Mono? Tricky Challenge

I always shoot my nature photography in colour.  Well why wouldn’t you?  Colour is what nature is all about.  For sure there are some stunningly beautiful butterflies and birds that are black and white but the habitat adds that splash of colour.  So when Lisa launched her latest challenge  https://oureyesopen.blog/2021/03/19/bird-weekly-photo-challenge-birds-in-black-white-or-sepia/  it got me scratching the old noggin.  Any files I choose would have to be converted to monochrome and re-processed, what would work best?  I think I hit upon a formula.

Juvenile Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)

If I was to pick a bird that wasn’t very colourful to start with, add in a neutral background it might work.  I started with this gull image and was astounded how beautiful it looked.  It’s actually better than the colour version!

Male Ruff (Calidris pugnax) non breeding plumage

If I was to pick a dull, dreary day perhaps mono could give those rubbish shots a lift?  I remembered a trip to Titchwell RSPB reserve when it was like that, so applied the treatment to a few images.  In breeding plumage this Ruff cries out to be photographed in colour but on a murky brown lagoon on a misty day?

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

And a black and white wader from the same trip, an Avocet.  To be fair this image is not too far removed from the original!

Female Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)

My last offering is perhaps my favourite bird image.  It was shot against a bright blue sky in winter.

Thanks for the tricky challenge Lisa.  I have been looking at these shots and realising there is potential for even more mono, I actually really like them.  Would I go out and photograph purely in mono?  Probably not, but with the software in post processing to convert them you can have the best of both worlds and even give so-so shots a big boost!

Check out Lisa’s challenge and why not join in?  https://oureyesopen.blog/2021/03/19/bird-weekly-photo-challenge-birds-in-black-white-or-sepia/