Seeing Black and White

Black and White Conversion " One sees differently with color photography than black and white...in short, visualization must be modified by the specific nature of the equipment and materials being used " –Ansel Adams The original color image. (left) The adjusted black and white conversion. (right) Black and white conversions are radical transformations of images. They're about reestablishing the tonal foundations of an image. That's quite different than dodging and burning, or lightening and darkening locally, which is a matter of accentuating existing tonal relationships. The Channels palette shows the red, green, and blue components of a color image. Each channel offers a useful black and white interpretation of the color image that you can use to adjust the color. The key concept is for you to use the color channels as black and white layers.