That famous tree in Llanberis
A famous tree in Wales that I just had to shoot…
Prior to arriving in Wales, I did a bunch of research on places I wanted to photograph, and of course came across some amazing shots of this tree. It stands on the edge of Llyn Padarn in the little town of Llanberis, somewhere off in the wilds of Snowdonia National Park. Although I had directions to it, it still took me about an hour to locate it. I kept having to move the car, park and walk, then go back and try another spot. Apparently I am no good at following directions. :-) Regardless, I found it and got some shots, despite the weather. And it was well wroth it!
Flow
A long exposure taken on a trip to Banff National Park, Canada…
I absolutely love to shoot moving water. It’s one of my favorite subjects. Whether it’s a river, a stream or a waterfall, I love all of them. The sense of motion you can capture with a slightly long exposure just adds so much to the photograph. This one I captured in Johnston Canyon, in Banff National Park, in Canada. It was mid-afternoon and we were just hiking in the canyon, but I kept stopping every few yards for another shot. But the river running through there is just gorgeous. Can you blame me for stopping so much? And though I prefer to edit in color, I am continuing to explore creating monochromes, because sometimes they just really work for me, like in this image.
The Barber
Inside an old barber shop, taking photos of a guy combing his hair. Nope, not something I normally do, but boy do I like this photo.
This is not my normal fare, but I really like this shot. I was out shooting with a client along South Congress Avenue one evening, and we wandered by the barber shop there. We popped in and asked if we could take a photo or two inside (it has a great vintage look to it), and they said sure come in and take whatever you like. After a few shots, this guy was combing his hair and we knew that was the best shot. I think we both said “hold that pose” at the same time, and captured this one. Thanks for looking!
Hallstatt
The lovely, picturesque village of Hallstatt, Austria - such a beauty!
One of the most beautiful little villages I have ever visited, Hallstatt sits aside this gorgeous lake and is surrounded by towering mountains. It’s a photographic dream come true for me to stand there and take some shots. I’ve wanted to visit for years and finally was able to do so when we were in Germany last year. Hallstatt is in Austria, sort of south of Salzburg - roughly an hour+ drive away. It was well worth it though and I’m quite happy how this long exposure turned out as well!
Afternoons at the Duomo
A long exposure taken one afternoon in front of the Duomo in Milan, Italy…
The Duomo in Milan, Italy is amazing!
I'm a fan of European cathedrals, because they are usually pretty gorgeous, large and architecturally interesting. The Duomo in Milan is no exception. The facade is stunning and you can of course take tours inside. You can also get on the roof which is a pretty amazing experience, and well worth it. We only spent a couple of days in Milan but it's a city that I would love to return to for further exploration.
This photo is a long exposure taken with my 10 stop filter, which is why the clouds appear to be streaking across the sky. It was about a 2 minute exposure. I love using the 10 stop filter for these sorts of scenes. You get that gorgeous sky and many of the people ghost out of the image. I think it makes for some interesting results. Edited and converted to monochrome in Luminar (or course).
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas from me to you! Enjoy your holiday and thanks for the visits this year!
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!
This is a shot I took earlier this year in southern Germany - technically Bavaria - and it's of the Neuschwanstein Castle, possibly the most famous castle in the world. It's certainly near the top of the list. I was actually there in the afternoon and it was April, so no snow. So I decided to make it my own little snowy paradise using some tricks in Luminar. Enjoy your holiday!
Snow over Hallstatt
A light snow began falling while I was shooting in Hallstatt, Austria...
It snowed on me while I was shooting in Hallstatt, Austria.
This amazing little town captured my heart. It's incredibly photogenic, and when it started snowing on my it only added to my love of the place. Living in central Texas, I rarely get to see snow, so I still enjoy it. In this case, I felt like it added to the scene in an interesting way.
Using Luminar Instead of Silver Efex Pro
Are you using Silver Efex Pro to create monochrome photos, but you're concerned because it will no longer get updates? Consider using Macphun's Luminar to edit your monochrome photos. Click in to see a ton of sample photos and see why it works so well for this!
Yes, you can create absolutely gorgeous monochrome photos in Luminar, even though it is a general purpose photo editor.
In fact, I believe it's a more capable monochrome editor than Silver Efex Pro - plus you get all the other benefits too!
I will be the first to admit that I am a big color guy at heart, thus making me not a black and white guy at heart. However, I do love creating black and white photos, and have ever since I first started using Tonality by Macphun a couple of years ago. Tonality is an incredible product and it literally converted me over to being a fan of monochrome photos…and that was not easy to do. Believe me, I was ADDICTED to big colors (still am, to a certain degree).
