Digital Light & Color

Just curious...

Has anyone considered using Stack Images as a channel mixer for black/white conversions and/or clipped gray tone channel restoring?

One could extract an image’s Luminance, R, G, B, V, and L channels, then:
(1) Input them into the Stack Images transform;
(2) Adjust each for black/white points, brightness, and contrast;
(3) Adjust each for density contributions;
(4) Adjust all or some for weighted pixel averaging blending;
(5) Limit and adjust weighted pixel averaging to specific image areas with Amount masks [sky/clouds vs. foreground or clipped image areas, for example];
(6) Utilize a Final Shaping Curve; and
(7) All while monitoring an updating Preview

What a rush!!!!

The possibilities and nuances are numerous; perhaps over whelming without some goals in mind…

Den, that gets straight to the most critical aspect of black and white conversion -- a clear vision of where you want to go with the final product. Certainly, the first step in your suggested process, that of looking at the various channels to see what is available, is a smart step. From that point, one can guage what other adjustments, e.g., area, gradient, object, or color selective V modification, might be needed to reach the desired goal.