black and white Archives

Black & White – The “Ever Green” Of Photography

December 4, 2012 by 7X5 Editors Leave a Comment

The photography in black and white, often evokes in the mind, the time when the art of photography was at its beginning and at conceived as a symbol of continuity and of survival over time, but also evocation of the various phases of the life happy and tragic ; such as in the Victorian era in which flourished the fashion and the need for photographing their own loved ones at the time after death (Memento Mori)

In photography and in its shades of gray, at the time , was expressed, then, the concept of immortality, as opposed to the current conception of the photography with the technique of “point and shoot” also the most trivial of events, thus losing, all meaning and prestige of photography, making this art , a simple commercialization in the circuit “take easy”.

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The black and white, although now rarely used “in everyday photography” and appreciated mostly only by some enthusiasts of the genre gives us a raw idea and “romantic”, typical of periods in which the materials and photographic techniques were still underdeveloped, but gives also a certain intensity and a certain value to the image.

The black and white, although monochrome, is composed of a shade of gray of endless variations and intensity, that depending on the color temperature, may vary from cyanotype to sepia.
But what are the elements that can create a “good shot” in black and white?

The composition
The light / time of taking the photo
The presence of strong structures and guidelines
The value of brightness of the colors and its tonal contrast
Exposure

The composition

The composition is the key of the photography, but assumes greater importance in the black and white , what is portrayed and how it portrays, if you choose a silhouette or if you decide to bring to light even the details of the subject , are then aspects of great importance compared to the composition in color photography.

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The light / time of taking the photo

The amount of light, type of light (artificial daylight, candle light, flash) and angulation, have strong influence on the shoot in black and white, great importance is therefore the choice of the time of day when you decide to make the photos (dawn, dusk, sunset) and the effects,, that according to the light, you can get.

The presence of strong structures and guidelines

In the absence of the color, the presence of strong structures and guidelines, gives to the image a certain interest and a certain attraction even in the presence of a monochrome shooting.

The value of brightness of the colors and its tonal contrast

In the picture in black and white, where there isn’t a chromatic scale is not important the color hue, but its brightness value and its tonal contrast, as opposed to the chromatic contrast.

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Exposure

From my own research, I have come to the conclusion that the use of exposure, have a strong influence on the photo in black and white. In the presence of very strong highlights and special conditions such as a cloudy sky or a sunset over the sea (where even the light tends to fade there is a strong reflection on the water), a decrease from, 0 to -1 spot exposure, allows to obtain an image of strong intensity in which it has a greater tonal contrast.

The exposure is also crucial in the use of silhouette (composition that goes well with black and white) as subject of the image, with as setting the exposure on the background you will get an underexposed image, which will make visible only the outline of subject.

The technique of black and white, requires , compared to color photography a greater focus and attention to details, ranging, as we have seen, from the choice of the subject up to the choice and use of light and exposure, this is essential to achieve good results in an image in which the absence of color could make flat and meaningless the photograph, not for this, however, black and white photography expresses, minor sensations, than a color photo, in fact, the black and white in my opinion has a greater stimulus to the imagination , because we can be ourselves, through our perception to “paint” a shot.

So I think the black and white is a technique “ever green”, able to express intensity and visual impact, so it is worth to know his “secrets” and use it to the best , in the era of color.

Eleonora Gadducci ( Etè Nocturnes Photographer )
http://etenocturnes.portfoliobox.net/

Filed Under: Photos Tagged With: black and white, monochrome

Monochrome Through Color

June 27, 2012 by 7X5 Editors 6 Comments

Color… most of us see this everyday and everywhere we look. It’s a very important thing for some us and others just take it for granted. Obviously I deal with color a lot in my photography but I also love my monochrome as anyone who follows me will know very well. One thing I am asked by many people is how do I decide what photo will be color and which will be monochrome. That answer is a bit more simple than some might think.

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Color can be a very powerful thing, it’s candy for our eyes a lot of times and that is what draws our attention to things around us. If color wasn’t that way with us, everything would be left black or white. Now this is not saying that black and white are any less important, I am just stating that color has its place and a very good one at that. There are times where color just doesn’t do much or even takes away from a situation. Recently a fellow photographer, Tom Baker from Toronto, Ontario Canada shared a photo that he had taken. He wasn’t entirely happy with the photo, partially because of the composition so I suggested to him to try it in Monochrome. Personally I thought it was a great photo but my initial instinct in seeing the photo was that the color wasn’t really adding anything to the image. There was nothing bright in the photo and nothing that needed to be emphasized with color in order to stand out either. There were lots of details though that would benefit from a nice monochrome processing. Here is where my decision making lies, let me explain more.

Color is a wonderful thing, it can change our moods very easily, it can even express feelings without a word being spoken but there are times it makes things fall flat. Depending on the time of day you are shooting or the weather conditions, the light you work with could just make those colors wash out and look plain flat and stale. Sure, you can use tools in Photoshop or Lightroom to boost those colors back up but even then there are scenes that are just better off without color. My rule of thumb is, if color doesn’t add anything to the image then go monochrome. Color is the “magic” in a lot of work and that is the key I work with. If there is no “magic” , then process for monochrome.

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Now just because the color isn’t making that image pop or adding any magic, doesn’t mean the color is worthless. This is where I let a few of my secrets out of my bag, well not secrets to all. I am sure there are plenty out there who know this but I also know a lot that don’t know about this. Making monochrome images that grab people’s attention rely on the color they were taken in. You need to process the color before you go to monochrome.

I know a lot of people that like to use the settings in their camera to process the photo for B&W and then only do minor corrections on it in post processing. There is nothing wrong with that but if you want to take your work to the next level, work with RAW and process your photos for monochrome in Lightroom or Photoshop. You have much more control over your work that way and can make some changes that you really can’t in the camera. The biggest thing to making your work stand out is process your work as you would with any color photo. Do your color corrections and make those colors come alive. This translates into better contrasts once you convert to B&W and is the key to making the work pop even in B&W or toned work. Sometimes, depending on the photo, it’s even good to push the colors a bit more over the edge then you would with a color photo. Push the contrasts a bit and make the color a bit over the top, not a lot, just a touch. Too much and things will start to look fake and pushed even in the monochrome image. One other trick I use is to push the sharpness of an image a bit. This brings things a bit more to life but don’t go too far with this otherwise you’ll create halo’s and other nasty things that will make your image fall apart.

Once I have my image set in color, I bring it into Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 and take the image to the next level. I have a few different presets I like to use depending on the image I am working on but the one that gets used the most is #5 High Structure (Harsh). I don’t use it “as is” I end up tweaking it a bit with a bit more contrast and even more structure than the default uses. I also like to push the Highlights setting all the way to the right to reduce the highlights a bit in most of my work. From there I’ll sometimes use one of the color filters depending on the mood of the piece I am working on and from there I have a few custom tones I like to use if the photo calls for it. Over all this is my big key to making my work stand out a bit more from the other work around it.

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Hopefully this article has given you a bit more insight into making monochrome work and stand out from the others around you. It is something that takes time and patience but eventually you will find a “formula” that works for you in your post processing of your work. Monochrome doesn’t have to be boring or sad, you can make it live and breathe just like the color work does with the right process.

Note:: I want to clear up one thing in regards to monochrome. In my last article about working with monochrome, someone brought it up that monochrome is different than B&W. Their point was that monochrome means one color and therefore monochrome was different than B&W. The dictionary states that Monochrome work is also B&W work and my point with using Monochrome in my last article was that I do tone a lot of my B&W work so monochrome fit well to cover both B&W and toned work. If one wants to get really technical, Black is considered the “Absence of color” where as white is the “blending of colors” and therefore is the one color in a B&W photo. I am not trying to be a jerk about this, just explaining why I use the world monochrome rather than B&W. Monochrome covers a bit more area then just saying B&W

CJ Schmit is a 38 Year old self-taught photographer specializing in Monochrome Landscape and Architectural photography.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: black and white

The Black & White Photo Show Off Thread

May 17, 2012 by Scott 6 Comments

leica-black-white

If you haven’t heard yet, Leica did something that no other camera manufacturer can get away with.

