Black and white

To start off with, I must say, it is a rare thing to see me pull out all the stops with a black and white image. However, not too long ago, a contact of mine, on Flickr, did a light house image and converted it to black and white to create a more dramatic look. I posted a comment on that image, "Oh man, its amazing, how did you get that image to POP?" His response was, "some talent, some PP." Oh, that darn post processing!

Here are the things that I DO know. I know the image was an instant pop for three reasons. The image was taken with a wide lens, and was at close range. The image was taken with a small aperture and a longer exposure. And, the image, during the conversion from color to black and white, had a great deal of depth added to it thanks to contrast. OH, and the clouds, so that makes 4 things that I do know. I waited a LONG time to get my wide lens back from the shop AND a day where I had time off and clouds in the sky. Finally the day came, and I picked up my 4 year old and we ran off to Cabrillo National Monument. The clouds were great! It was very windy and the American flag was wiping around. All in all, a great set up for me and my quest to emulate the image that was my inspiration. And, please, no worries, I am my own photographer, I am not out to COPY others! I was out to put my stamp on the same subject, thats all! :) My goal was to create the depth that my contact friend had accomplished. He spoke of talent along with post processing skills, I hope I have something in there. :)

Please enjoy my image of The Cabrillo National Monument, in San Diego, California. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know that you are here checking out my work!