Have not worked with black / white since 1975. Then it was no digital capabilities. Darkroom under the stairs etc.. Are there specific things I should think about now with the digital tools at our disposal? This photo was taken with my Nex5N and Industar 61. Just a little tinkering in iPhoto. Do anyone have any recommendations on literature or web/youtube etc.?
i really like Nik Silver Efex Pro 2. It's a plug-in for Photoshop/Lightroom/Aperture (and I believe also available as a stand alone). As a tool I think it's one of the best I have ever used.
The good news is that digital sensors respond very much to the same colors as does silver film, so a scene that would have shot well in film, will also shoot well in digital. The better news is that you don't need to use colored filters with digital - If you shoot in RAW or color, filters can all be added in post processing. My recommendation here is if you are going for B&W, then shoot RAW+JPEG, and turn on the B&W mode for the camera. The JPEG will be saved in B&W, and you will see the screen in B&W, but you still have all the color information in the RAW file.
I also use Nik Software Silver Efex Pro 2 for B&W conversation. It's fantastic, however, I'm worried about its future due to the Google buyout of Nik. No matter what Google says now about continued development, their track record in these kind of take overs is not good. OnOne software is releasing their new B&W conversion application and plugin soon and I'm very interested in seeing some reviews of this. It will obvious be compared with Nik and may end up being a better purchase in the long run as it will be half the price initially and will also see continued development.
If you have access to Photoshop, it has really nice modules for every conceivable colour bias toward B&W conversion. Menu: Image > Adjustments > Black and White ... which will get you to this window with various presets It's not totally user intuitive however, so a little understanding of the basic fundamentals will help in getting the most out of it... https://www.talkemount.com/f15/black-white-tips-fundamentals-828/
Like dixeyk I also use Silver Efex pro 2, imho it's the be all and end all in b/w processing, the u-point feature makes my work flow so much smoother and the film simulation preset will give you the desired film look you're after whether it's Tri-X, Neopan, Ilford, etc..if you used to shoot b/w film you'll feel right at home with the film presets.
