B&W Challenge No 31 - Ruins

[alexr]

What an excellent variety of cloud images in the last challenge; thanks for all the great entries.
This month I'm going with a theme suggested by whippet in the suggestions thread, a theme that most of us instinctively feel really suits monochrome images, which is 'Ruins'. I'd love to see a range of images that cover the historic ruins, more modern destruction or disintegration and anything else that you feel meets the brief. You may wish to consider sepia for a very historic feel or very stark processing for a modern edge.
As always, I think the forum members are interested in software and processing used, and where relevant, to see a colour comparison so we can all see what works better in mono versus colour.
I am looking forward to seeing your images, and to sharing some of mine.

[tonyw]

I'll start with one of my favourite ruins - Corfe Castle in the UK that dates back to the 11th century being built originally by William the Conqueror.  

All processing done in Lightroom from a Fuji Raw file taken back in 2016.  Here's the colour version which has just been straightened and cropped:




For the black and white version I used a graduated filter to darken the sky a bit (using the Luminosity range mask to restrict the darkening to the sky and not the ruin).Then made some overall minor adjustments and applied the B&W red filter profile that comes with Lightroom Classic.  That brings out more detail in the sky and I also bumped the amount applied to 175% - don't think I've ever gone that high before but in this case it seemed to work.  Finished off with a vignette and a radial filter with a slight exposure boost over the left wall to bring out some more detail.



Good topic for the month - I'm sure I'll find some more ruins to work on!

Tony

[alexr]

Thanks for getting us off to such a strong start, Tony, and setting the bar very high with your detailed explanation of your thinking and technique. You've created a really dramatic image. What leaps out to me from the comparison is that in the colour version my eye tends to follow around the green grass, and gets dragged away to the bottom corners. But in the mono the focus is so much more on the ruin itself, and in particular that little top window which I'd hardly noticed before is now up front and central.

[hmca]

I quite agree with Alex, Tony. Great post!

[fotofrank]

Taormina Theater with Mt Etna in the background.

The image started out as a three shot bracket converted to an HDR image. I converted it to B&W in Luminar 4 with a custom created preset that I normally use for Infrared. It seem to work well for this image.

[alexr]

There is so much to love about this image and its composition, Frank. Thanks for sharing. I particularly love the brightness of the 'world beyond' and how this sits within the frame of textures and detail of the theatre itself. It looks a beautiful spot.

[hmca]

This was taken on a photo trip to Tuscany. We made a special effort to get these in the golden hour of late afternoon so I'm not sure it was a good choice for B/W.
I used a film preset from a Black and White forum where I am a member after first converting to B/W in adobe Camera RAW.

I am including a screenshot of the color version and one of the B/W.

[pontiac1940]

These parts of buildings are at the Casa Grande Ruins near Coolidge, Arizona. Shown are parts of smaller buildings and not included are photos of the main "casa grande."

Built by the Pueblo peoples who farmed the Gila Valley in the early 13th century, the ruins include the remains of several ancient Hohokam structures, as well as elaborate irrigation systems. The largest of these structures is a massive four-story edifice whose adobe walls have withstood the harsh desert climate for more than 700 years.

These building were made of a material called "caliche," which is a mixture of clay, sand, and calcium carbonate.

The history is fascinating.

www.nps.gov/cagr/learn/historyculture/index.htm

www.nps.gov/cagr/learn/kidsyouth/the-casa-grande.htm


Opened in ACR, tweak, export to PSE, tweak, convert to bw using gradient maps, flatten, tweak...

Taken on Feb 4 2020 




The photo below shows the size of the main "casa grande" and the colors at the site.  

[Peterj]

This is an abandoned, uncompleted train bridge crossing Cub Run; it was  started in 1854 by the Independent Line of the Manassas Gap Railroad, financial problems stopped the work in May 1857.

Using On1 Photo Raw 2020 I used a luminosity mask to combine 2 images to better present the stone's detail and then applied the B&W filter.

[Peterj]

A 35mm color negative I digitized and converted to positive. This was the largest wooden structure in the world, a WWII blimp hanger in Glynco, GA.

On1 Photo Raw 2020 B&W filter applied to the converted color.

[kdcintx]

Fort Phantom Hill - an old military fort near Abilene, Texas. About the only things left are fireplaces and chimneys from the barracks. I used a sepia tone to emphasize the historic nature of the site.

i.ibb.co/gtsZnnw/FPH-color.jpg

i.ibb.co/JKJzBg1/FPH.jpg

[pontiac1940]

kdcintx
Nice use of the monochrome.
Clive
PS: I might steal your idea.  Thanks. 
 

[tonyw]

A different sort of ruin - the wooden building it was once in has long gone but some of the equipment (a steam-powered rig that ran oil wells) remains. Played around in Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro to finish up with this.



Tony

[Peterj]

Here's a real ruin (for my previous 2 I really stretched) This is a slide conversion for the 1980 - I believe it's Drachenfels am Rhine

On1 PR 2020 B&W flter

[Fauxtoto]

live.staticflickr.com/65535/49512529701_35b1ef9d02_o.jpg

Pompeii. Taken by my wife. Converted and tweaked in LR. Clone Stamp in PSE over a few head tops.