Weekly Black and White Photography Thread # 17 (1 - 7 June)

Welcome to the Weekly Black and White Photography Thread # 18

We’re dedicated to fostering discussions about Black and White photography. This open peer-to-peer forum allows critical feedback on images, leading to discussions on techniques, styles, interpretation, and storytelling. The first few weeks response has been outstanding - keep them coming.

It’s easy - To participate: post an image or essay with a title, short description, and explanation. All comments must include the image or essay as a quote. Replies may or may not include quotes.

THREAD GUIDELINES:
1. This thread is for learning about Black and White photography.
2. Post one image or photo essay for comments.
3. Entries can be single images or short photo essays (3 to 10 connected images that tell a story).
4. Give your entry a clear title and explain why you took it and the story it tells.
5. Provide constructive feedback on others’ images/essays.
6. Go beyond simple praise or dismissal.
7. Explain why you like an image or essay.
8. Negative feedback is welcome (be polite, honest, and constructive).
9. Stay on topic and avoid politics or distractions.

We refine our skill-craft through feedback - Analyzing prints pinned on the virtual wall is our approach, but discussions of styles and techniques are also acceptable. While most images are captured digitally, Black and White film can also discussed. The focus is on image.

Post a photo or photo essay and get comments and feedback. In return, give honest but constructive opinions of others’ images. A simple “like” is insufficient. There are multiple levels of feedback: composition, technique, emotion and storytelling, etc.
What caught your eye about an image and why? What draws you in and what distracts you? What changes would you make? Does the photographer tell their story? Does the image communicate their viewpoint or emotion? As W. Eugene Smith said, “A photo is a small voice, at best, but sometimes – just sometimes – one photograph or a group of them can lure our senses into awareness.” Does the image meet Smith’s criteria?

Explore the image in your head, considering composition, perspective, toning, balance, exposure, and tonality. Consider the story, emotion or opinion the artist is trying to communicate. Provide feedback.

Downloading and reposting - (please note: clear instructions are required).
It’s often challenging to verbalize useful comments about images. Instead, it’s easier to “show.” Unless the original poster specifically states otherwise, participants are free to download, alter, and repost images in replies to express their analysis and critique. The reposted image may remain permanently or be removed after a short period. Downloaded and altered images shall not be used for other purposes or uploaded elsewhere.

Encouragement - When I first pinned a print on the cork-board for the professor and class to analyze, I was apprehensive. However, it proved to be an effective way to learn and develop my skills and vision. Well reasoned analysis and comments aid the artist in improving their vision, skill, and style. The goal is to promote and encourage people to enhance their artistic vision and skill in Black and White Photography by providing constructive feedback. General feedback is also welcome. Sharing techniques for capturing or processing images that aid in creating good Black and White images or photo essays is appreciated in replies.

Why focus on Black and White - As Elliott Erwitt said, “Color is descriptive. Black and White is interpretive.” It’s an abstraction that simplifies photography by focusing on composition, forms, shapes, tonality, textures, and emotions. Ansel Adams famously said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make a photograph.”

Clyde Butcher talks about the hundreds of photographers who flock to Inspiration Point in Yosemite National Park for the “golden hour.” However, the composition at sunrise is poor. For Black and White, it’s not about the color of the light, but the quality of the light. Ansel Adams arrived midmorning when the light was “right” to produce his iconic images. His iconic book, “Yosemite and the Range of Light,” had a significant impact on conservation and environmental movements in the West. It also attracts thousands of photographers each year to capture the “Range of Light.”

clydebutcher.com

Nick Ut’s “Napalm Girl” captured the horrors of the Vietnam War and profoundly impacted the United States. Stripped of distractions, the image exposed the terror in the children’s faces, prompting critical questioning of government actions. W. Eugene Smith’s “Minamata” warned the world. It exposed a corporation poisoning water and killing residents, highlighting the suffering of the Minamata community for profit. William Henry Jackson’s photographs convinced Congress to preserve Yellowstone as the first national park, leading to the creation of the National Park Service and commitment to wild land preservation.

