Hey there!

I was wondering if you guys knew how to simulate a red lens in photoshop? I was told that doing this you can get some cool effects with black and white cloud pictures.

Is that accurate? Thanks! (pic is taken in RAW mode so lots of data to work with)

For a red filter, add a Photo Filter Adjustment Layer and select the Red preset from the pull down menu. Adjust the slider to vary the intensity.
If you want to make dramatic black & white images, you would be better off using the Black & White Adjustment Layer in CS3.
Regards, Murray

Also you can select the red channel via a levels adjustment layer.
In the adjustment dialog, replace the 255 output value with 0 for the blue and green channel. You can adjust the RGB channel for input 0 to 127, or use auto levels. Then vary layer opacity.

I only have cs2 so i will play with the levels adjustment layer. Am I on the right track for 'more dramatic clouds'?

For something like this, I would use two adjustment layers. The first would be Curves to add contrast to the individual channels where needed. Then I would add a Channel Mixer, check Monochrome, and adjust to taste.

- Channel Mixer, Monochrome
- Curves for contrast
- Background with original photograph

If there is more than clouds and sky in the photograph, maybe toss in some masking action.

I used Nik Color Efex Pro v 3 to do this one after Photoshop adjustments.