That’s right, they released a camera that only photographs in Black & White. The Leica M-Monochrom is very similar to the Leica M9, boasting a killer 18-megapixel sensor and rangefinder design.

But is a Black & White only sensor really needed? Does the industry really need a camera that only takes Black & White photos?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a Leica shooter and I love my M9. The question should not be answered in words. So here goes my quest to find the answer.

Do you prefer to shoot in Black & White only?
How do you feel about the new Leica M-Monochrom camera?

Tell us your feelings on Black & White photography and comment below with a link to your gallery of Black & White photographs.

Feel free to cast your vote on the poll below, answering which you prefer: Shooting color or black & white in camera.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: black and white, Leica

Monochrome in a Color World

March 13, 2012 by 7X5 Editors 7 Comments

As humans, most of us see the world in all its color and beauty but we often miss some of the world’s details all because of that pesky thing called color. Don’t get me wrong, I love color like most others do but I love a monochrome world a bit more. With monochrome you don’t have the colors distracting your eyes and mind and you see the details and textures like you never have before.

This is my first time writing an article for someone other than my own blog. I appreciate the chance that Seven by Five is giving me and I hope you enjoy reading the articles I have started to plan out. I am not going into great depth with this first one, starting high level and eventually diving deeper into things. My background is I am a completely self-taught photographer. What I know has come from mainly trial and error but also from a few books, some online articles and advice from friends. I do not look at how I do things as the only way but rather the way that works for me. You might not fully agree with how I do things but keep in mind just like art, there are many ways to do many things.

I have been hobbyist photographer for almost 8 years now but the last 5 I have been very serious about this hobby and have put a lot of effort into bettering myself and my work. One area I have worked very hard at is my monochrome work and I have learned a lot along the way. The biggest of them all is learning to see a scene and picture it in my head as a monochrome scene rather than the color it is in nature. It has taken time to get to this point but anyone with the patience and determination can do it themselves.

Start yourself out by looking at Monochrome photography done by other artists. Look at what they saw, try to see the scene they saw before snapping the shutter and capturing the light. It isn’t always easy to know what the scene looked like before it was Monochrome but you can get the idea of what the photographer saw in the details and composition of the work. If you are a landscape photographer, try working on a cloudy day, the contrasts are perfect for this type of work. On a sunny day, work with the sun to your back and try to use the blue sky along with some clouds. Look at things not in color but rather in lights and darks, learn to see contrasts. Once you have studied some work go out and try some photos yourself. Don’t worry about the post processing until you have learned to see in monochrome, train your eyes before you worry about the final image. Being able to see a monochrome image in your head before even touching the camera is far more important than the processing after the shot has been taken. You have to start with a good image to end up with a great one.

Some I know have started out with setting their camera to process the photos in B&W and that is fine to learn with but eventually you will want to shoot everything in color and post process for B&W. I will be getting into this in a future article but for now feel free to use the camera to process your B&W images. Like I said, it’s not the preferred way but it will at least give you a quick way to see what you are shooting and help you develop an eye for B&W work. It takes time for that eye to develop but once you start, you will be amazed how the world around you changes. If you want an easy one to start with, go out and find some trees to photograph. Bare trees in winter are the easiest but really any trees will do. The dark gray bark and rough texture will really pop and make a B&W photo work.

In the end, study some other people’s work to get some ideas and then get out there and start shooting and training your eyes. It won’t happen overnight and might take some time but don’t give up. The best things in life take time to happen. The beauty of digital photography is you can shoot all you want without costing yourself lots of money – and that is great when you are just starting out.

CJ Schmit is a 38 Year old self-taught photographer specializing in Monochrome Landscape and Architectural photography.

Filed Under: Blog, Tutorials Tagged With: black and white, CJ Schmit, Tutorials

Photo Profile: Agnes Samour

December 23, 2011 by 7X5 Editors Leave a Comment

Born near Paris, I grew up surrounded by books and images at my parents’ news agency. My dad collected vintage cameras and Magnum magazines. I was however more interested in music for the majority of my childhood. I played the piano from the age of five and only quit 15 years later when I went overseas. After completing my degree in International Marketing in the South of France, I moved to the West Indies in 2001, marking the start of a decade of extensive travel. I have since lived in Dublin and Sydney, where I currently reside.

I progressively developed a taste for photography to document my experiences and remember the people I’ve met, the places I’ve visited and the things I’ve done. I have traveled to nearly 30 countries and I really believe photographs are more powerful than words. Every time I go back home, in France, I show my pictures to my family and friends instead of telling irrelevant stories.

I have been deliberately using film instead of digital photography for the past few years as I feel emotionally amputated in front of a computer. In my opinion a photograph represents a moment and I don’t want software to change the color, the composition or the mood of my image. The technical side of photography holds little interest for me as I yearn for imperfections. I don’t mind blurry or grainy pictures and flare to some extent. I also feel more comfortable with analog cameras than with heavy and bulky digital ones. I actually never leave home without one of my cameras in my bag.

Documentary is definitely the photographic genre I am the most fond of. I chose to specialize in this style at the Australian Centre for Photography in Sydney a couple of years ago. Black and white photography is also a very intriguing art form to me. I guess Dad’s admiration for Willy Ronis and Cartier-Bresson had an influence on my penchant for photography. There are way too many photographers that are a source of inspiration but most of them have the majority of their work in black and white: Sebastiao Salgado, Cristian Movila, Neal Casal, Mimi Chacarova, Yves Laland, Roger Ballen, Renaud Philippe…I also try to go to as many exhibitions as possible, especially in Paris, and read online/print magazines to discover talented emerging artists.

My aim is to develop my own rolls of film in the near future. I love the idea of being part of the process from start to finish and being able to control the result. I have been really busy working on different projects between Eastern Europe, Paris and Sydney for the last two years though and didn’t really take the time to learn. I am also looking at organizing one or two exhibitions, thinking about a book and hopefully completing a series I started in the US. I can never leave my suitcase for too long and although I enjoy Sydney, analog photography can be quite challenging.

Links:

Website: http://www.agnessamour.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/agnes-samour-photography/127933720563034
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/agnessamour
Tumblr: http://www.agnessamour.tumblr.com

Filed Under: Photos Tagged With: Agnes Samour, black and white, documentary photography, photo profiles

Photo Profile: Meriol Lehmann

December 21, 2011 by 7X5 Editors 1 Comment

Born in Switzerland in 1972 but living and working in Quebec, Canada for many years, I’m a multidisciplinary artist working with new media, audio and photography. Interested about the way our memory affect our perception of time and territory, I’m currently working on man-altered landscapes and the impact of post-industrialization on territory.

My artistic statement has always been about themes related to my immigrant status: being attached to a territory left behind, the difficulty of being part of a new territory… All of this is probably familiar stuff to any expatriate, and those realities are so strong, I can’t avoid them. My fascination over the territory’s impact on human beings brought me to turn the question over: as individuals and society, how’s our print over landscapes? Not only on our near environment but also over landscapes miles away from our home. In a global world, our human print is much stronger than it was a century ago. Our lifestyles impact many other lives; our ways of living modify our own landscape but a great part of the planet as well. This interdependency brings a cycle, a loop. What weight on our lives those man-altered landscapes have? And how both our individual and collective memories affect the way we perceive the landscape? Everyone got inside him its own past, memories, references. It is this memory, as much personal as collective that I’m trying to reach. The artistic work then becomes a collection of references for everyone to find its own way through.

