooked JPEG (doing what you would normally do in post processing). The conversion in camera uses whatever the manufacturer thinks makes a good conversion from color to B&W and spits it out without a lot of creative control on the part of the photographer.

Maybe consider altering your criteria or changing the thread title to be more specific to what you're after. A lot of us shoot raw and do the conversions ourselves rather than accepting manufacturer defaults, which are usually pretty bland. Were you thinking iPhone/mobile only?

 

[Clix Pix]

Why not post this in the Pictures Gallery area, or the iPhone area, where you're more likely to find people who shoot without "touching up?"

Most of us here in the Digital Photography section use actual digital cameras for the majority of our shooting, and therefore we shoot in RAW and then by necessity do go into an editing program and work with our image -- and at times will convert to B&W as well, either in that same editing program or use an additional one. For instance, when I shoot something that I decide will look more interesting in B&W I do the initial work on it first, and then go into Silver Efex, which I have as a plug-in in my DXO Photolab 4 editing program, and do the conversion there, then return to the main DXO Photolab to finish up any other little details.

 

[Steven-iphone]

This might be good for B/W film, and there may be a thread for that

 

[Allyance]

Too restrictive, must original shot on digital camera? I have been shooting B&W for over 50 years, for example, a 4x5 black & white original shot while was in photography at RIT in the mid sixties.

Saved with slight sepia tone to match age of building.

 

[Allyance]

Esperanza Mansion today after complete renovation into Luxury Hotel and Restaurant.

 

[Allyance]

Looks like he has given up on this idea.

 

[mollyc]

Looks like he has given up on this idea.

well we can just repurpose it with “normal” rules. ? digital conversions, regular editing, and/or film.

 

[Allyance]

That would work.

 

[MacNut]

Unless you are shooting with black and white film there will be touch up no matter what.

 

[Steven-iphone]

A coup in the works

 

[Allyance]

I never forgave myself for selling that car.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Taking a colour image and turning it into b/w is the same as taking b/w films and colourising them.

Taking black and white photos is a different art from taking colour photos, which is why I proposed it.

And I am quite happy for scanned B/W photos to be included.

 

[mollyc]

Taking a colour image and turning it into b/w is the same as taking b/w films and colourising them.

Taking black and white photos is a different art from taking colour photos, which is why I proposed it.

And I am quite happy for scanned B/W photos to be included.

anyone who shoots raw shoots in color by definition. only a handful of cameras will import the camera profile. most of the time you HAVE to convert in post.

 

[MacNut]

Taking a colour image and turning it into b/w is the same as taking b/w films and colourising them.

Taking black and white photos is a different art from taking colour photos, which is why I proposed it.

And I am quite happy for scanned B/W photos to be included.

There is no camera in the world that only takes black and white photos. The only way to accomplish this is with B&W native film stock.

 

[mollyc]

There is no camera in the world that only takes black and white photos. The only way to accomplish this is with B&W native film stock.

actually that’s not true. it’s a little pricey though.

Details

Leica M Monochrom Typ 246

us.leica-camera.com

 

[MacNut]

actually that’s not true. it’s a little pricey though.

Details

Leica M Monochrom Typ 246

us.leica-camera.com

Im curious the results from a native B&W camera vs adjusting in post. I'd imagine the black levels are better.

 

[Steven-iphone]

There is no camera in the world that only takes black and white photos. The only way to accomplish this is with B&W native film stock.

The other Leica, Q2 Monochrom

Or another digital camera that had been converted to IR.

The OP is looking at a digital niche market.

 

[Clix Pix]

I have seen images from the Leica Q2 Monochrom and they are gorgeous! Absolutely wonderful in how the tonality, balance of shadows and light, and other elements, are handled. Anyone who is a true B&W aficionado who has the $$$$ to spend on this camera would not be sorry. It is truly a gem.

 

[Steven-iphone]

I have seen images from the Leica Q2 Monochrom and they are gorgeous! Absolutely wonderful in how the tonality, balance of shadows and light, and other elements, are handled. Anyone who is a true B&W aficionado who has the $$$$ to spend on this camera would not be sorry. It is truly a gem.

The tonal range of the Q2 Monochrom is beautiful -- Ansel Adams might blush.

Leica Q2 Monochrom Review - The Ultimate Monochrome Camera!

I’m thrilled with the Leica Q2 Monochrom. I’m finally able to capture images with contrast and rich tones similar to black and white film.

www.leicaphotoworkshops.com

"You will not adjust the black and white images you capture with the Leica Q2 Monochrom like you do when converting color images to black and white. Since there are no color channels in a grayscale image, you will have to rely on traditional black and white photography techniques like color filters to alter your Leica Q2 Monochrom images’ light and contrast."

 

[Clix Pix]

Someone on another forum, a photography-based one in which I hang out, who is participating in a group month-long shooting project with many of us, is using the Leica Q2 Monochrom and his images in terms of tonality and overall image quality are just stunning. His images in B&W blow the socks off any of the B&W conversions that many of the rest of us have utilized from time to time during this project. Not to say that any of the B&W conversions are bad or not good, mind you -- but the quality of the images coming out of that Q2 Monochrom has been just astonishing and quite distinctive.

 

[r.harris1]

The other Leica, Q2 Monochrom

Or another digital camera that had been converted to IR.

The OP is looking at a digital niche market.

And the OP’s image is a color converted B&W.

 

[Steven-iphone]

And the OP’s image is a color converted B&W.

BlackAndWhiteGate
The Senate hearings are next.

 

[Clix Pix]

The OP seems much more interested in images shot with an iPhone, rather than with actual digital cameras....which is why I had earlier suggested that he would get more responses if he started a thread in the iPhone section or the Photo Gallery section. Of course, even when using an iPhone to shoot something, it is not unlikely that someone will also turn to "touching it up" as well with one of the filters so conveniently provided.... That is somewhat different, of course, than someone who shoots an image with a digital camera and then works with the RAW image in post-processing to create the final output.