Despite my love of Tonality, the shiny new toy from Macphun is Luminar (including the amazing Neptune update that just happened), and you can also create stunning black and white photos in Luminar - and rather easily I might add. I do this quite often nowadays, and it is both quick and easy to do so in Luminar. In fact, I rarely use Tonality any more because Luminar is just so capable. I don’t really need Tonality these days. Luminar excels at this stuff.
The Nik Collection is going away
A few weeks back, I wrote an article about why adopting Macphun is the right thing to do, since there are many users of the Nik Collection from Google still out there and it is basically going to whither and die on the vine - while Macphun is growing and investing in their products.
This article was general in nature, and not directed at a specific product, but rather the bleak outlook for those using the Nik Collection. Although many photographers have used and loved the Nik Collection over the years (including me), it is not going anywhere and Google has essentially come clean on that. It is time to move on. (I made the switch to Macphun almost 2 years ago, and I haven’t looked back.)
My friend challenged me to create stunning monochromes in Luminar
When I shared that article on Facebook, one of my photographer friends said that although he loves Macphun, he challenged me to use Macphun to create stunning monochromes which many photographers still do in Silver Efex Pro (the monochrome product in the Nik Collection by Google). I assume he isn’t convinced that Luminar is capable of delivering as solid a monochrome end result as Silver Efex Pro.
But I am convinced, and his challenge is accepted. :-)
With a built-in filter known as B&W Conversion, it is very quick to get started on a monochrome photo. However, that filter is just the beginning. Because of all the available filters (there are over 40 included in Luminar), you literally have unlimited options at your fingertips in terms of how you want to approach the black and white edit you are about to perform on your shot. Truthfully, you have many more options than you ever had in Silver Efex Pro (and more than you have in Tonality, with a few minor exceptions such as lens blur).
Since Silver Efex Pro (along with the rest of the Nik Collection) is no longer going to get updates or upgrades, you need to find another monochrome editor anyways. Why not try Luminar? It’s an amazing product, has serious capabilities and is customizable depending on your skill level, and besides I have a ton of videos to help you get better at using it. You can download a free trial here if you want to take it for a spin.
Here are a few monochrome ideas that you can easily implement using Luminar, adding various filters as needed (any of these could be accomplished in 2-3 minutes or less, using 1-3 filters):
- Classic black and white look (well-balanced blacks and whites)
- Contrasty black and white (heavy on the blacks)
- Selective color (all black and white except for one color, usually red)
- Color-toned black and white (sepia, cyanotype, etc)
- Grungy black and white (bring up details)
- Soft black and white (remove the details)
- Grainy black and white (add a significant amount of grain to simulate a film look)
- Add a texture (millions of possibilities here)
- The list goes on…
Film profiles are included in Silver Efex Pro...which is likely a popular feature of the product.
Now to be fair, I also dove into Silver Efex Pro to see what makes it so popular for monochrome editing (it had been 2+ years since I last used it, and I didn't remember much about it). I like the product, and I did use it some back in the day. There were two things I found that are not yet available in Luminar - frames/borders and film types. Personally, I would very rarely use a photo frame and rarely see them on most images. I am not sure if that is a popular feature but it's not of real interest to me. However it is in Silver Efex Pro and not in Luminar.
Regarding film types, I can understand the use of that feature. There is a certain charm to a filmy feel. However, as far as I can tell in Silver Efex Pro there are only 3 differentiating factors between the film types it offers: light, contrast, and grain - and those are easily added to a photo in Luminar.
You see, Luminar does not yet have film types (and I have no idea what the roadmap looks like), but I am certain that using the copious amount of powerful filters in Luminar would allow me to easily reproduce any of those looks (many of which are done using the Tone Curve, which is also available as a filter in Luminar). Sure, I completely get the appeal of a 1-click motion for achieving that film look. It’s a time-saver. However, with a little experimentation in Luminar you could create those looks and save them as “film presets”, and then they are a 1-click adjustment. Simple as that. Plus, you have all the other benefits of Luminar, which are many (and some of which are listed below).
Show me some monochrome photos! Prove your point, Jim! ;-)
So to illustrate my point that you can create compelling monochromes in Luminar, I have taken a number of my photos and, using Luminar only, have converted them to monochrome. I have also included the “before” shot so you can see the difference. In some cases during the editing process, I actually edited in full color first before converting to monochrome (and thus the before photo will show that). Sometimes that helps me with my monochrome “vision”. I don’t know why…it’s just something I find myself doing at times.