aboutphotography.blog/blog/the-terror-of-war-nick-uts-napalm-girl-1972
www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/society-arts-culture/w-eugene-smith-minamata-warning-to-the-world/
www.pbagalleries.com/first-photographic-images-of-yellowstone/

Black and White strips away distractions to expose emotions. It tells unique stories in various photographic genres, from landscapes to social documentaries to portraiture. Check out Annie Leibovitz’s Black and White work.

blog.artsper.com/en/a-closer-look/why-artists-choose-black-and-white-photography/
fstoppers.com/fashion/why-its-still-important-shoot-black-and-white-48141
www.designspiration.com/save/1600176374707/

Another resource is the “Daybooks of Edward Weston,” though dated, still relevant.

Additional Resources - It is encouraged to discuss additional resources on Black and White photography in posts, whether in your images or commenting on others’ when those resources aid in the goals of the thread.

Growing Together - The Black and White thread focuses on growth and learning together. Be active, honest, and respectful.

And a River Runs Through

A place I return to often as the river is aways changing. From times in this same spot one has to portage their canoe to times where the flood waters form a raging torrent. The river is always changing - always tell a different story.

Two Fishermen

Local shot, under the dam where I spend an obsessive amount of time.

Interesting shot and perspective. Which fisherman has the most success?

Black trees & White fog

Looking down at a sea of fog in the valley below. Taken in 2014 at Zwölferhorn, Austria.
I thought this one might convert well to a B&W image. So just processed it now with my ACDSee image editor.
Landscape scenes usually use "landscape orientation", but vertical orientation can work too :-)

"I didn't write the rules. Why should I follow them?" - W. Eugene Smith

Interesting take. You could play around with some split toning maybe warming up the monochrome portion of the image.

Nice catch. The low hanging fog, the low clouds sandwiching the scene of the rugged coast line.

That's fine we learn by experimenting. I suspect with the overwhelming portion of the frame lying in the mid tones - rocks and stones normally are lower with the blue sky also registering in the mid tones - the image looked flat. However, the blue sky causes an optical illusion of the castle being a cooler tone of gray than the lower part of the castle. If you did a split tone on the castle and give it a slightly warmer than neutral tone - that should offset this.

Abandoned Creel pots, South Harris, Outer Hebrides.

Linhof, 5"x 4".

The classic composition that shows off the flexibility of a large format camera. Nicely done.

In Capture One there are several ways. The easiest would be to use "magic brush" and mask the monochrome section. Then extend or decrease the mass using the tools. You can limit to the darker tones using the luma range slider. You can eliminate the mask from the sky by using the eraser if there is some spill over. Then in that layer, go to the toning window in the color section under B&W and apply a tone. I am sure there are equivalent steps in Lightroom and other programs.

Nice to get a wide angle view of that dam.
I think the bird is probably the best fisherman here; so much practice every day :-)
Is that ice & snow or foam floating on the water?

Thanks :-)
Probably clear anyway, but just to mention,... the fog was coming quite high up, filling up the valley below, so although it looks like a "coast line" here, it isn't really

Neither had much success, though the bird did get a few small ones. Water was too rough.

This sort of scene resonates with me and makes me wish I had access to places like it - high perches from which to view valleys filled with fog. That's why my favorite painting is "Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog"

Lovely image with perfect toning for the scene. I like how you pull the viewer into the scene with the lost fishing stuff.. the lines, textures and shapes of old fishery equipment fascinate me. The outer Hebrides are probably my favorite of the places I've been fortunate enough to visit.

It's foam, following a flood that's only partly subsided here. Only the brave would risk the place with water this high. I could simply stand in a safe spot with a long lens. Yes, the bird did fare a bit better, but he had to settle for the small fish that got sucked through the spillway.