World Image issue 22 July 2015

Chairmans Challenge - Greyscale
Gordon Longmead
Many images in the modern world of
photography are ‘sold’ by their stunning
colours. This compiled image is no different …
or is it?
The conversion to greyscale starts with the
original image. You must learn to ‘see’ your
subject in black and white.
There are many ways in digital to convert
pictures, desaturation works and can be
controlled as to the extent of the effect, but this
image was simply converted to greyscale.
The picture itself was done as a study in
layering, it contains 12 layers, 11 of the rose
each one rotated and resized to create the
illusion of depth, and the background.
The colour image sells itself because of the
vibrant colours in the rose and the background,
but it is different in the sense that it was also
produced to create a greyscale image.
Not all colour images will successfully convert
to greyscale so you must take care.
Confession, this was an early digital image so
the BG was ‘borrowed’ from NASA and
adapted to suit my own needs, in this instance
stars were removed and others added and the
colours were altered.
The final picture was the effect I wanted and
the learning here allowed me to move forward
with confidence.
Website = photosociety.net Page 8 email = magazine@photosociety.net