A photographer friend of mine, Jonas Kulikauskas, gave me an interesting challenge last week. He asked me to post a black and white nature photo every day for the week. At the very same time, I came down with this horrible winter cold that seems to be floating around. There I was down for the count and unable to take any new photos of nature so that I can make them black and white nor could I shoot a roll of black and white film.
Instead of giving up, I decided to look back at some nature photos I had already shot and see if I could convert any of them to black and white.
It was an interesting exercise for me. While I do have a favorite black and white film, I don’t usually convert my digital images to black and white. What is curious is that I actually love the look of black and white, it just isn’t my go to edit. This was just the push I needed.
I am thankful for the challenge in that I was able to look at my work in a new way. It has also encouraged me to convert to black and white more.
Do you usually edit in color or black and white? Try changing it up a little. You might find some happy surprises.
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I have been loving these!
Thank you! I was a fun challenge.
I’m a big fan of b&w. I love how it can change the mood of a shot. That last shot with the camera looks soft and dreamy on the left and timeless on the right with great contrast. So cool to see these side by side.
Thank you! It really does change the mood.
Ah. This is just inspirational. And I’m all about the black and white at the moment…just ordered me some fuji neopan. Can’t wait! x
I love the mood of B&W. I am not as good with color — sometimes I take a shot and I haven’t thought about the color (my wife always thinks about the color) and I don’t like the way the image turns out. Very often converting to black and white highlights the aspacts of the scene that I was trying to capture.
I really love how these images all work in either.