Sometimes colour can be a distraction in photographs. Therefore, I appreciate black & white photography more and more these days. Here’s a lake landscape in black & white of a sailing boat on Lac Léman (Lake Geneva). Sunbeams pass through layers of fog and clouds, to shed light on a tiny sailing boat and the lake itself. In the background, you see the silhouette of the Alps of the French Haute-Savoie region. The view in this lake landscape in black & white is from a higher elevation in Chexbrex, a small picturesque municipality situated amid the Vineyards of Lavaux in Switzerland.
Feeling Small, sunbeams on Lac Léman and the Alps
A lake landscape in black & white of Lac Léman and the Alps, with a sailing boat and the lake lit by sunbeams passing through fog and clouds.
The photograph only started to work for me once I converted it to black and white in Nik’s Silver Efex Pro 2. Somehow, the mood and dramatic light come across much better. When I was working on the photograph, I was debating about whether to keep the tiny sailing boat in or not. Is it a distraction or an attraction? I decided to keep it in, as to me it emphasises the scale of the lake and the mountains in the background. What do you think? I hope you like this lake landscape in black & white!?
The photograph was captured with a Nikon D3X in combination with a Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. The settings were: 120mm – ƒ/11 – 1/500s – ISO100.
Click on the photograph to read more about it or to buy a print or licence.
Cheers, Johan 🙂
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This lake landscape in black & white is part of the Lakes landscape photography theme, which also includes:
Please visit our Black and White Photography portfolio to see more black & white photos.
Top notch work pal, much appreciated all your effort here.
Many thanks Markus 🙂
Johan your photos are always so interesting… btw… I have you in a “secret elite” photographers circle !!
Very glad to hear that you find my work interesting Trey!! And that sounds like a great circle to be in 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
I love this best!:) <3
thank you. When’s is that next photo walk?
I like to do two now. One on march in solothurn. And one after that in zürich.:)
All details in a few days. 😉
This is absolutely fantastic.. incredible image Johan.
Thanks Layla!
I would have missed the boat if you had not mentioned it in the description. Keeping it in to show scale was a good choice. Beautiful shot. Thanks for sharing.
It is definitely going to stay in Dion . I love that small boat 🙂 Thanks for the compliment!
Oh this is great Johan. How could I miss it? Absolutely gorgeous image. well done!
I’m not sure how Radek, but glad you found it now and that you like it!
The light filtered by the clouds.. all these layers are simply marvelous! Again a great B&W editing, love it !
Thanks for the compliment Cédric. Glad you like it. I just recently started to publish some of my B&W stuff so I’m really glad to get good feedback 🙂
amazing…view….
Thanks Alpana 🙂
Wonderful Layers
Thanks again Hengki 🙂
simply beautiful
Thanks again Charles. Glad you stopped by 🙂
One of the best b&w landscape photos I’ve seen. Thanks for sharing.
that’s a big compliment 😀 Glad you like it that much!
I just LOVE B&W photography. You have some gems in your stream. WOW !
Me too Khrystiane! I am just getting into it though. Only started with it a few months ago and getting the hang of it 🙂 Thanks so much for the compliment. Really appreciate it!
oh my! This is wonderful
Thanks again Gemma!
Good tone and contrast, good detail of the sun’s rays, Johan .
Thank you for the compliment Javier!
needs to be there for scale, although it looks far too small. A radio controlled model yacht maybe?
It’s a real sailing boat Andrew !! I left it in to emphasise the scale of the Alps in the background … which are about 3500 to 4000 metres high 🙂
thanks for confirming. As a sailor myself I can appreciate the scale, and hence the yacht is an important element. Impressive.
well thank you for the compliment sailor 🙂 It’s appreciated!
Julia Anna and Rob: thank you so much for visiting and for the nice comments!
superb shot!! the way light filtrates through the clouds and the black chain of mountains in the background are making such a powerful image from this one!
Wonderful interplay of light and shadow!
It makes me feel so insignificant! But in a good way!
