Black and White, Four Ways

The Point-Shoot-Click challenge this week is to shoot black and white, which is my favourite medium. It forces a photographer to think in stronger contrasts, to focus on the details, to know how light works and to really know in her head what she is wanting to acheive in a photograph. I wanted to take on this challenge by illustrating the possibility of black and white in four ways:

1) 19th century daguerreotype style--I went for a softer focus close-up and adjusted the contrasts digitally in Photoshop.

Hands of a Toddler
(directional natural light, f 4.0, ISO 400, greyscale gradient added digitally)

2) casual portrait--this one has a softer sepia on it which will always make this type of portrait timeless.

Thirst
(directional natural light, f 3.2, ISO 400, custom sepia added digitally)

3) modern style--to show how black and white can be used alongside colour to add drama, something that was possible before digital but definitely easier with Photoshop!

Wine by Moonlight
(available light, ss 1 second, f 3.2, grayscale gradient and recolour overlay added digitally)

4) contrast detail--black and white can effectively showcase contrasts and directional, natural light.

Isabel's Toes
(directional natural light, ISO 200, f 2.8, digitally resized and grayscaled)

RAKfile Layouts, August

I love designing for the RAKfile, RAKscraps's monthly newsletter (freebies enclosed, as always), because it is guaranteed to make me stretch way out of my box. This month was no exception and with its release today, I am now able to feature them here too (one layout credited to me wasn't mine so my original is here!)


Credits: Trish Jones's "Love That Boy" kit.

Credits: Hank's Kit and Grass kits from WetFish Designs

Tomatoes On a Ledge

Plum tomatoes from my garden ripening on my kitchen window sill.

Laugh Like No One is Watching

This is my most recent RAKscraps sponsor team layout. The back story is that my daughter was at a friend's house and got upset when her friend went outside to play with some neighbourhood friends because she was nervous about meeting the new people. They all tried really hard to make her feel welcomed into the group and after some coaxing she finally caved. The result: she had a blast! So, this layout is dedicated to her, for perservering!

Credits: Crush Bubbles and Texture Strips Digital Kits by Trish Jones

New Camera Experiment

For anyone who is starting into digital photography and does not want to invest in the current camera that everyone from amateurs to pros is hoping to have, the Canon Rebel, there are midrange options that are point and shoot friendly while still offering the flexibility for more artistic exploration. When I recently lost a digital camera and had to shop for a new one, the Rebel was on my wish list but there it had to stay so what to buy instead? I went back to my film photography roots and sourced out a Panasonic: what sold me was the Leica lens and the price tag, around $500 Canadian. When I took it out for its first night shooting, I was very pleasantly surprised at how manual I could go with it and how I could shoot photos like this one. For the die hard digital editors who want to know, yes, it also shoots in RAW. I did not get my wish list Rebel but I certainly got a camera that any serious amateur and even a pro would be happy to work with.