Digital BW, The Print

In a message dated 4/26/02 9:12:38 AM, jackperk@... writes:

>I was told once that a useful workflow is to shoot color film to 
>produce B&W prints . . . that that procedure offers more control than 
>shooting B&W originally.


More control, but for confirmed B&W shooters, a loss of specific film 
effects, and perhaps a less smooth grain structure, depending on the color 
film used.
>
>Two questions:
>
>1. Do you agree? What is your experience with such workflow?

Works great, and is a good teaching tool too.
>
>2. What do you then find the best way to translate the color to B&W? 
>Selecting on of the channels? Blending channels? Using Grayscale? 

Unless you are familiar with the tools available in Photoshop, and utilize 
them in blending the channels etc... then the whole purpose of this technique 
is lost.

Let me offer an example: I shot a nice Ben and Jerry's type landscape of lush 
green grass, spring green trees, Holstein cows, and a big lilac bush in 
blossom... real Easter bunny stuff. In converting it to B&W (I know, why 
would an image whose whole meaning was wrapped up in the many shades of green 
be used in B&W, but there was a good, if commercial, reason). The black and 
white spotted cows were fine, but the whole color contrast between the greens 
and the lilac blossoms was lost. Through channel control, and color 
selection, I was able to make the lilacs stand out again, instead of getting 
lost in the foliage in B&W. If I had started with a B&W image (would I have 
even shot it as a B&W image? <G>) I would have had no good way to distinguish 
the lilacs, and bring them out in the image.

C. David Tobie
Design Cooperative
CDTobie@...