Black & White Conversions

 

Lake Superior Provincial Park. Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 22mm, ISO 100, f16 @ 20 seconds, B+W 10-stop Neutral Density Filter

This evening the winter wind is howling outside and snow squalls are rolling through the region, so I decided to play around with converting some older photos to black and white. I have always liked the original color versions of these images but for one reason or another I never did get around to optimizing them. Often when situations like this arise I will open the images into Nik / Google’s Silver Efex Pro 2 for a B&W conversion that suits the scene. In the opening photo, which was created on the shores of Lake Superior near the mouth of the Coldwater River I used a 10-stop neutral density filter to ‘calm‘ the incoming waves and help reveal the boulders beneath the surface. A small crop from the top to evict a rather boring cloudless sky rounded out the image optimization.

In the Georgian Bay scene below that was created in Ontario’s Killbear Provincial Park I used my Tiffen 3-stop neutral density filter to achieve the same calming effect on the bay, which allows us to focus our attention on the foreground rocks, which received a light-handed dose of Nik / Google’s Detail Extractor from Color Efex

Georgian Bay at Killbear Provincial Park. Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 18mm, ISO 100, f16 @ 5 seconds. Tiffen 3-stop Neutral Density Filter

After creating the above scene on Georgian bay I simply turned around to create one of the terrain that was behind me. Killbear Provincial Park is noted for its spectacular vistas of Georgian Bay and the rugged granite shoreline is wonderful for both color and B&W images.

Rugged Terrain at Killbear Provincial Park. Nikon D800, Sigma 15mm EX DG f2.8 Fisheye Lens, ISO 400, f16 @ 1/200.

And finally below is an older capture created on the Sixteen Mile Creek at Hilton Falls Conservation Area upstream from Hilton Falls. This lovely river and waterfall are situated on the Niagara Escarpment. Many of the waterfalls and rivers of the Niagara Escarpment are best viewed in early spring when water levels are typically high.

Sixteen Mile Creek in Hilton Falls Conservation Area. Nikon D800, Nikon 18-35mm lens @ 24mm. ISO 100, f16 @ 1.3 seconds, Nikon Neutral Polarizing Filter

Please do remember to click on each image to view the larger, sharper version.

On another note: I am now active on Intsagram. You can connect with me on Intsagram at MCLACHLANWILD. I have also added an Instagram widget to the sidebar of the blog for easy access. Hope to see you over at Instagram too 🙂

 

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Over the Top at Hilton Falls

As mentioned in my previous post, after photographing the old, rusted out cars and trucks in Rockwood, Ontario I made a brief visit to nearby Hilton Falls on Sixteen Mile Creek. This lovely waterfall is one of the many waterfalls that are found along the Niagara Escarpment and is located in the Hilton Falls Conservation Area.. When photographing waterfalls it is always wise to create images from several different perspectives.  One of the perspectives I am particularly fond of is that which can be created at the crest of the falls, looking over the edge. To photograph the scene above I chose to work from a narrow ledge beside the river at the crest of the falls. I excluded most of the surrounding forest due to the significant leaf fall, opting to include as much of the river’s flow pattern as possible. I did retain enough of the far bank and the brink of the cascade to maintain a sense of place in the resulting image. Hope you like the results 🙂

Please remember to click on the image to see the larger, sharper version.

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Hilton Falls

Here is an archived photograph from Hilton Falls taken this past spring. Hilton Falls is one of the many waterfalls found along the Niagara Escarpment. The Niagara Escarpment is a UNESCO World Biosphere. This particular waterfall can be found in the Hilton Falls Conservation Area in the Halton Hills region near Milton, Ontario. I arrived at this location just after noon to bright sunny skies and harsh lighting conditions. There was the odd cloud in the sky so I decided to walk the trail out to the falls. As luck would have it, there were several large clouds moving across the sky that would block the sun long enough for me to make several exposures in more favorable light. This image is my favorite from the day. I like how this image due to the waterfall being centered within the vertical axis of  the frame while the escarpment cliffs draw the viewer to the cascading water. I also placed the cascade a little higher on the horizontal axis so that the river would be dominate the foreground.

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