23: This is a monochrome version of a color photo of the...

This is a monochrome version of a color photo of the Chateau of Chambord (http://www.23hq.com/photogroup/meetthegimp/photo/2988181).

3 comments so far...

Serge Gielkens March 30, 2008, 12:13 AM

Compared to the original photo, this one shows quite some grain and even blocky artifacts. It has lost details too (windows, roofs, eg). Is this intentionally? IMHO it is a pity because the castle has lots of nice and fine detail.

StJacques March 30, 2008, 08:06 AM

Serge, thanks for your comment. I can't say it was intentional, since I didn't start out looking for this exact effect, but I was interested in seeing how I could change the overall impression of the photo by changing from color to black and white. I liked the idea that I could change the look of a very fine looking Chateau into something that looks (to me at least) like a haunted house. I am a bit worried about the grain, which I think comes from using far more blue and red than green (I used the channel mixer), but I didn't know how to reduce this and still keep the "dark" effect.

Serge Gielkens March 30, 2008, 03:17 PM

The blue channel has indeed usual a fair amount of noise. One could try maybe one of the other channels and play with curves or contrast. Another possibility is to to use green and blue for example and give the blue layer transparency. This will give a darker mood, keep details but the grain will be less obvious. Hope it helps.

By the way, the haunted effect looks in principal very nice and some grain helps to enhance this effect. So keep on doing experiments.