That’s exactly what I was trying to get across Ryan. Thanks!
its amazing to see many tones of the b/w, love the rays too. Great shot!
Thanks Nora! Nice to see you again:-)
The sailing boat is so teeny weeny 🙂 crazily good!
Thank you Dirk:-) Thanks for stopping by!
I tend to convert to B&W those colour pictures that I cannot fix due to too much noise or I simply think they look better as B&W.
Some images will look great in colour and in B&W. It is definitely easier to create some drama 🙂
Black and white photography is my favourite; it seems more ephemeral, less fixed.
I am finding that out as well Catherine, but not for all images. It is a great alternative though!
Stunning image! The boat shows the scale so well. What a dramatic picture.
Thanks for the very kind words Sinead !
I love it, when landscape photography goes beyond documentation. Here, I see a wonderful metaphor about the sound of the world. Rhythm, scales, attraction and timeless beauty… so intense. Wonderful.
Thanks and cheers
®
Thank you Roland! Really happy that this image inspires you like that 🙂
Amazing scale and tones – you have a gift for the sublime Johan
A bit too much honor there Cameron, but thanks. Really appreciated 🙂
Wonderful capture Johan – stunning light! 🙂
Thank you Simon!
Thanks Robert and Wilfried !
Beautiful sunrays. Thanks, Johan!
Absolutely gorgeous shot Johan. I love the little sailboat. It adds scale and its also like a little hidden detail, a little gem.
Thanks for the very nice feedback Kurt! Judging from the comments I made the right choice with keeping the boat in 🙂
Those defined rays of light really help make this scene…beautiful work!
Thanks Daniel !!
Very impressive photo!
Beautiful Johan
Thanks Suzanne! Glad you stopped by 🙂
What an amazing view and lighting, beautiful layered composition!
Thanks Daniel! Glad you like it 🙂
Thanks David and Piet and thanks for the feedback 🙂
definitely : keep it in;
Indeed, it emphasis the majestic of the landscape
Impresionat Landscape and Light, fantastic b/w congragulations
Congratulations on the web site, nice design, greetings!
Thank you for the nice compliments for the image as well as for the site Oscar!
The boat is so tiny that I didn’t see it the first time! :)) so I don’t think it is a distraction but as you say it gives us a sense of scale! Great image Johan!
Glorious rays of light..so heavenly. Excellent work, Johan!
Thank you Jessy and thanks for stopping by 🙂
My pleasure, Johan. Have a great week 🙂
You too Jessy !
wow a awesome shot
Thank you Robert !
awesome shot Johan ! really !! The boat is the cherry on the cake (as we say in France ….), the little add which provides so much to your picture ! I like a lot ! … and perfect mood with these pretty clouds and rays of light.
hah Antoine. I saw you sitting on top of the mountain on the other side, so had to shoot this 😉 Thanks for the compliment and feedback. I really appreciate it! Been shooting Lac Léman again today …. or better the mountains around it, as the lake itself was covered with clouds. We got some awesome views from up above the clouds!
Beautiful B&W! So dramatic with the clouds and beams of light. I like the tiny boat in there for scale!
Thank your very much for the nice comment and feedback Patricia!
@Beverley: you’re welcome!
@Nathan, Dene’, Sumit, S K Prasad Iyer, Emanuele and Johan: thank you for your nice comments. Thanks for dropping by!
Wow Johan – awesome scene and work – glad you kept the boat 🙂
Beautiful light and scene… Great work!
Profound!!!
Wow! The B&W treatment is terrific.
This is pure magic and yes, like the boat 🙂
a very lovely image …
@Beverley: I can assure you that flowers are a fantastic subject for B&W photography. In fact, some of the greatest flower photos ever made are in B&W: Just look at the work of masters like Imogen Cunningham or Robert Mapplethorpe.
Thanks you both Johan and Joel. Before starting the B/W project I will look up the work of those mentioned..
would love to see how you approach it. Feel free to share in private if you want feedback!
Thank you so much Johan really appreciate that..