In my opinion, Luminar is more than capable of holding its own against any other product out there, and not just for converting to monochrome. It’s a full-featured photo editor that stands on its own merits. It’s incredible, and is literally packed with features.
(click any photo to view in a lightbox)
Here are some of the wonderful features in Luminar that make it a compelling product:
- 40+ built-in filters for customizable photo adjustment
- Layers so you can easily stack edits, add textures and more
- Filter masking, allowing you to selectively apply multiple filters on a single layer
- Workspaces, which are collection of filters bundled together so you can quickly access them
- Adaptive interface that you can adjust to your liking and level of skill
- Built in and customizable noise reduction option
- Object removal/eraser function to remove unwanted items from your photo
- Free preset packs included and more on the Macphun website
- Premium preset packs from yours truly ;-)
If you want to get more familiar with Luminar, you may want to check out my Luminar Tips page. It’s a collection of articles that I have written here about Luminar, showing various tips and tricks, and also links to my most-watched Luminar tutorial videos.
See? You can create some beautiful monochromes in Luminar!
What ever happened to my friend that challenged me?
Oh, and do you remember back at the top when I mentioned my friends' concern over whether you can create stunning monochromes with Macphun? Yeah, well he finally had a chance to dig into Luminar and wrote me back a little note:
"Holy Crap! Luminar is fantastic! I'm blown away. So powerful and easy to use. It even does black and white nicely."
Yep, that is an excerpt from a message he sent me. His words, not mine. It just took a little experimentation and he is now a fan. Win.
Why don't you give it a try?
Get my free Monochrome Magic workspace for Luminar!
Many months ago, I created a free workspace for black and white editing in Luminar, and also recorded a video about it. If you want to check that out and download the free workspace, you can read about it right here.
I hope this helps. If you haven’t yet tried converting to monochrome in Luminar, what are you waiting for? It’s fun, easy, and the photos look terrific!
And if you don’t even have Luminar yet…go and download a free trial. You can’t beat a test drive to see how it handles, right?
So what do you think? Do you agree that Luminar is a very capable monochrome editor?
Thanks much and let me know if you have any questions.
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Macphun and use affiliate links in my Macphun articles. If you click through and purchase one of their products, I receive a small commission which I reinvest in this site. However, your price is the same whether you buy using my links or not, so it's a win-win situation. These small commissions allow me to continue to add additional content, provide free training and more, right here on the blog. Thanks for your support! Please let me know if you have any questions.
One more thing! You can actually SAVE MONEY on Macphun using my coupon code JIMNIX at checkout. Save $10 on Luminar or Aurora HDR using coupon code JIMNIX. Thanks!
A morning on the Charles Bridge
A lovely way to start a day in Prague - shooting on the Charles Bridge before dawn!
A lovely spot in Prague, especially at sunrise!
I was just in Prague barely a week ago, and I've been missing it ever since I left. It's such a beautiful town, and there is so much to shoot there. You'll be seeing a lot from Prague in the coming weeks, as I work my way through all these photos. I did my best to capture it all, and spent one morning up early so I could get shots like these from the Charles Bridge.
The Charles Bridge is an iconic structure in Prague and believe me when I tell you that it can get seriously crowded. During the daytime it is literally elbow-to-elbow. There are so many tourists walking around and vendors selling their wares that it's a bit of a madhouse.
Hence, I got up one morning at 4:30am so I could get my butt over here and fire away in the pre-dawn quiet. It was incredible. There were less than a handful of people on the bridge - some apparently returning home after a rather lengthy night out - and a couple of other photographers. Otherwise, it was miss and it was blissfully empty. So nice.
Night at The Pantheon
The lovely Pantheon in Rome, in monochrome...
An iconic structure in Rome that deserves a visit!
If you ever go to Rome, be sure and visit The Pantheon. This former pagan temple is now a Christian Church, and it's stunning. It has a huge oculus in the domed roof that is nearly 8 meters across, and is the only source of light in the structure. There are amazing frescoes and tombs inside, and it's free, too. Just show up and walk in (but don't forget the camera)!
I was there one evening and just loved the scene in front of the Pantheon, with the open courtyard, fountain with obelisk, and just the general look of the place. So beautiful! It's also a very busy place, so expect to see a lot of people there, at basically any hour of the day. But nonetheless, brave the crowds and get a taste of history.
