Thursday, September 18, 2008

Black and White

Last October Beth and I went to Yosemite and visited the Ansel Adams gallery while we were there. Adams was a pioneer in nature photography and shot most of his nature work in black and white despite color film having been around for years. The gallery had several of Adams' original prints hanging on the wall, all perfectly composed and tack sharp. It was pretty inspiring to see his work. Since then I have been taking more black and white photos and have even converted a few color images into black and white. My shots don't quite measure up to his, but I have enjoyed taking them. Shooting BW is a whole different ballgame. Lighting is still incredibly important, but since there is no color you can get away from shooting a little later in the morning or earlier in the afternoon. The lack of color also allows you to bring out textures much better. Many of Adams' photos use interesting textures. Exploring BW has been a lot of fun. My shots are below and you can check out Adams' work at www.anseladams.com.