Its not all black & white

[markyboy.1967]

Ok, just a thought here. I hardly ever do any black and white images of wildlife as i seldom see any that really work better than the colour versions.

Have you did any black and white images that work really well, it so then post it here. It should be wild and free and not captive and you can post the B&W plus the Colour version if you want.

 

[BillN_33]

Burchell's Zebra

 

[markyboy.1967]

Bill do you have the original version a well?

 

[BillN_33]

Bill do you have the original version a well?

probably needs just a little more processing - maybe I can see a touch of magenta in the blacks

- but it is full frame from the back of a land cruiser with a Nikon 300mm f4 - D720 - ISO 1100

 

[markyboy.1967]

Still prefer the colour image Bill but as you say a little more processing.Of all the animals the zebra would be best in black and white though..lol

 

[BillN_33]

Still prefer the colour image Bill but as you say a little more processing.Of all the animals the zebra would be best in black and white though..lol

I usually quote this guy and another

http://nickbrandt.inheritthedust.com

- you can buy his book for £30 on EBay ........ but I have still to figure out how he processes his images

 

[BillN_33]

Here's another

I have been trying to process B & W wildlife shots all year

 

[sphexx]

I like colour photos of wildlife as much as anybody but I think it's possible to argue that they are just pretty pictures of wildlife as we view them and that monochrome is needed to see the reality (I mean the rawness, terror, hunger etc) of the lives of wild animals -- more like the work of Don McCullin, referenced elsewhere today, than most wildlife photos. +1 for Nick Brandt as Bill mentioned.

 

[markyboy.1967]

I think that the black and white can work well with shots of animals in their environment etc, like migrating animals in Africa etc or already dranatic scenes but it could be argued they are better in full colour.

 

[crofter]

It's all about colour for me,I'm not a photographer though,I'm a wildlife enthusiast that owns a camera,I see in colour,I like to see the beautiful tones and shades of colour that make up a wildlife scene, plumage of birds in particular,capturing these are not easy as the light is seldom perfect,for me it's something to bring home after a day out in the field.

 

[BillN_33]

 

[markyboy.1967]

That looks nice Bill, some nice tones.

 

[BillN_33]

That looks nice Bill, some nice tones.

taken with a compact Mark - Nikon V1 + kit lens - bought used cost me £100, if I remember correctly

 

[nc_killie]

That looks nice Bill, some nice tones.

+1.and i am from a fill the frame with the bird/animal/ whatever! Wonderful tones compliment the composition IMHO

 

[BillN_33]

Here's one I took years ago with an old Tamron zoom + Pentax K100D

 

[markyboy.1967]

It may be that the best b&w nature images are those that are more about the landscape with the bird/animal very small in the screen to portray drama in the image which B&W inages seem to have.

 

[rob-nikon]

For black and white wildlife images David Yarrow springs to mind. I saw one of his talks at the NEC last year. What was interesting, other than his use of a 58mm for African wildlife, was his reason for mainly shooting in B&W, it was purely because he felt interior display sales favour black and white over colour, a commerial business decision to cater for a market rather than for photographic purpose.

I've had a try at black and white for Puffins, I don't think they have as much impact as the colour versions but here are the b&w versions.

B&W Puffin by -Rob'81-

B&W Puffin by -Rob'81-

With puffins I feel you see them differently in B&W as the orange beak doesn't draw the eye.

 

[Deleted member 34016]

heres one I tried

DSC01518 Mono by Les Moxon, on Flickr



Les