So, I woke up this morning with a real urge to try and capture some of that beautiful photography black and white mood. You know the kind I mean? The stuff that looks all artsy and deep. Figured I’d give it a proper go, not just slap a filter on something and call it a day. Easier said than done, let me tell you.
I grabbed my old digital camera. It’s not fancy, but it’s mine. First, I just went out into the garden, thought I’d start simple. Pointed it at some flowers. Click. Looked at the screen. Ugh. Just looked like a sad, grey flower. All the life, all the pop, just… gone. It wasn’t ‘moody’; it was just depressing. My early attempts were a total washout, like the world decided to get really dull and forgot to send the memo.
My first hour was mostly just frustration.
Honestly, I almost gave up. It’s a bit like that whole thing with filters on phones these days. Everyone thinks they’re a master photographer because they can tap a ‘noir’ filter. I’ve been guilty of it too! But it’s a lie, isn’t it? Those filters often just strip the color out and leave a flat, boring mess. It’s not really seeing in black and white. It’s just… less color. And less color doesn’t automatically mean more art.
I remember this mate of mine, years ago. He was convinced black and white photography was just about making everything look old. He’d take a picture of his shiny new trainers, desaturate it, maybe add a bit of fake grain, and act like he’d produced a masterpiece. Drove me absolutely bonkers. It’s not about that at all, is it? It’s about something else entirely.
So, I took a breather. Made a cup of tea. And I tried to think. What actually makes a good black and white photo? It’s not the subject being old, or sad, or even necessarily dramatic in color. It’s about other things. I started to make a mental list, things I really needed to look for:
- Strong contrasts. Not just fifty shades of blah grey, but real blacks and clean whites.
- Textures. Things that you can almost feel with your eyes, stuff that color usually distracts from.
- Shapes and lines. With no color, these really have to do the heavy lifting, guide your eye.
- Light. Man, it’s always about light, but in B&W, it’s like the light and shadows are the main characters.
Armed with this, I went back out. This time, I didn’t even look at colorful things. I looked for shadows. I looked at the rough bark of a tree, the way the sunlight hit a peeling paint job on an old fence. I spent ages just looking at a brick wall, no joke. Trying to see the patterns, the way the light fell across it. It felt a bit daft, to be honest, staring at a wall like it held the secrets of the universe.
I took a bunch more pictures. Some were still rubbish. But a few… a few started to feel a bit different. When I got them onto the computer, I didn’t just hit the ‘convert to monochrome’ button. I actually played around with the sliders. Pushed the darks, lifted the lights, messed with the contrast. It wasn’t about a quick fix. It was more like coaxing something out of the image.
So, what did I learn from this little practice session?
Well, for one, getting that ‘beautiful photography black and white’ look is way harder than it seems. It’s not just about removing color; it’s a whole different way of seeing the world. You have to train your brain to look for different things. And it takes patience. Lots of it.
I didn’t produce any world-beating art today. Let’s be real. But I got a couple of shots that I don’t totally hate. They’ve got a certain feel to them. And I guess that’s the point of practice, right? To slowly, bit by bit, get a tiny bit better. It’s definitely a journey, this black and white thing. And I’m only just starting to figure out the map.
