Chapter XIII. Converting HDRs to B&Ws
B&W HDR images are a ton of fun to create. And they expand your creative potential in the digital darkroom even further.
It's possible to create B&W HDR images in Photomatix, Photoshop, ACR and/ or Lucis Pro. I like to create the best color I can in those programs and plug-ins, and then create a B&W version of the image using Silver Efex Pro from Nik Software (www.niksoftware.com).
I use Silver Efex Pro because, like most pros, I think it offers the most creative control over tone, contrast and brightness. Here I used the Neutral effect (the default) and applied the red filter (one of several choices) to the image.
In this chapter you'll see a gallery of B&W images that are versions of some HDR color photographs you've seen in this book. The only tech-talk is on the next page, where you'll find an overview of Silver Efex Pro. I've kept chit-chat to a minimum so I could present the pictures as large as possible on each page.
Enjoy your exploration of B&W HDR. It's good fun!
Silver Efex Pro Overview
Here's a screen grab of the Silver Efex Pro window. On the left are more than 25 pre-set style options, including Neutral, Underexpose EV-1, Overexpose EV+1, High Structure, Pull Processing N-1, High Contrast Red Filter, Dark Sepia, Soft Sepia, Tin Type, Infrared ...
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