Learning to See in Black and White

by Kelly

Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. ~Albert Einstein

I have a confession to make…when I found out that this month’s FOL theme was black and white, I wasn’t all that excited.  Because to be honest, black and white photography has never been my favorite.  You see, I am a color girl.  I love color.  I love living with and being around color. I invite color into my world with my gardens and the choices I make in my home decor.  I like wearing color.  I love colorful food….yes indeed, color makes me happy.

Well, I did a little bit of research about color, and as it turns out, there is a whole field of study regarding the psychology of color.  According to psychology.about.com:

‘Artists and interior designers have long understood how color can dramatically affect moods, feelings and emotions. It is a powerful tool and can be used to signal action, influence mood, and cause physiological reactions. Certain colors can raise blood pressure, increase metabolism, or cause eyestrain.’

So now when you think about how color pertains to photography and then you go and remove this emotional connection to a photo through color, you then are able to see the photo more subjectively.  Which I think is exactly the point black and white photography…the subject.

I know for myself, whenever I am shooting a subject, knowing in the back of my mind that it will be in black and white, it forces me to slow down and be more mindful of my composition.  Truly, shooting in black and white is a great exercise for practicing some of the basic compositional concepts such as line and shape, and texture and repetition.

The other cool thing about black and white photography is that without the distraction of  color, subtle details almost seem to come alive.

In preparing photos for this blog post, I found that light and shadow were key in defining shapes and bringing out details.  The contrast between the lights and darks – the tonality – really makes a black and white photo stand out.

And surprisingly, to me anyway, I also found that black and white portraits can particularly beautiful in a raw, honest kind of way.  Without the distraction of hair and eye color or the tones in the background, the personality of the subject shines through and you can really get a sense of who they are.

Finally, black and white photos seem to tell a story from a different perspective…free of the emotional connections we all have to color.   I think that's what I am learning to love in black and white images...the freedom...the simplicity.  Something I know I could use a little more of in my own life and have enjoyed pursuing in black and white.

So tell us…what do you enjoy about black and white photography? What do you look for when shooting in black and white?  And please continue sharing your beautiful images in our FOL Flickr group.

All the best, Kelly

Focus on Milestones

by Dotti

This past weekend we celebrated my granddaughter’s sixth birthday. It seems impossible.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated our 41^st anniversary. It seems impossible.

Next weekend we all travel to Pennsylvania for a family reunion to celebrate my mother’s 85^th birthday. It seems impossible.

All these celebrations got me thinking about the month of June in general. If I were given the responsibility of picking a nickname for the month of June, I believe it would have to be “Month of Milestones”. June, or close to it, generally marks the end of the school year and promotion to the next grade. Graduations of all stripes … kindergarten, middle school, high school, college, graduate school, professional school. Weddings … June still seems to be perhaps the most popular month for weddings which, of course, makes it a month of wedding anniversaries. And always, June birthdays. The list goes on but I think you get the drift of my somewhat sentimental thinking.

I know it’s easy for us mothers and grandmothers to look at these milestones and get sentimental about how swiftly time is passing, how quickly our children and grandchildren are growing. How all too rapidly we’re growing older.

While searching for a quote to use today the one above stopped me in my tracks. While it wasn’t exactly what I was searching for, it seemed perfect. Dr. Seuss got it right, I think. {Didn’t he always?} Instead of being wistful, let’s smile and cherish the beautiful memories of life and the milestones it brings.

And as photographers, we’re doubly blessed. We get to record these priceless memories and preserve them for our kids and grandkids. Too often now, my own granddaughter doesn’t want me to take her photo but I know sometime down the road, she’ll be glad she has a way to look back on her special memories.

So let’s keep on doing what we do best: taking photos, saving them in books, videos, albums, canvas and framed prints … and sharing them with our families. For always.

Focus On You

by Carol A.

Work Done for the Day 

Yup - Teragam got to me again! I just could not pass up this spectacular shot, where the use of black and white so clearly enhanced it's subject! Row upon row of texture in the fields, complimented by those gorgeous clouds!

To see more of our featured artist visit her at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/teragam/with/8678804193/