monotone crater lake

I've been processing most of my stuff in color lately, but thought I would try this one in b&w, not sure on the results.

What do you guys think?

Canon xti
Sigma 17-70
ISO 100

Fantastic image! While I really like the gold tone and think it works well for this image, its a bit too strong for my taste. I would prefer it to be more subtle. I would also increase the contrast just a bit on the main part of the mountains--this area seems to have lower contrast than the rest of the image.

Cheers!

Nice work Kevin. Phillip has some good suggestions.

Mel-

I think the lower half of this photo gets lost in the B/W conversion, honestly. I would consider burning highlights in the lower half, or somehow finding a way to make the foreground more visible. (Or leave it in color.) Either that, or crop the image to square from the top. What's going on in the top half of this photo is what makes it compelling.

Here is the color version.

What's going on in the top half of this photo is what makes it compelling.

Exactly.
Cropping up from the bottom to the top of that errant stick in the water looks pretty good to me. That, and a dialing back of the toning and perhaps darkening the blue sky that peeks through the clouds would really take this up a few notches.

What method did you use to attain the b&w and toning?

I like the monochrome version better myself. Although I think Jesse's critique of the bottom half of the image is valid for both versions. To me its a problem because there's no negative space between the reflection and the rocky shoreline so it's hard to tell where one stops and the other begins.

You posted the color version as I was typing my response.
I surely do like that one, and the cropping advice still stands with that version.

Thanks guys, I wasn't certain about the fg on that shot, and it seems it really isn't adding anything to the photo.

I was using a black and white adjustment layer in CS3 to get monotone, I'm still learning with this tool and having varied results...

Here is another try at monotone..

I am a big fan of monochrome, but I honestly think this particular image works better in color. When I scrolled down the thread, it was the color version that just popped out at me and made me say, "Wow!"

I think there's just not enough tonal separation between the different elements in this particular image to make the monochrome version really work. To me, the peak blends in with the sky; the trees blend in with the rocks, etc.

I like the horizontal crop a lot better than the vertical, but I still think this image works best in color.
-Erik

Oooo I like the color version a lot more. The light and colors are great.

I have to agree, this image just works better in color. I'm finding that with many of the images from my Four Passes backpacking trip.

Thanks for all the input guys!!

While I agree that the color version is sweet, I wouldn't give up on the monochrome. I think four tweaks would make this a very nice monochrome:

1) Clone out the distracting sticks in the bottom right
2) Lighten the foreground rocks a bit
3) Darken the sky a bit
4) Add some contrast to the mountains

I wouldn't crop the bottom off and I would make the gold tone a little less intense. Just my opinion but I think you have quite a winner here (monochrome and color)!

I prefer the color version over the monochrome. I have nothing against mono, but these need a little tweaking as other shave suggested.

I think the monotone has a lot of potential, but the gold toning feels far too heavy to me. It's obviously subjective, but for my eye, the toning overpowers the image; it's the first thing I notice, then the subject registers with my mind. I think I'd still like the color version best - nice light and rich colors that get lost in the monochrome rendering.

If it weren't for the stick in the f/g on the vertical, I'd say definitely keep the f/g; it adds a lot of depth to the image, imo. Some tonal adjustments could address the separation issues that Guy brings up.