Back to my roots

HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
edited April 16, 2011 in Wildlife
Hi Y'all,

Before I moved to Florida and started to shoot wildlife I did mostly street photography in NYC. I frequently described the move as being in the movie "The Wizard of OZ" where Dorothy was transported from a B&W world into the colorful land of Oz.

I just processed a bunch of captures as I try to eliminate my backlog of files in order to clear the decks for my forthcoming Africa trip. I find that anytime I process a large number of captures I start to process my images mechanically and basically process all the images just as I processed the preceding hundred images.

It tends to get a tad boring and I don't give full consideration to the possibilities of each individual image. Trying to break out of this rut I went back to something I used frequently with my street images but that I almost never use with my wildlife images, B&W conversions.

Here are a few of those images, converted to B&W using Nik's marvelous Silver Efex Pro PS plug in. The images were obtained with my brand new D3s and my D3 with the 70-200 2.8 and the 200-400 f4 lenses.

1237675152_MXzRj-XL.jpg

1237687526_tXLBs-XL.jpg

1237695391_UFkp7-XL.jpg

1237697394_EGxS8-XL.jpg

1237686634_yiBf3-XL.jpg
Harry
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"

Comments

  • dlplumerdlplumer Registered Users Posts: 8,081 Major grins
    edited April 3, 2011
    Great work. I knew you were a street photographer in a previous life. I love Silver Effex Pro. Did you upgrade to Silver Effex Pro 2?
    Dan
    http://danielplumer.com/
    Facebook Fan Page
  • MaestroMaestro Registered Users Posts: 5,395 Major grins
    edited April 3, 2011
    I'd say the B&W conversion worked very well showing the breeding plumage..nice poses.
    Stephen
    www.capture-the-pixel.com

  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 3, 2011
    dlplumer wrote: »
    Great work. I knew you were a street photographer in a previous life. I love Silver Effex Pro. Did you upgrade to Silver Effex Pro 2?


    Thanks Dan. That upgrade is high on my buy list. However since I just got the D3s and I have some other items for Africa in my quey I will have to hold on that one for awhile.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 3, 2011
    Maestro wrote: »
    I'd say the B&W conversion worked very well showing the breeding plumage..nice poses.

    Thanks Stephen, the images with the breeding plumage did seem to wrok well with the B&W treatment. I haven't been that lucky with flight shots yet but I'm working on it.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited April 3, 2011
    Wow, Harry, that B&W is just great for showing off those lacy plumes, which you just captured perfectly! Best, Pam
  • FlyNavyFlyNavy Registered Users Posts: 1,350 Major grins
    edited April 3, 2011
    Simply perfect!
    http://jmledy.com/


    http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003085685580
  • JimW396JimW396 Registered Users Posts: 64 Big grins
    edited April 4, 2011
    Very nice Harry. Thank you for sharing.
    Jim Wilkinson
    www.WaterIslandPhotos.com
  • Ann McRaeAnn McRae Registered Users Posts: 4,584 Major grins
    edited April 4, 2011
    Really nice - especially the last one.

    The second last one has some funky background or bokeh that just pulls me away from the bird. Not sure if it is an artifact or something you could take care of or not. ne_nau.gif

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  • korandokekorandoke Registered Users Posts: 517 Major grins
    edited April 4, 2011
    very nice serie harry

    kind regards,
    Korandoke
    Best regards,
    Korandoke
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 5, 2011
    PGM wrote: »
    Wow, Harry, that B&W is just great for showing off those lacy plumes, which you just captured perfectly! Best, Pam

    Thanks Pam those captures were good candidates for a B&W conversion.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • jackiejayjackiejay Registered Users Posts: 714 Major grins
    edited April 5, 2011
    All of these are so beautiful and beautifully done.
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,940 moderator
    edited April 5, 2011
    I think the B&W shows the detail in the feathers much better than color. I really like the contrast in each of them too.
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 5, 2011
    FlyNavy wrote: »
    Simply perfect!

    Thank you very much
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • raptorcaptorraptorcaptor Registered Users Posts: 3,968 Major grins
    edited April 6, 2011
    I really like your black and white photography, Harry! clap.gif
    Glenn

    My website | NANPA Member
  • kdogkdog Administrators Posts: 11,681 moderator
    edited April 6, 2011
    Congrats on the new cam, Harry. Great shots, and the conversions are extremely cool.
    Moderator of Landscapes forum
    Link to my Smugmug site
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 8, 2011
    Ann McRae wrote: »
    Really nice - especially the last one.

