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B+W
When contrast is really high in a scene you
can produce stark, simple images that
comprise very few tones – in extreme cases
literally just a black silhouette against a
white backgroud. This is particularly easy to
achieve when you’re shooting by water at
dawn or dusk or in misty or hazy weather
as the water mirrors the tone of the sky and
anything solid on the water will silhouette.
I’ve used this technique to great effect when
photographing fishermen wading in water,
boats on the sea, even partly-submerged
rocks or wooden posts. Bright, hazy weather
provides perfect conditions.
I also enjoy shooting into the light at
sunrise in urban locations. When the
weather’s clear, intense sunlight rakes down
streets, reflecting off buildings and roads so
people and cars are reduced to silhouettes.
If you find a good spot where the light’s right,
just wait for suitable subjects to appear. The
same applies inside buildings when sunlight
reflects off shiny floors – anyone walking
across the floor will be instantly silhouetted.
6 GO TO THE EXTREME
Alnwick, Northumberland
These trees were shot on an overcast winter’s
day. The washed-out sky and snow on the
ground have reduced the tonal range
to create a stark, simple image.
Fujifilm X100 with 23mm lens, 1/570sec
at f/5.6, ISO 1600
Dead Vlei, Namibia
A telezoom lens was used to isolate this single
tree against a patch of sunlit sand dune so it was
reduced to a silhouette. Perspective compression
created by the lens also enhances the composition.
Canon EOS 5D MKII with 70-200mm zoom lens,
0.6sec at f/22, ISO 100
In terms of lenses, I choose whichever
focal length does the job. If the silhouette is
close to the camera, a wideangle lens can
be used to stretch perspective and make
shapes more interesting and compositions
stronger. Trees look great in wideangle
because the lens stretches perspective
and make the branches seem longer – this
looks fantastic if you shoot from low level
and use the sky as a background. You can
also use overhanging branches to frame
the scene and silhouette them against the
sky, or inside buildings use archways and
doorways to frame the view. At the other
extreme, a telezoom is ideal for homing-
in on features, such as trees on a distant
hillside or boats on water. I use a 70-
300mm zoom lens and often find myself
zooming all the way to 300mm.
5 LENS CHOICE
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