Silvered B
lack and white photography is a beautiful medium and, when it’s done well, the images are outstanding. I never developed a passion for it, though, except when it is incorporated with color. Let me explain. The landscapes I’ve included in this article consist of two elements. First, they all began as an RGB full color image. I then converted them to black and white and combined the original color with the b&w version. Here is the process: 1. Open a color image and copy it to the clipboard using the Photoshop pulldown menu
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commands, Select > all, then Edit > copy. The keyboard shortcuts are Command/Ctrl A, then Command/Ctrl C. 2. Choose the pulldown command, Image > adjustments > black and white. The image is instantly converted to monochrome and, using the sliders in the dialog box (shown on page 11), tweak the contrast and tonal values until you like what you see. I usually use the red, yellow, and blue sliders. Hit OK. 3. Now choose Edit > paste. This places the color version that had been placed in the clipboard over the black and white version.
