Mt. Rainier in Black and White

B&W processing allows some enhancement not possible in a color image

The apparent contrast of a landscape photograph is typically limited by atmospheric haze. This is true even on a good, clear day; the image before Black and White enhancements is shown below.

Black and White allowed me to:

• Increase the contrast of just the blue areas, which brings the mountain forward in the shot;

• Selectively brighten other colors to restore some sense of depth in the image;

• Adjust clarity and sharpness only in the hazy areas of the image.

All of those changes get made only to the blue channel of the image, isolating them to areas with the worst atmospheric haze.

That said, the original image was pretty good already, because it was a very clear day after a week of rain and wind. Even so, you can’t miss the blue haze everywhere except the trees in the valley immediately in front of the camera.