Black and White

I have been missing from the blog circle for a few weeks, due to some personal and family matters, including a lovely visit with family from Colorado.  I am back this week, just in time for our theme of black and white.

I thought about creating a few new photos for the week's subject, but instead decided that there were a few photos I had been thinking about converting to black and white, so why not use them here.

Some images lend themselves better to black and white conversion than others.  This black and white kitten, for instance, is dramatic in contrast.  I find that dramatic contrast images always lend themselves well to conversion.  In this case the kitten was photographed on a tan suitcase lid with a gray background.  Whiskers really show up well on tiny kittens in black and white. 

Another reason to use black and white is to hide some of the nuances of the surroundings.

In early May I took some horse photos, a few of which I featured in the blog in color.  The remainder I let sit in my file system for a bit. This intriguing photo had many things that grabbed attention away from the horse, but I believe that by turning it to black and white, there is less color competing for the viewer's attention.  The light rays also help to direct the eye, and show up much better in the black and white conversion.

One more photo, below, also had too much green and a mottled background in color.  The conversion allows us to focus in on the expression of the dog. I would have liked a little more shadow in this image, making it a bit more dramatic, and I could have added it, but decided to leave the photo as is for now, and just do a straight conversion.

Black and white can be a useful tool.  I can set my camera to shoot black and white in camera, or use post processing to convert the image from a RAW file.  I have tended to use post processing, however, I have decided to challenge myself to experiment with the in-camera setting in the next few weeks.  I will let you know how it turns out!

To see more black and white, start with Shae Pepper of Shae Pepper Photography.  Look for the next link at the end of each blog, until you find yourself back here where you started.  Enjoy your weekend!