Converting Leica images using the new Adobe Camera Raw monochrome profiles by Michael Letchford (website | flickr):
Converting Leica images using the new Adobe Camera Raw monochrome profiles
Up until very recently my favourite way to make a monochrome image conversion was to use Adobe Camera Raw to process the colour RAW file, then transfer it to Photoshop and use the DxO FilmPack Elite V5 plug-in profiles as my starting point.
My favourite profiles from the DxO set are the Agfa Scala 200x and the Ilford FP4 Plus 125 profiles, the former being a lower key, darker conversion but providing a broad range of tonality, particularly good on skin tones, and the latter being more even and a brighter rendition overall. I use these and DxO’s Kodak Tri-X 400 profile most often, depending on the tonality of the initial RAW conversion. These profiles hark back to my old film days and the film ‘equivalents’ were my favourite film choices at the time.
You can also adjust the tonality of the DxO conversion in the FilmPack application itself, which I do, and then export the result to Photoshop for final editing.
Just recently though, Adobe has made an update for Camera Raw and Lightroom available that provides an alternative – a very wide range of colour and monochrome conversion profiles (and the freedom to use LUTs provided by third parties) that give you the opportunity to make your conversions without the need for additional plugins.
In particular, for those like me that prefer to work in monochrome, there are 17 new choices of black and white profiles to try out. My first impressions were that they are very useful as starting points, offering a broad range of conversions from fairly flat tonal gradations through to very contrasty results and that they may well be varied enough to give great conversions for all types of image situations – low key, high key, low contrast, high contrast etc.
Testing the Leica 180mm f2.8 APO Telyt R Lens on a Leica SL
I decided to test the various profiles on a specific Street Photography project I am working on, which explores the use of well loved Leica R lenses, from the 80s and 90s, in combination with a Leica SL body and various adapters. I’ve used some of the images from that project to experiment with the new ACR profiles. All the images were shot in London’s streets; this first one in Covent Garden:
