Читать книгу Collins Complete Photography Projects - John Garrett - Страница 43

Photographs were basically monochrome for about one hundred years, though alternative printing processes and handpainting could inject some colour for the dedicated photographer.

In 1935, Kodachrome was born and really took off. For a comparatively low price, everybody could now record their colourful world on colour slides. From there, the production of colour films grew rapidly and before long colour negative films meant that instant prints were available from every chemist in the high street.

Yet black and white photography remains a very popular medium. Black and white prints are a major art form and digital cameras plus computer software have made them so much more accessible than traditional analogue black and white. The quality of the papers, inks and printers is now incredible, making digital black and white photography an exciting alternative to really go for.

However, traditional black and white technology has been making a comeback. The craft of the darkroom and the magic of the image coming to life in the developing tray continue to fascinate, and if you wish to learn how to pursue this form of photography you should be able to find a course near you on which darkroom technique is taught.

The decision as to whether to go for colour or black and white used to mean being able to visualize how a subject would look in tones of grey before choosing which film to put in the camera. With digital, we can switch from colour to black and white in a second to check whether the colour is converting to black and white successfully. We also have the added possibility of being able to shoot in colour and then convert to black and white later.

We highly recommend that you explore monochrome; you will be looking purely at light, tone and texture, and you may find meaning in your photographs that you might have missed, distracted by the presence of colour. It’s good practice to look at the same pictures in both colour and black and white, assessing which works best and analysing why; you will soon develop a feeling for the look that will be most suitable for the image.

SHOP WINDOW

This picture is all about colour – it is of course what attracted me to take the picture in the first place. 1/200 second at f5.6, 20mm, 400 ISO. GH

ASSESSING MONOCHROME

There are colour subjects that don’t work in black and white and this is one of them. If I had been walking around taking black and white pictures I wouldn’t have given the shop window a second look. As your experience increases with monochrome you will learn to recognize the colours and light that will translate into strong black and white images.

SUMMER AT THE COAST

In colour, this seascape is like a pleasant watercolour painting. The boats and clouds have merged into the blue, giving a soft, summery look. 1/750 second at f6.7, 85mm, 400 ISO. GH

CHANGING THE MOOD

Translated into black and white, the picture has gained a dramatic atmosphere. The boats and sky now become the subject, which in the colour picture was the wall.