Johan and Lana: As I do such a lot of flower photography during the summer months I will look forward to seeing your conversions to B/W as it’s a subject matter that I’m not sure yet works well in B/W !!
I will post one in the course of the week. I really like them when they are not too dark and moody, but more towards white with a soft grey background. Will plus you in when I do 🙂
B&W is fun, isn’t it Johan:) Good decision to keep the tiny boat in: it gives a great sense of scale especially with the mighty Alps in the background. Like it a lot!
Thank you! It most certainly is fun Joel. You are actually one of the photographers here on G+ that has made me explore it more. It opens a whole world of opportunities and I’ll make sure to to use G+ to see which ones work and which ones don’t 🙂
An outstanding photo
Thank you Tannia ! 🙂
Wonderful!
Thanks and thanks for commenting Davorin !
B/W is an area that I’m so wanting to get into but struggling at the moment so I’ve had to clear my mind and start back at the beginning.
I feel the first thing to making an image looking powerful in B/W is the subject and the way it has been captured. On both these points you have achieved exactly that. I agree with the previous comment in that boat really emphasises the scale of the lake and mountains!!
looking forward to seeing your B&W images 🙂 Thank you also for the nice comment and feedback!
I am starting to appreciate B&W photography more and more. — My sentiment exactly! Great capture. I agree with you about the boat – it surely emphasises the scale of the lake and the mountains. In fact it’s the boat that made me say “wow” at the scale!
I really think that scenes can look great in B&W whilst they don’t work in colour. This image only started to really work for me after converting it. These Alps in the background are quite far away, so even though the image had all the ingredients it only looked so-so because of haze and the slight blue colour cast you often get then. So B&W came to the rescue 🙂 Thanks for the compliment and feedback on the boat!
Makes sense! I’ve never thought about it from this point of view to be honest. I’ll try B&W next time I’m not happy with a colour version! 🙂
I have worked on a few flowers with B&W as well. Haven’t dared to post them yet, but you can get quite interesting images especially when depth of field is right 🙂
I’m glad you left it in. It is a nice surprise in this wonderful capture.
Thank you Gary !
Oh my goodness… what a fantastic capture. I could write a book about this photo… small, vast, etched mountains, textures of the sea against clouds… but I’ll have to be content with saying this is just stunning Johan
Thank you for this very nice comment Lisa 🙂 I am glad I am not the only one that thinks that there is plenty of interest in this image 🙂
Jamal, Joanna and Phillip: thanks and thanks a lot for the feedback on the boat!
@Grant: thank you. Nice to hear from you! You are right about your comment on black and white. I have quite a few alpine images that would be great objects to play with in B&W and have to say that Color Efex really is a great help … although there are quite a few directions you can go with it 🙂
The boat, tiny in comparison, shows the magnitude and awesomeness of the great mountains indeed.
Great image with beautiful tones ! And the boat? I think this photo works very well with and without the boat.
@Kerry: thanks for the compliment and feedback!
@Olivier: thank you as well! Nice to see you drop by 🙂
@Francis: thank you!
@Frederico: state of awe sound great 🙂 Thanks for the feedback!
@Bill: thanks! It is more obvious when viewed full screen … or printed large 🙂
The picture doesn’t need the boat to be beautiful but it defiantly adds to your appreciation of the scene.
There is not a thing wrong with this scene Johan, well done Buddy.
There is a reason you are drawn more and more to B&W. It is unmatched in tonal range, as this image is proof of. That is why I became a convert this year. 🙂
WAW that little boat makes this scene Johan !
Amazing! I am so glad you kept the boat. I agree that it really emphasises how impressive the mountains are. Beautiful, Johan.
Love the scene…even thought I had to squint real, real hard to see the sailboat. lol
I’ll be honest, I didn’t notice the boat until I read the text. The magnitude of everything else (mountains, sun rays, clouds) kept me in a state of awe and the boat did not distract me from that in any way. It even helps in giving a sense of scale to the whole place.
Absolutely splendid !