A view in Amsterdam
An afternoon stroll in Amsterdam produces this photo, which I converted to monochrome for a change.
I have been experimenting with different monochrome looks in Luminar. Because there are so many filters (did you read this recent post?) in Luminar, I am trying a lot of different things to see what I can come up with.
This is an old canal shot from one afternoon in Amsterdam. When I travel, I usually have a plan for taking the "big shots" in any particular location. But in between those, I do a lot of wandering and take a LOT of shots like this one: nothing great about it, but not a throwaway either. It's sort of an in-between shot for me. I like the composition and the lines, but it's not one of my best.
In the past, I would always edit this one in color and try to focus on something in the photo of interest, perhaps by increasing the saturation of a particular color. While I may still do that at times, I am also further exploring using monochrome to edit these "everyday" photos. If nothing else, it's a good exercise in variety.
Notre Dame in monochrome
A pair of old photos from a couple of years ago, while I was wandering around Notre Dame in the rain.
These are a couple of older shots from Paris that I converted to monochrome using the magic of Luminar by Macphun. Check out my Luminar tutorial here. It's an incredible product and I am spending all my time in it these days. Let me know if you have any questions!
Michelangelo's David
Michelangelo carved an impressive statue of David out of marble. It's imposing, awesome, and well worth a stop if you are in Florence, Italy.
When in Florence, this is a must see!
I can really appreciate what it takes to sculpt something so fabulous. While I have never tried sculpting, I can just imagine the precision, skill and patience it requires. I mean, I can't even whittle something out of wood that is recognizable - it's just incredible what Michelangelo was able to do with a piece of marble.
I've been here a few times and it's still a bit of a jaw-dropper to me. The imposing size, the stare, and the details in the sculpture are just fantastic. Make it a point to see it, at least once. It's famous for a reason.
This sits in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence, Italy. If you are planning to visit, book your tickets in advance because the lines get really long, especially in the summer. While the rest of the museum is nice, this is clearly the highlight of a visit there. Enjoy!
A night at The Vatican
Two versions of a lovely blue hour in Rome for ya today - color and mono. Either way, it was a gorgeous night to be shooting in Rome!
Wandering at The Vatican after sunset is wonderful.
I'm a big fan of wandering aimlessly, but I also take time to wander with a purpose. While I was in Rome, I did a fair bit of both, but on this particular evening I had a purpose - I wanted to photograph The Vatican at sunset and blue hour.
Luckily, I had some great clouds that evening which made my shooting that much more fun.
The Vatican is shot by everyone, professional and hobbyist, and I just don't care. I am sure that a million people have stood here and shot this same view before, but I just had to get it for myself. (For the record, I took a lot of different shots of The Vatican too, but haven't gotten to them just yet.) It's iconic, and you just have to get the shots, right?
The above photo was processed as an HDR in the all-new Aurora HDR 2017, which is an amazing product and you can find out more about it here. It goes on sale in 2 days! :-)
But I have also become a big fan of monochrome over the last few months, so of course I had to convert it to black and white using Tonality from Macphun, which is another amazing product. The combination of these two (Aurora HDR and Tonality) can help you create some very compelling images, and you will continue to see more of these from me. Enjoy!
Looking down on Milan
We are currently traveling in Italy, and although I have been taking copious amount of photos, I haven't had time to edit very many. Here's the first of many to come - this one is from Milan. Have a look!
How about a little something from Italy today? OK!
We are in the midst of a multi-week tour of Italy, and it's been amazing. We started in Milan, then went to Venice, and am now in Florence. So many photos already! The trick of course is finding time to edit and share them all.
So today I have one from Milan. This was taken from the roof of their Duomo, the big beautiful cathedral in the middle of town. We toured the inside but also climbed the stairs up to the roof. It's a pretty amazing experience, and certainly an incredible cathedral to visit.
Once on the roof, you basically follow a little path that winds around part of it, giving you interesting views of Milan and of course all the detailed architecture of the structure itself. At one point, I saw this view down on the street and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and just loved the scene. I had to hold the camera up over a fence, tilt the screen to see what I was shooting, and fire away - but it came out alright after all!
I edited this in Aurora HDR first, and then transferred it over to Macphun's Tonality for conversion to black and white. If you aren't experimenting with black and white, I have to say that you are missing out on a real joy of photography, which I only recently realized. And of course I believe that Tonality is the best product out there for doing so!