Black And White Photography works by stripping away color so your brain has fewer things to process, which lets the real building blocks of an image, the interplay of light and shadow, take center stage. Black and White forces you to see in terms of shape, texture, and contrast rather than hue, and that shift in vision is where the real learning happens this week. The five photos below each prove that removing color can make your story stronger.
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“Noten”
Why I liked it: What I love about this image is all of its imperfectness: the grain, the grit, the overexposure. It’s all the fun nostalgic stuff that we miss about shooting with film and can never quite achieve in the digital format. The framing, the way Volker did, by hugging the foreground subject on the left frame but leaving enough space for his fellow musician in the background on the right frame, tells us so much story with minimal focus.
Exif: Yashica Yashica Mat 124G
Tags: #germanframers #europeanframers
“X”
Why I liked it: Sean has fallen into his own unique niche of using his nude body as his subject each week and using light as his main tool. What I love about this particular submission is how he shares his behind-the-scenes of what looks like an unfathomable setup but once you read how he explains it, you realize that it is totally achievable, which I think is the purest form of creativity. Thank you, Sean, for experimenting each week and creating your own reflecting pool in your garage. It’s just simply brilliant.
Exif: Canon EOS 5DS R · @24mm · 1/100 · f/8 · ISO 100 · flash
Tags: #nude #impliednude #selfportrait #x #reflection #waterreflection
Genre: Used External Flash, Black & White, Fine Art, Portrait/Self-Portrait
“"Woosh" – Waiting for the train”
Why I liked it: Scott had actually gone back to this same spot for a reshoot, only this time incorporating human subjects in the foreground, which is the thing that I think makes all the difference. I love the static subjects set against the moving train and the framing of the whole image gives a beautifully balanced photo and a feeling of wonder.
Exif: Olympus E-M5 MarkII · Olympus 14-150mm f/4.0-5.6 II @20mm · 0"6 · f/6.3 · ISO 100
Tags: #pnwframers #motion #train #vehicle #story #blur #people #ndfilter #slowshutter
Genre: Black & White, Architecture, Fine Art, Street Photography, Travel, Action
“Tines”
Why I liked it: Stephen’s photo is proof that you simply need a good macro lens, a nice neutral background, and a large dose of creativity. Stacking forks against one another in optimal light, he’s crafted a beautiful abstract macro that I love probably more than I should. A beautiful abstract photo.
Exif: Nikon Z8 · Nikon 105mm f/2.8 @105mm · 1/6 · f/13 · ISO 500
Tags: #macro #forks #tines
“A quiet moment”
Why I liked it: Sure, H. managed to capture their subject in beautiful afternoon light, setting contrast between it and the darker background and nailing just the right amount of depth of field so our focus is on the subject, while we can still identify the blurred rest of it, but none of that is what makes this photo special to me. A great photo is one that captures an essence, an emotion: the feel of aged wood under your legs at your family cabin on a warm afternoon, after a dip in the pool. Now I don’t know if that’s actually the story but that feeling is so tangible. This photo simply transports you in the most beautiful way.
Exif: Canon EOS 6D · @85mm · 1/320 · f/3.5 · ISO 400
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