My fascination about territories brought me to further study many photographers and movements with the same concerns. I’m a huge fan of Edward Burtynsky’s work and Raymond Depardon is one of my all-time favorites. I’m also very interested by New Topographics and the Düsseldorf School of Photography, especially the Bechers’ work.

All this time spent thinking about my artistic statement’s place inside photography’s language brought a desire to get back to my roots. I started working with photography as a teenager, and bought my first SLR myself when I was 14. At this time, I was working with film of course and buying an old Nikon FE a few months ago was a true revelation: it seems the pleasure of photography was back again, as well as the true reasons to use photography as a means of artistic expression. Analog photography is all about slowness, research, looking for the right angle and the right moment. You spend your time looking at things, spaces and light instead of looking at a computer’s screen doing post-production and selection work. As it is often the case, technical restrictions bring artistic freedom and inspiration.

Links:

Website: http://mlehmann.ca
Behance Network: http://www.behance.net/meriol_lehmann
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/meriol_lehmann
500 px: http://500px.com/meriol_lehmann/

Filed Under: Photos Tagged With: black and white, Canada, Meriol Lehmann, photo profiles

Photo Profile : Noah Darnell

November 12, 2011 by 7X5 Editors 1 Comment

I make images because I do not want to forget. In my mind, a photograph is as simple as that: a way to remember. Years ago, as I began to photograph my life and become more prolific, I began to realize that tens of thousands of images per year was able to document my world in a way that no writing in journals, no video, no anything could rival.

I was living overseas and could not attend the funeral of my grandfather when he died of Alzheimer’s. (The ultimate “forget,” I guess you could say.) On film and with a quiet rangefinder camera, I had made a handful of images of him at Christmastime before I left. Even though the photos are technically nothing special, they were the last images of a man while he was living. It was as if I was seeing him for the last time all over again.

At the time, I had been working for my university for a few years prior to that moment. I was making images for clients, but it was a “job.” After those images of my grandfather appeared on the emulsion in my bathroom darkroom, the “job” became an internal mission. My photography, no matter what or where or for whom, was now for me. It wasn’t long before I realized that I could meld all of this making of photos with serving people. So my life as a photojournalist was set. I was hooked.

The camera has paved my way to go on these excursions to the far corners of the world. Instead of tens of thousands of images per year, I’m in the hundreds of thousands of images per year. Someone sends me to a place like Darjeeling, India, and I am documenting every nook and cranny because I don’t want to forget the faces of this amazing place perched in the eaves of the roof of the Earth.

I believe the images I make reflect “just being there” as much as the photograph actually shows a far-off person, place or thing. Because when I’m old and gray and forgetting things, I can look back at the little smirk and the brightening of the eyes of the young monk as he realized he was being photographed.

And I can see that I once sat in that rattly old car and feel the warm February Cuban breeze as the brief smell of the horse and a little sun-baked produce shot past the window. And then it has become not a remembrance of just going to an exotic place and photographing exotic people for some magazine or company, but a remembrance of the human interactions that took place somewhere in this really big world – the moment when our paths crossed, even for an instant.

Even if they forget me or if I never know what good came of an image I made, I do my best – through my photography – to never forget them. Hopefully, though, in the semi- selfishness of not wanting to forget, the images I make somehow serve those in my frame lines.

Links

Portfolio: http://www.noahdarnellphoto.com
Blog: http://www.haonavy.com
Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/haonavy/

Filed Under: Photos Tagged With: black and white, photo profiles

Flickr Group : 33 Classic Mono Photographs

July 8, 2011 by 7X5 Editors 3 Comments

This week we offered a twitter shout out for your classic black and white mono photographs in our flickr group. We promised to bring you a selection of thirty images from the submissions but we couldn’t bring the selection down any further.

As with the monthly flickr theme click on an image to offer the photographer some direct feedback.

