Reynaldo--This beach is on the grounds of a hotel/conference center next to the town of Mambucaba, between Angra dos Reis and Parati. I've been to Brazil twice, in 2000 and 2001, and I really enjoyed both visits! I have a couple of other shots from Brazil on Usefilm--"Rowboat, Angra dos Reis" and "Rocinha Runners".
OK, Kim and Sue, I guess you're both right about the Barbie-doll person. I believe there was a thin cloud overhead, enough to diffuse the sun but not enough to block it.
I'm just learning about B/W conversion myself. Usefilm has an article about it--it seems that how you want to change the color balance/saturation depends on the particular photo. Unfortunately I only have Photoshop LE, so I can't do all the things the article suggests. I chose B/W because I wanted to emphasize the mellow tones and the textures, which is harder in color.
Ken, what I would give to be seated at that table!
I agree with Kim about that person on the beach. Looks like someone stuck a barbie doll in the sand by the umbrella. The boat doesn't bother me as much.
I'm curious about the lighting on the umbrella/table compared to the beach in the background. Was there a big cloud passing overhead? That's the impression I'm getting.
Also curious about conversion to B&W; why? I don't mean it in a negative sense - just pure curiosity. You too? ;-)
Regarding technique converting to B&W, I thought I read someplace that if you convert to B&W that you should increase the saturation of yellow (or is it red?) before greyscaling to enhance the contrast. Is this true? Or is that only with filters and film?
Oh, this is beautiful! I love all the textures, the sand, the grass on the umbrella and the way the table and bench look so smooth. It's also great how the clouds seem to come to a point right behind the umbrella. The only suggestion I could make might be to remove the person at the shoreline and the sailboat? in the distance. To my eye they are a little distracting.
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