pontiac1940
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Post by pontiac1940 on Nov 3, 2022 4:19:45 GMT
The first Thursday in the month is when we kick off the month's B&W challenge. Thanks to my wife, this month's challenge will be earth and sky.
Now, many outdoor photos feature both earth and sky. (Take a snapshot of a building and there is likely some sky in the photo.) But I am thinking of photos in which the earth and the sky complement each other. Below are three examples that, to my eyes, show the two helping each other. In each, just the sky could not stand along and, conversely, the lower portions are enhanced because of the sky. The skies could be cloudy, bad storm clouds, a sunset, or even blue sky. See last image. Perhaps a night scene would work. We live in a more rural area than most but we all see earth and sky daily. Perhaps a city scape with an interesting sky or an attractive modern or old building. (I have few city or town photos.) Could be a park. I tend to make conversions by desaturating in ACR and follow that in PSE with Layers> New Adj layer > Gradient map ... with the foreground set to black and the background white. This tends to pop the already B&W photo and allows some fine-tuning of the grays. This last photo has an empty sky. How does that add? To me this sky tells a story: it is cold and that blue sky means we were under a high-pressure system. Make sense? (That's our street in winter.)
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Post by tourerjim on Nov 3, 2022 9:38:27 GMT
Grabbed first picture I found to do quick trial run, I let Raw auto decide and then desaturate, gradient map, new layer filled white, then blend mode soft light, Layer Mask and remove top white area to reveal darker clouds, Levels 20, -95, 232.
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pontiac1940
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Post by pontiac1940 on Nov 3, 2022 13:07:31 GMT
tourerjimThanks for starting this Jim. Lovely pastoral scene with pleasing composition including the curve of the fence posts and placement of the horizon. Nice conversion. Clive
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Post by hmca on Nov 3, 2022 15:40:38 GMT
Two from the archives, Clive. While looking for it I saw that most of my pictures also included water.
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Post by tonyw on Nov 3, 2022 17:27:23 GMT
This one from the archives came to mind - the foreground is a disc golf course just outside Algonquin Provincial Park - in the background is one of the many lakes in the area. Converted to B&W in NIK Silver Efex. The moose is not real! One of several statues in the area. Tony
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Post by hmca on Nov 5, 2022 16:01:17 GMT
Taken in 2009! Zion NP Looking at it, I probably should have tried a sky replacement on the first one.
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VickiD
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Post by VickiD on Nov 5, 2022 21:00:41 GMT
This is a great challenge, Clive! I love what everyone has entered so far. This one might not be the best at fulfilling the challenge, but I love shooting from the Blue Ridge Parkway and this one from one of the overlooks shows why I love it. It was photographed in the morning on a misty day. I think this one fits the spirit of the challenge better...this sky is up there in all its glory with the mountains reaching up to touch it.
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pontiac1940
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Post by pontiac1940 on Nov 5, 2022 21:16:11 GMT
hmca and VickiD Thanks for your earth and sky photos. Both sets work well. I knew where Zion NP was but had to look up the Blue Ridge Parkway. Thanks. Clive
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Post by tonyw on Nov 5, 2022 21:53:02 GMT
I recall stopping to take this one in Algonquin park when I saw the clouds and their reflection in the water along with the rock. There is some earth too and lots of trees! Tony
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Post by Jim on Nov 6, 2022 1:08:41 GMT
One from my files that I shot at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area in Agua Dulce, CA.
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Post by hmca on Nov 6, 2022 2:26:30 GMT
Beautiful composition Jim.
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Post by Jim on Nov 6, 2022 7:24:48 GMT
Beautiful composition Jim. Thanks for your nice comment, Helen.
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Post by Jim on Nov 6, 2022 7:40:10 GMT
the foreground is a disc golf course just outside Algonquin Provincial Park - in the background is one of the many lakes in the area. In the small view I thought I was almost seeing an optical illusion as if the sky was sitting on a bridge or something separating it from the foreground, but after clicking on the largest view I was struck by the way that row of trees really set off those beautiful clouds to their full advantage.
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pete61
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Post by pete61 on Nov 6, 2022 16:42:24 GMT
Heading east on the TransCanada Highway this is a first glimpse of Lake Superior, the largest of the 5 Great Lakes bordering Canada and the U.S. A.
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Post by dandc on Nov 7, 2022 7:23:08 GMT
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