Mono Scrape

Platinum Atomium

Little Big Man

Old Jhb Gas Works I

Boris Bikes

Clouds

Hansel’s House

Ingrid

Caution Part 2

Loppy, mono

photo wedding

Jazz Musicians_03

rose Mono

October 21, 2010

Waiting to rise again

Through the trees

The Lost Souls of K-Rd

The Look

Triangles

Front Line

…In My Shadow…188/365

Escape

Table for two

Hello Kitty 97/365

Contemplative

Forlorn

Belfast Bus Lane

Abandoned Kempton Park Hospital

Rolls Royce

Sophie 1

Daisy in Black and White

Mushroom

If your photo didn’t make the list fear not you can still take part in the current monthly theme, find out more here.

Filed Under: Capture Tagged With: black and white, Flickr, Mono

Photo Profile : Olav Ljones Skogaas

May 30, 2011 by 7X5 Editors 1 Comment

I got my first camera when I was ten, a simple Fuji point-and-shoot, but t was enough to get me hooked. I haven’t received any formal training in photography, I’ve learned by mistakes and shooting a lot of film and digital. While I went to college in the US I worked as a photographer for the school, shooting various events, making portraits.

Anything from concerts and lectures by guest speakers, to group shots of organisations for the yearbook to sports (try shooting tennis with a fully manual Canon AE-1). But it was good training.

About ten years ago, I got into street photography. I found it easier to photograph what was in front of me, instead of searching out more or less special events and trying to get access. I fell in love with photography all over again. This happened at the same time as I bought by first digital DSLR, a Canon 20D. Being able to ‘develop’ my own shots again was fantastic. Of course, I got caught up in the entire gearfest, with huge lenses, grip and what not. I schlepped gear weighing 15-20 kgs. It was hopeless.

Then a few years ago, a photographer was selling is Leica M7, with a lens, flash and a few other things, so ended up getting that. Man, that was different! It was frustrating to having to relearn focusing and not being used to manual. But I managed to stick with it,. And that sound, or rather click, of the shutter. A year later, after much nagging from a friend of mine, I decided to sell my Cannon-gear. A day after all the gear had been sold, the same photographer was selling his M8. Which I bought, and I have not looked back since.

There are a lot of photographers that inspire and motivate me. There’s a huge stack of photo books and magazines at home. This is perhaps where I should try to be different and name drop some obscure photographers. But no. Of course Henri Cartier-Bresson is up there, but my main inspirations are Garry Winogrand, Walker Evans, Raghu Rai, Robert Frank and W. Eugene Smith. WES’ Dream Street is just a fantastic document of Pittsburgh. And Frank’s “The Americans” is an essential photo book.

I think every photographer should have that on the shelf. I’m also very inspired by Joel Myerowitz. Perhaps not as much in terms of his pictures, but seeing videos of him shooting street and his thoughts on photography really inspire me. Of more contemporary photographers,

I must name Chris Weeks and Boogie. The latter’s “It’s all good” is one of my favourite newer photo books. A fantastic mix of street and social documentary. The man has cajones! Norwegian photojournalist Paal Audestad is also a major source of inspiration. His documentary series from Chernobyl is just simply stunning. Paal also does some fantastic music photography, much revolved around the Norwegian band Kaizers Orchetra and the black metal scene here.

Links:

My Flickr photostream
Follow me on Twitter

Filed Under: Photos Tagged With: black and white, photo profiles

The Black and White Weekend

May 30, 2011 by 7X5 Editors 2 Comments

This weekend we asked Seven by Five Photography readers to focus on black and white photography and post the results in the Seven by Five Flickr Group. (More details about the group here).

The results were great and we have included a selection in the post below. We aim to offer a number of other photo challenges throughout the year but remember to take part in the monthly theme.

As always, click on a photo to comment directly on the poster’s flickr page. Feedback is important so if you see a photograph you like then please encourage your Seven by Five photographers.