Selective Blending B&W and Color

• Image Processing

I was teaching at the Black Hills Photo Shootout a few years ago and had half a day to kill so I went on a marathon shooting visit to Badlands NP. I have been there many times and like many places you visit over the years, returning can be like you have never been there before with fresh eyes and new perspectives.

The light was not that great when I got there but I shot anyway and it was fall, so there was a tiny bit of color. I like the idea of B&W with some color remaining because it really emphasizes the color when you do this and directs the eye where you want it to go.

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Here’s the Photoshop screen showing the B&W and a mask to brush back the color area which keeps the bush in its original color. I also added contrast with a Curves adjustment and also used High Pass Filter. 

Images From Badlands National Park

• B&W, Image Processing, Nature Photography

I was teaching workshops in South Dakota a few months back and before catching my flight I had the afternoon to kill so I zipped out to Badlands National Park and spent 4 hours shooting.

It is a great park to shoot and I had a great time, albeit brief. I am also a big fan of Topaz software and processed some of the images in B&W Effects from Topaz. The reason i did that was because early in my shooting the sun was quite high and there was haze on the horizon.

When you have the haze it desaturates the sky and is not so appealing. Convert to B&W and the sky is a shade of gray and works much better. Here are some shots: