Monday, April 26, 2021

Split Toning


When I posted the above re-edited photo last week, I didn't post the bw version that I had also made at that time.


While it does get a pass, I didn't and still don't like it as much as the colour version, so I neither printed nor posted it.

Later however, I decided to apply just a wee bit of split toning to the bw version. Very slightly, I added blue to the shadows and orange to the highlights. I think it adds just enough more life to make the photo more interesting.


Most would probably not notice the split toning if they hadn't been made aware, but it did make a positive difference — to my old eyes, at least.

I might even consider printing it at some future point.

The main thing with bw photos, IMO, is to not post bws adjacent to the colour photo as I do here and often. It's best to let them stand or fall on their own merit. 

I should heed my own advice, but that's no fun.



13 comments:

  1. The last black & white version sets quite a moody tone, which is good. In this photo the B/W gives the equipment added weight, makes if feel more powerful to match the river's flow. (IMO) :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the wildness of the river in the foreground, and man's small attempt to master it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like the tweak--though I am so fond of color that I rarely try B&W.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the softness of the water against the hard structure.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I see what you mean in the last shot...but do appreciate it more with your having told me, and showed me, what you'd done.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I never understood what split toning meant although it is available in my software. I have problems with BW photos. It has to do with composition and I think the simpler photos make better BW photos.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I do like what you've done, although the color version preserves the lacy "interest" of the trees in the background.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I do like all three images, but I do especially appreciate the look of the third one.... it has a "sepia-tone" black and white quality to it that seems perfect for the scene. And, it also looks like the perfect image for an "old-timey" photograph from perhaps the 1870s or so!

    Very beautiful work (as always).

    PipeTobacco

    ReplyDelete
  9. Subtle, but very much "there" once you explained the difference to me. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hard to,see subtle colour on a small,scree. But with this photo, the colour version has excellent subtle tones that I think you lose in the b and w. Sometimes juxtaposing both versions does work though just as it is sometimes possible to advantageously split an infinitive.
    (Can you tell I am bored tonight?)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Not that your photography ever bores me. Didn't mean it that way.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I like all three takes.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I can see a difference, but not sure about whether I like it more or not. On the fence a bit here.

    ReplyDelete