Black and white is not a new theme to this blog. If you go back to April 22, 2016 in the blog posts, you will see my first go round with black and white. Repeating a theme is actually a good thing. Here's why:
In April of last year, he was fast asleep on a large ottoman. The photo below was taken this past week.
- we can see if our perspective has changed
- we can look for the areas of improvement
- we can see which animals are still laying around doing nothing for most of the day!
In April of last year, he was fast asleep on a large ottoman. The photo below was taken this past week.
I swear to you, Barney did not lay in this dog bed all year! Sometimes he sat in the window.
Either way, he is still voting houses over barns for 90% of his day.
You can see a difference in the images above. The first image has been converted to black and white using a "classic" black and white conversion, while the second image was converted, then warmed up a bit with a photoshop action. I used a 50mm 1.8 lens for both images.
The choice of black and white worked well for both because, in the first very simple image, the color of the wall (a teal blue) seemed to take away from Barney cat. As a black and white photo, the wall is now grayish in color and Barney stands out more. In the second image, the brightness of the snow, mixed with the muddy-brown trees and sun behind Barney were a distraction. They muddled the image somewhat. As a black and white conversion, Barney's contrasting coat colors ground the image, as does the frame from the stained glass piece hanging in the window (which is why I left it there).
In keeping with the kitty theme, I also grabbed a few shots this week of our cat Harry. There is a colored version of one of the shots featured on my Facebook page if you'd like to sneak a peek at it. In the colored version, I am in a bit closer to Harry, so there is less background and he is framed out well from the surrounding kitchen paraphernalia. The difference in the photo below, is that there are a number of things surrounding Harry in the kitchen since I am further away, and any one of them can distract you, especially if they are in color. So this is a case for black and white, which helps to simplify the image and bring the focus more to Harry.
This is Harry's favorite spot, on the kitchen island, where he can watch the world go by and stay away from Barney, whom he hates with a cat passion.
You can see a difference in the images above. The first image has been converted to black and white using a "classic" black and white conversion, while the second image was converted, then warmed up a bit with a photoshop action. I used a 50mm 1.8 lens for both images.
The choice of black and white worked well for both because, in the first very simple image, the color of the wall (a teal blue) seemed to take away from Barney cat. As a black and white photo, the wall is now grayish in color and Barney stands out more. In the second image, the brightness of the snow, mixed with the muddy-brown trees and sun behind Barney were a distraction. They muddled the image somewhat. As a black and white conversion, Barney's contrasting coat colors ground the image, as does the frame from the stained glass piece hanging in the window (which is why I left it there).
In keeping with the kitty theme, I also grabbed a few shots this week of our cat Harry. There is a colored version of one of the shots featured on my Facebook page if you'd like to sneak a peek at it. In the colored version, I am in a bit closer to Harry, so there is less background and he is framed out well from the surrounding kitchen paraphernalia. The difference in the photo below, is that there are a number of things surrounding Harry in the kitchen since I am further away, and any one of them can distract you, especially if they are in color. So this is a case for black and white, which helps to simplify the image and bring the focus more to Harry.
This is Harry's favorite spot, on the kitchen island, where he can watch the world go by and stay away from Barney, whom he hates with a cat passion.
Looks like it's been a kitty week all around. The only two we are missing are Matty and Gus. Gus is perpetually camera shy (you can't let him know you are trying to take a photo). Matty will stare into the camera, but he can be a moving target.
I did manage to somehow get this last photo of Matty and Barney together. Barney moved a little, but Matty, as you can see, does stare down the camera. The last images (Harry and the dynamic duo below) were all taken with the 50 mm 1.8. In the final image I used a marble overlay on the wall behind the kitties.
I did manage to somehow get this last photo of Matty and Barney together. Barney moved a little, but Matty, as you can see, does stare down the camera. The last images (Harry and the dynamic duo below) were all taken with the 50 mm 1.8. In the final image I used a marble overlay on the wall behind the kitties.
There is loads more to see in this week's blog circle, so grab another cup of coffee or tea, and settle in to read what's been going on in black and white in everyone else's week. Start with Darlene Dykas Woodward of Pant The Town Pet Photography, serving Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
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