Black and White In The Digital Age

     It seems most of my photographic friends are heavily enamored with nature photography. I guess that it kind of goes with the season. Summer is an awesome time to be outdoors enjoying the abundance of life. It seems every time I open a social media feed, I'm inundated with a plethora of bird pictures, wildlife images, flower pictures, and photos of nature in general. 

     Don't get me wrong. I have a tremendous appreciation of the wildlife and nature genre. I know how much dedication and skill is required to photograph wildlife and the beauty of the natural world around us. I am seeing some amazing work from some highly skilled shooters.

    Maybe it's the rebellious streak in me, I tend to zig when others zag. I've been shooting a lot of black and white lately. While most of my photographic compatriots are trekking down trails and paddling lakes and rivers to capture the abundant colour, wildlife and overall beauty of the summer season, I'm hitting the mean streets of Greater Metropolitan Paris, Ontario (among other places) to capture the gritty life of the urban jungle! Yup! I'm a tough-ass street photographer in small town Ontario! On the plus side, I'm usually not too far away from a really good cup of coffee.

    

    Like I said earlier, I've been shooting a lot of black and white lately. I honestly believe that every photographer should spend a good chunk of time shooting predominantly in black and white. Perhaps six months to a year at least. I did my first tour of black and white duty back in the dinosaur days of film and, in some ways, I'm still doing it. By eliminating the saving grace of colour, my visual acuity opens up. I no longer have the pretty colours to save what would otherwise be a boring picture. I'm forced to start utilizing other visual elements. Things like composition, contrast, shape, form, line and texture.

 

      One of the questions I ask myself when looking at a colour photograph is, "It's a nice shot, but would it hold up in black and white?" It's not necessarily the main criteria for judging a photograph, but it's a good place to start. Here's an example. 

    Regular readers of this blog will recognize the above photo. It was featured in a blog post from March of this year. https://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2021/03/on-photographic-expression.html  

Here's the same shot in black and white.

        In my opinion, the colour photo has a little more impact simply because it features the beautiful golden colour of the light against a dismal overcast sky. However, despite the lack of colour, the visual elements are still there. We've got the contrast of a blast of light coming through an overcast sky, the reflection of light on the wet pavement and concrete bridge rail, the roadway, sidewalk and bridge rail all providing depth to the image and functioning as leading lines to the buildings downtown. The black and white version still stands on its own. Some viewers might even prefer it to the colour shot.

    Here's an even more radical example.

    Ok it's a sunrise photo. It's absolutely gotta have the beautiful gold and orange colours right? Not necessarily. Again, good composition comes into play.                                                                  

     The silhouette of the tree is placed almost perfectly on the line of the rule of thirds and the quilted sky in gray still provides enough interest to engage the viewer. Admittedly it doesn't have quite the impact of the original in colour, but it still stands on its own as a very good shot.

    The beauty of digital photography is that achieving a good black and white look is easier than ever. I've completely made the switch to mirrorless cameras and I've never been happier. Most mirrorless cameras feature an electronic viewfinder. So if the camera is in a black and white mode, I can see the subject or scene in all its monochromatic glory before I even trip the shutter. 

     Also I shoot Fujifilm cameras. They have digital film simulation modes that actually allow me to achieve results that are as good if not better than what I could produce after spending hours in a darkroom in the days of film. That huge gulping sound you may have heard is a whole lot of film photographer/darkroom tech pride being swallowed. I don't care. Photography is a results oriented activity. In the words of American photographer Garry Winogrand, "It's about the work. It's always about the work. "In the words of Gord Barker, "No one cares how you got the shot as long as it's a good shot!" Not entirely true. I care about how you got the shot. But, then again, I'm a full blown photofreak!

      Working in black and white is akin to learning a new language. Someone once told me that you know you're becoming fluent in a new language when you begin to think in that language.  I'm kinda getting that way with black and white photography.  I used to look at a scene through the camera and think ''I wonder how this would look in black and white.'' Now, much of the time the camera is preset to black and white when I put it to my eye and I think, ''I wonder how this would look in colour!'' For me, black and white is as much  a default go to as colour is. 

Ok so this shot was taken in Cambridge not Paris but you get the idea

    So while my compatriots are out in the boonies, composing lovely photos of wildlife and nature, I'll be working the hard gritty streets of small town Ontario. You know, where the denizens do such strange things as eating ice cream, sipping iced coffee on outdoor patios, chatting with passersby and walking very friendly dogs. 

    Wish me luck, It's a jungle out there!

                                    ...more later