POTD 22 May 2009 - Assisi

[Mike Farley]

No, the date is not a typo, this shot really was taken nearly six years ago and depicts the church of St Francis at Assisi. I took it shortly after dawn to get the early morning light and avoid the crowds which assemble later in the day. As you will imagine, it is a popular destination and gets busy.

So why has it taken so long to make an appearance? At the time, I could not get a result in post processing which I was happy with. Back then, we were still using the original version of Adobe Camera Raw and it has had two major updates in the intervening period. I also now have Silver Efex Pro 2 which I find very effective for mono conversions. It just goes to show that as software improves, it is worth revisiting older images as it might be possible to obtain a better result than was possible initially. The other thing which has changed, of course, is me. I now have more experience in processing images and am better able to realise my original vision.

[davidc]

I think the mono conversion suits it but in doing so you've lost the effect of the early morning sky

[Mike Farley]

I think the mono conversion suits it but in doing so you've lost the effect of the early morning sky

I understand what you are saying, but I am not sure that I am really in agreement. I was at the location before dawn, but there were no lighting fireworks and this shot was taken around 15 minutes after sunrise. The problem is that there is no drama in the sky, although the small patch of cloud around the cross at the top of the church is a bonus, and the colours of the scene are limited. My view is that mono is bringing out the light on the church and the contrast with the statue which is still in the shade. It is also brings out the textures in the grass. Maybe this shot would have worked better in colour at another time of the year rather than late spring when climatic conditions and the effect of the sun were probably working against me. That's something I am unlikely ever to know.

For comparison, this is how the shot looked after the Raw conversion in Lightroom 5, before I created the mono image using Silver Efex Pro 2. I could have boosted the Vibrance and/or Saturation for the Raw file processing, which would have warmed the tones on the church, had I not decided to go for monochrome. It's an interesting discussion, so I would like to know people's views having now seen both images.