Similartothepointsraisedaboutabstract
photography,urbanenvironmentsare
packedfullof black& whitephoto
opportunities.Whetheryou’replanningon
shootingin fullcolour,orblack& white,cities
area creativephotographer’splayground,
withgeometry,patterns,linesandshapesin
abundance.Man-madematerialslike
concreteandmetalareoftenalready
monochromatic,sotakewelltobeingshot
in black& white– theseareoftenbest
capturedunderharsh,high-contrastlight,
wherelightandshadowcreatessudden
jumpsin tonalityandexposureandsharp
edgesareexaggerated.Lookup,downand
allaroundyouforinterestinganglesand
compositionsandmixit upbetween
wide-angleandtelephotofocallengthsto
finduniqueperspectives.Don’tjustfocuson
thearchitectureeither– shootingin cities
alsoopensuppossibilitiesforstreet
photography,whichis anothernichethat’s
wellgroundedin black& whitephotography.
Forinspirationlooknofurtherthanthe
legendarydocumentaryphotographer
HenriCartier-Bresson,famousforhisblack
& whiteexposuresof everydaylife.Thereare
plentyof clichéssurroundingstreet
photography,suchasphotographinga
personalignedin frontof anamusing
billboardorgraffiti, orwaitingfora split
momentwhensomeonepassesthrougha
slitherof sunlightin thedarkstreet,but
they’reclichésfora reason– theywork!
Keepaneyeoutforinterestingcharacterson
yourtravelsandremember,street
photographydoesn’talwayshavetobe
candidandfrom-the-hip.If youseeanideal
subjectthendon’tbeafraidtoaskif youcan
taketheirportrait– it’sgreatwaytolearn
howtobuildrapportwithsubjectsandhow
tocreateinterestingportraitsonthefly.
ROLAND SHAINIDZE/SHUT TERSTOCKRUGLI
G/
SH
UT TE
RST
OCKIdeally,youwantto keep your camera’s ISO as
low as possible – a low ISO rating means
sharper images, better colours and graduations
in tonal changes and less noise – ultimately,
higher image quality overall. But there are times
when shooting at a high ISO is inevitable, even
necessary – for instance in low light. It’s always
better to capture a slightly noisy image that’s
sharp than a clean one that’s spoilt by camera
or subject movement. This usually happens if
you try to shoot at too low an ISO for the light
and compromise on shutter speed, or spoilt by
too shallow a depth-of-field because you were
forced into a wider aperture than you desired.
Generally, we’d advise you stay away from the
really high ISOs unless necessary, however
black & white is one medium whereby it’s easier
to get away with a bit of grain. It stems from the
association with black & white film. Film
photography taught us to embrace black &
white grainy images, and while digital noise
doesn’t have quite the same charm as film
grain, it doesn’t look out of place. So if you’re
shooting black & white, try bumping up the ISO
rating and seeing if you enjoy the results it gives.
URBAN LANDSCAPES
HIGH ISO
July 2019 Digital SLR Photography 61