…shadows come out to play
Heading into last month, I felt a little anxious. I wondered how to pick what to make black and white photographs about. Historically, pops of color have been more likely to grab my attention, so there was a nervousness that set in as I stepped out and switched on my camera’s monochrome mode for the first time. The irony of how changing my color profile to monochrome mirrors my shift from excitement for the challenge to anxiety is not lost on me. However, at the end of the month, I now happily report that it turned out to be just fine—perhaps more than fine. In fact, contrast, patterns, and repetition draw my gaze a little more now. “How did I get here?”
My first few inspo-walks yielded much confusion as I found out it’s not so easy to see the world in black and white. Of course, I would tweak the little screen on the back of my camera to not show colors. But if you think about it, most people have a good idea of the snap they want before lifting the camera up. So there were a few times when I thought I saw a potential photo and then brought the camera to my eye only to be disappointed. I would, for example, find out that the alternating green and yellow stripes on the building in front of me rendered as very similar shades of gray to my camera’s sensor. That was rough, and dare I say, on one or two occasions, I considered altering the month’s challenge. I thankfully did not because…
“In the absence of color, shadows come out to play.” - Me.
Despite the first-day blues—no pun intended—it only took me a week to realize I would love photographing in this style. Reducing the 10 million colors my eyes can see to black, white, and the shades of grey in-between, meant that finding my much-desired minimalism felt that much easier. It would be remiss of me not to clarify: I do not think shooting monochrome makes photography easier. It just equips me with a useful way to achieve my goal of simplicity. Messy trees or chaotic street scenes can be hidden, draped in a thick, dark blanket of shadow. Bright lights and unhelpful skies can be washed out, crafted into a blank white canvas. That yellow coat donned by the old man in the corner of the frame need not hold so much visual weight. In some ways, it felt like a weight was off my shoulders—wink!
Shapes. Forms. Patterns.
Not only do shadows come out to play, but other visual patterns—or as some call them, photography rules—join in the chorus. They all appear to have found a voice—almost like the guy in the high school choir who returned from summer break and moved up from tenor to bass. In the last few days of the month, I found myself subconsciously noticing shapes, angles, and patterns even when doing unrelated things like driving. I invariably made my favorite photo of February on the last day of the month, and it was one where I tried to intentionally use all of what I had learned so far about black and white photography.
Metro.
After shooting for two hours around the same metro station, I began to lose hope in getting the shot I wanted. Alas, I spotted a lovely pocket of light created by the mid-morning sun atop the platform steps. I will eventually write about the process of getting this photo, but what happened next must be what the young kids mean when they say “he cooked!”. I don’t say this to pat myself on the back for shooting an incredible photo. Rather, I say this to pat myself on the back for patiently working the scene despite my earlier disappointment and spending the time to make a good photo a little better. I will likely make better photographs in the future—one would hope—but photos like these tend to have a stronger impact on me.
March Challenge?
It has been such a rewarding month of learning photography. It’s funny; I worried that I was not getting enough time to shoot, but writing this has helped put it all in perspective. Side thought: I think it’s funny how we say ‘funny’ to mean ‘interesting’ at times. Another funny thing: I feel reluctant to let go of black and white photography now. Hence, March’s theme will be Shapes and Geometry. While there's no requirement to shoot in monochrome this month, I get the sense that is exactly what I’ll do. Onwards!
