Experimenting: a cloudy sky in Black & White

By Johan Peijnenburg

After posting two typical Swiss winter landscape photographs with Alps, snow, pine trees and a blue sky, I thought it was time for something completely different. Here’s a Black & white impression of a cloudy sky above the Swiss Alps that surround the Bas-Intyamon valley in Gruyère, Switzerland. I captured this sky on a summer night last August, just before sunset. I processed it in black & white, using Silver Efex Pro 2, to accentuate the structure and drama in the sky. What do you think of this cloudy sky in black & white?

A cloudy sky in Black & White

Please visit our Black and White Photography portfolio to see more fine Art photographs like this one. Alternatively, check out our Mountains & Hills landscape photography theme to find more photographs with mountains.

Cheers, Johan 🙂

144 thoughts on “Experimenting: a cloudy sky in Black & White”

  1. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    @Costanza: thank you 🙂
    @Margaret: many thanks for the compliment Margaret! Glad you like my oldies as well 😉

    Reply
  5. Domique Hilbert says:

    I just discovered you, I really enjoy your work, like this is an amazing shot. nice to meet you!

    Reply
      • Domique Hilbert says:

        thank you, now I can finally have a good night rest 😉 Seriously, thank you for the effort in answering, that’s really nice of you.

        Reply
  14. Cédric Leblond says:

    a great composition with a large place to the sky, superb B&W editing, don’t know why but the clouds make me think of ghosts or spirits here, excellent!

    Reply
  29. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Dane: thanks! I might 🙂
    Khun: thanks for the compliment and for stopping by!
    Nora: thank you 🙂 Not yet hooked and trying to balance it. I do have quite a few shots that could work well in B&W so will work in them in the coming month!

    Reply
  33. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Thanks for the nice comments Wilfried and Charles! I liked it myself but wasn’t sure how others would see it 🙂

    Reply
  34. Charles Lupica says:

    I really like this Johan. I tend toward high contrast images and this is in that sweet place where contrast, light and dark form something greater than the parts. And I agree, the Alps are a sacred place.

    Reply
  35. Wilfried Haferland says:

    This looks really like a summer sky. I like the dramatic contrast, the white clouds – different kinds – and the black mountain ridge. This emphasises the hugeness of this beautiful sky. A very good b&w processing. Thank you mate!

    Reply
  48. Manfred Berndtgen says:

    I can’t add anything original here what hasn’t been already said, so I’m keeping it simple: super shot! (And I would be asking if it’s IR as well, but you already have answered this. Great processing, by the way.

    Reply
  60. Roland says:

    Going beyond the documentation, this shot gives me the feeling of breathing fresh, pure air. I like it a lot for that effect!

    cheers
    ®

    Reply
  61. David Burns says:

    Very moody,I love it,I’m always drawn to images in the clouds, faces, figures ect.Well done Johan, very nice shot.

    Reply
    • Johan Peijnenburg says:

      Thanks Emanuele There is actually not a lot of real sky in this image. It is all layers of clouds at different levels and with different shades of grey and orange. I am looking forward to you Venezian carnival shots in few weeks 🙂

      Reply
  72. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    I figured you would like this Peter 🙂
    @Lisa: I might do that later. The colour version was a bit too “pastel” too me 🙂

    Reply
  75. Johan Peijnenburg says:

    Thanks Kurt. I was indeed a very interesting sky. Glad I could make it work in B&W!
    @Louisa: thank you! Have been playing around with B&W a lot lately. I love it a lot but still have lots to learn 🙂

    Reply
  76. Louisa Catharine Forsyth says:

    Wonderfully dramatic! Good to see you trying this out too, it worked so well. Off to slide around in the snow now 😉

    Reply
  80. Andrew Sanigorski says:

    It’s a wonderful luminous sky, so many variations in clouds and beautifully put together with the mountains taking a back seat. Great work Johan

    Reply

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