I love making black and white prints even though I am now working digitally. And for me the process of outputting a good quality B&W photograph to nice paper somehow completes the photography process. It also gives me something that I can look at and enjoy. Whilst part of this process is about printing, it relies on having a good colour to mono conversion in the first instant. In the past I have used Photoshop or features in my RAW converters to achieve this and whilst I have tried some products I have never found one that really works for me.

A recognised leader in this area is Nik Silver efex pro but the price puts me off.

Now I have an alternative and one that I want to share because it produces great results. It’s a black and white converter called "B/W Styler“ and can be purchased from "the plugin site“ for $49.99 which I think is very reasonable. What I like about this plug in is that it simulates the black and white film brands as well as the dark room processes. If you have any familiarity with the dark room you will find this very easy to use but even if you don’t, it’s easy to get to grips with through experimentation.

There is a trial version available on the web site which allows you to get a feel for the product but which applies a watermark to the finished image.

http://thepluginsite.com/products/photowiz/index.htm

A great product that I thought was worth sharing with you all.