Mar 25, 2013 | B&W Photography, Landscape Photography
There are many reasons and uses for B&W photography just as there are for color. In understanding some of these, you can expand your use of this very romantic medium. One that I’ve not talked about (at least I couldn’t find it on the blog) that I use a lot is detailed texture. No, this is not some official photographic term, just the simple term I keep in the back of my mind when it comes to B&W photography. While in Yosemite a week ago, I was fortunate to have a number of opportunities to practice this concept. It starts with “flat light,” light where there is no real shadows. Why is that important? Because you can then use the contrast of B&W to bring out detailed textured rather then fighting shadows. Next, spring hadn’t spring so there were lots of bare trees and bare branches work great for this. After that, just had to let the magic of The Valley in and go click!
What I have here are two different foreground but the same basic everything else, trees. Now the one thing you might think is a requirement in capturing detailed texture is a D800E. Well lots of megapixels aren’t required! This was shot with the D4 with 18-35AFS. What is required is lots of DOF (shot at f/22 / f/29) and since shooting in a forest, a tripod. Then a personal thing, I underexposed a little more than normal so I have tons of highlights to pull out in post. Then it was simple a little ACR processing and then my favorite, onOne perfect 7 B&W shooting the Detail slider up to around 35. The one drawback to B&W detailed texture is that this image size you see here really doesn’t show off the detail. I’ve already made a 24×30 of the top image and at that size, there is oodles of texture and just sucks you in. Just thought I would pass along the thought.
Mar 18, 2013 | B&W Photography
John Muir called the Sierra, while in Yosemite Valley, “The Range of Light” and all it takes is to give it a moment, an open mind and heart and you can see exactly what he was talking about. With that simple phrase in mind (and he wasn’t thinking photography when he said that), B&W just seems to scream at me. This past week in Yosemite, the B&W possibilities were endless and I did my best to bring back those few that graced our path.
The top image was taken on the Merced below Mirror Lake on a gorgeous evening. Shooting with the D4 with 70-200VR2 with a polarizer attached, it was pretty much a simple click with the only real challenge was how much creek at the base to include or not. The next photo was taken from the sand bar in Lower Pool with D4 and my new favorite lens, the 18-35AFS with polarizer attached. And the bottom image was taken at sunrise from Superintendent Meadow with D4 with 70-200VR2.
The only real “trick” to getting these images is standing still and let the magic of The Valley work for you! When it comes to post, these were all finished in onOne’s Perfect 7 B&W which is all I’m using now. In every sense of the word, Muir had it right, it is the Range of Light and it does not disappoint!
Mar 5, 2013 | B&W Photography
As you might imagine, I get asked a few times, a minute, “What were you seeing when you took that photo?” This along with wondering what I was feeling are really great questions that might help one move their own photography forward. The one problem is, a lot of the time I’m not “seeing” and feeling on a level that honestly, isn’t like, screaming outloud in my head. I don’t want to say I’m going on auto pilot but I don’t want you to think I’m really thinking deeply either. So when folks as me this question, often my answer is a puzzled look on my face, like something else is about to come out. The other problem is, since I am constantly pushing my photography, the approach to going click is never the same. Hopefully, it’s getting better and more productive. So how to answer this question providing you with an answer that will help you? For the last few months, I keep bouncing this question around in my head.
One of my issues is, I don’t react the same way and approach each photographically opportunity the same way that can provide a meaningful answer. It wasn’t really that long ago, I shot like a madman, I mean astro blasting and I enjoyed it. Until I got back and had to deal with all the images, I didn’t enjoy that. That caused me to look at what I was doing in the field strictly mathematically in what I refer to “Calories in – calories out.” This basic animal instinct I applied to my photography. How much time and energy, camera clicks was I putting out to create those images that I really liked? Those images I wanted to take my precious time to finish and then share with others. With my huge push to shoot more, filing more just for the sake of filing lost its luster and doing the math, shooting like a madman wasn’t showing a huge increase in images that I finished and loved. If that was the case, was there a way to improve on the calories in – calories out results?
What you see here is a photographic answer to this question for myself. I realized that to tell someone else visually that where I had been, what I experienced and what I felt about a location really only took one photo, the photo. Ya, I would love a helluva lot more, I’m not insane but on the flip side, to feel successful for that outing, I only need that one. The problem is, getting to that one! During our Death Valley Adventure, we ventured out one afternoon to Stovepipe Wells Dunes. This gorgeous location is explored by many, you know by all the footprints in the sands. That was my first thought of what I wanted in my photograph, all the footprints to show the joy so many had exploring the tunes. But then I turned to an old theme I always love to explore, the sands of time. I love the patterns the winds creates in the sand, it seems to always suck me in. With the D4 / 24-70 I narrowed down my vision and looked for those lines and texture to make for me, at that moment, the photo. I only shot about 50 images the whole evening, but I came back with a high percentage of ones I finished (using onOne P7 B&W) and like. Now does any of this help you? I don’t know, I really don’t. It’s where my time behind the camera has brought me and who knows, it might be where yours takes you, if you know that’s a destination for going. Getting down to the photo.
Feb 27, 2013 | B&W Photography
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Feb 23, 2013 | B&W Photography
K&M Adventures is down in the Grand Canyon where this morning is was a bright, crisp 0 with the wind! Didn’t stop the hot shooting. This image from last night is a simple D4 / 24-70AFS click. What is “special” is that the B&W was done in the new onOne Software Perfect B&W! And I’m here to tell you, I ~really~ like it! Those who have followed me know I’ve been a SilverEfex Pro guy from the get go. Well, Perfect BW has some features not found in SilverEfex including color targeted mods. You might be wondering about a “Structure” slider that is so big to me with SilverEfex? Well, try the Detail Slider…I like!!! I’m in my first week of playing with 7 and so far, really loving what I’m seeing!
PS…Thank Eric for letting me use his hot spot…first time online for days!
