Hi Steve,
Here’s my Daily Inspiration Submission, but before I get started I have to say thanks for your excellent reviews. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have found out about the ThinkTank Mirrorless Mover 20. I was in the market for a smaller bag for my OMD-EM5 and 45mm f1.8 lens. So I promptly ordered one and it was delivered today. I love it!
But anyways I wanted to talk a little about editing. Now I’ve used Photoshop ever since I was 14 years old for mainly digital graphics. I still use it consistently at work designing layouts for touch panels. However, when it came time to get back into photography after a small absence, I wanted something that would be easier to work with for editing vast amounts of photos and would have excellent organization. After all I’d prefer to be behind the lens more and in front of the computer less. So I opted for Aperture since I’m a self-proclaimed Apple junkie.
I love Aperture. I think it’s easy to edit with, pretty straight forward, and organizes pictures so well. It’s really a smooth workflow when editing RAW and working in a non-destructive environment. However, I noticed that many of my pictures felt sort of flat. Whether in color or B&W I felt like they were missing something. They weren’t dynamic enough and seemed to lack character. So perhaps I have a lot to learn when it comes to editing. That probably holds true more than anything when it comes to B&W editing. Sure you have the three color sliders for B&W in Aperture, and I’m sure that with the right knowledge and time you can get awesome results from it, however I wasn’t getting the results I wanted. In my frustration I actually just started using the default B&W setting.
I’ve always preferred B&W images, and I needed something to give me the results I wanted in an easier manner. So I opted to give Silver Efex Pro 2 a shot. Within about 5 minutes I had my first shot done and it was everything I wanted out of that picture. As I dug deeper into the settings I found that I was consistently getting the results I wanted and with what felt like much more control over what Aperture provides. Finally!!! The B&W results I’ve been looking for! The added benefit of Film Types helps me to get rid of the all digital look too. I love it! My workflow now consists of basic RAW edits in Aperture and then straight over to Silver Efex Pro for finishing.
I now love B&W more than ever. There’s just nothing like it. Sure some shots just require color, but whenever possible if it can be made into B&W I say do it! It’s the contrast, structure, and nostalgia of it that makes it so amazing. B&W has that tendency to transport the viewer to a fantasy world that only exists in the deep contrast of such images. We live in such a colorful world, but I prefer to display it in B&W.
I’ve included some images below taken with my OMD-EM5 with 45mm f1.8. Enjoy!
Thanks for posting my submission Steve! FWI that mother-to-be is my lovely wife. 🙂 She’s become my official model since I got the OMD. In fact I just did a whole maternity photo shoot with her this past weekend. If you’d like to see more of my shots, feel free to visit my website by clicking my name.
Huss, I agree. Aperture is good for color edits, but since getting into the Nik Complete Collection I’ve ventured into Color Efex Pro and having been getting very pleasing results.
Good stuff. I use Aperture for the basic RAW work, then like you use Silver FX for the B&W conversion. I found that Aperture when using some colour filters (especially red) would create a weird mottled noise look in skies. Looked terrible. Silver FX, or Lightroom, does not do that.
Aperture is great for colour though.
Ditto the comments on the camera and the 45 f1.8. I feel rejuvenated!
Lovely light on the mother-to-be! I agree with you on Silver Efex (I, also, love converting my images to b&w) but I will stick with Photoshop as I am PC-based since 1983!
Very nice!