    The second last one has some funky background or bokeh that just pulls me away from the bird. Not sure if it is an artifact or something you could take care of or not. ne_nau.gif

    Thanks Ann, the BG on the second one may be due to cloning as there were originally another egret back there.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 8, 2011
    JimW396 wrote: »
    Very nice Harry. Thank you for sharing.
    korandoke wrote: »
    very nice serie harry

    kind regards,
    Korandoke
    jackiejay wrote: »
    All of these are so beautiful and beautifully done.

    Thanks y'all for taking the time to comment.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 9, 2011
    ian408 wrote: »
    I think the B&W shows the detail in the feathers much better than color. I really like the contrast in each of them too.

    Thanks Ian, the feather detail in the B&W conversions was the reason for the conversion.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • PeterBirdPeterBird Registered Users Posts: 84 Big grins
    edited April 9, 2011
    Wonderful pictures! i'm sure they would have been great in colour,too, but B&W really adds to the impact!
    Peter
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 9, 2011
    raptorcaptor wrote: »
    I really like your black and white photography, Harry! clap.gif

    Thanks Glenn, it was a nicechange of pace.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • Ric GrupeRic Grupe Registered Users Posts: 9,522 Major grins
    edited April 10, 2011
    I never understood the love for b&w. headscratch.gif

    Maybe that's because everybody had a color tv before we did! :cry

    That being said...I still think that #3 is a very striking image. thumb.gif
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 10, 2011
    Ric Grupe wrote: »
    I never understood the love for b&w. headscratch.gif

    Maybe that's because everybody had a color tv before we did! :cry

    That being said...I still think that #3 is a very striking image. thumb.gif

    Hey Ric,

    With wildlife color is normally the way to go but there are times when B&W is a viable option. In most of these the shot is about the egrets and their feathers.

    Going with B&W focuses the attention on the subject and one isn't distracted by the greens of the foliage or the blue of the sky. Also the feathers stand out much more clearly than they do in the color version.

    Also since I used to do mainly street photography where I used B&W frequently, I miss shooting B&W and here was a too rare opportunity to do some B&W again. In short it was fun. :D

    Here are the color versions for comparison
    1237674649_nEy6C-XL.jpg


    1237687465_BmCaX-XL.jpg

    1237695062_VZ3ns-XL.jpg


    1237697058_qVEXA-XL.jpg

    1237686252_J6T5P-XL.jpg
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 11, 2011
    kdog wrote: »
    Congrats on the new cam, Harry. Great shots, and the conversions are extremely cool.

    Thanks Joel. I'm very happy with the D3s, it addreses all the quibbles I had with the D3.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • LindiweLindiwe Registered Users Posts: 606 Major grins
    edited April 12, 2011
    These images are stunning in colour as well as in black and white. I'm not usually a fan of wildlife in B&W, but these absolutely work. Fantastic!
    clap.gif
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2011
    PeterBird wrote: »
    Wonderful pictures! i'm sure they would have been great in colour,too, but B&W really adds to the impact!
    Peter

    Thanks Peter, I felt that they would have more impact in color.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • Osprey WhispererOsprey Whisperer Registered Users Posts: 3,803 Major grins
    edited April 13, 2011
    Nice series Harry. Always enjoy B&W images. SPent most of my life and all of my early days shooting B&W (film). More dramatic IMO. Got to love that old Kodak Tri-x grain. :-)
    Mike McCarthy

    "Osprey Whisperer"

    OspreyWhisperer.com
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 16, 2011
    Lindiwe wrote: »
    These images are stunning in colour as well as in black and white. I'm not usually a fan of wildlife in B&W, but these absolutely work. Fantastic!
    clap.gif

    Thanks, tehse were one of teh few times that I felt B&W to be the way to go with wildlife images.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited April 16, 2011
    Osprey Whisperer wrote: »
    Nice series Harry. Always enjoy B&W images. SPent most of my life and all of my early days shooting B&W (film). More dramatic IMO. Got to love that old Kodak Tri-x grain. :-)

    Thanks Mike, its always good to do some B&W
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
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