Behind the Lens

Once and a while you have to just take pictures of something that seems mundane. Seagulls, potentially mundane. Beach, seen one, seen'em all.

I went to the pier in Sea Breeze to see if I could catch some of those crazy Rochester Surf Club folk out there in the water (seriously, winter surfers on Lake Ontario, keep your eye peeled for an article by Linda Quinlan next week). What do I have when I arrive? Muddy, practically flat, seagull ridden water.....what shall I do but chase those pesky vermin and snap pictures of their getaway! Ironically they kept flying from one spot to my left, then back to my right, it was a fun game but I was getting cold (and I'm sure your not reading this to hear tales of my childish humor).

So when I got back and looked at the pictures, I could tell I wasn't a big fan. I had to go black and white! I opened my adjustment layers and selected "Black and White". This is the quick and easy way to turn your picture from color to B&W in Photoshop. You can see the difference in the before and after as I provided above. The muddy waters, flat sky, and those crazy gulls...then as B&W its more dramatic, it breaths more life into it. I also threw a contrast curves layer, and a teeny tiny vignette just to pop.