Black_White_Photography_-_Winter_2014

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B+W

There’s no better way of refreshing your photographic approach

than looking at the work of artists who have explored similar themes.

Leaving aside the physical techniques of painting, artists such

as Edward Hopper and the exciting British artist George Shaw

will suggest different ways of isolating your subjects in the

frame. George Shaw is best known for his bleak paintings

of nondescript urban developments that are wonderfully

evocative of the times we live in.

While shooting at this location, I remembered seeing some

of Edward Hopper’s paintings of buildings. Recollecting other

people’s work during your shoot won’t force you to follow in

their shoes, but it could provide a useful starting point.

Sometimes the location you’ve travelled to shoot won’t be clean,

clear and easy to frame. Yet this kind of situation is still important to

record, as this example shows.

With very ancient ruins or more recent sites that have suffered

from extensive overgrowth, you’ll be surprised at how visible the

message still is. In this shot of a ruined stone circle, the overgrown

surroundings add – rather than detract – from the overall image.

Don’t worry that you need to see it all, instead go with the flow

and accept the limitations, as it will add to the atmosphere.

ACCEPT LOCATION LIMITATIONS

Armed with a rectangular viewfinder, it can be easy to overlook

the obvious and return from a shoot without images that set

the project properly in context.

An essential part of visual storytelling is making an image that

acts as a scene-setter. Pull back from your subject and look around

the location to see what you can include in the frame. Remember,

the setting will add much needed background information to your

project, so it’s important to include as much as possible.

In this example, I’ve sacrificed a closer shot for one that gives

a better sense of the surrounding landscape.

CONVEY THE SETTING

LOOK AT PAINTERS AND THEIR WORK

A more personalised statement can be made by printing your

chosen set of images on to high quality cotton inkjet paper, as

shown. Using deckled paper that has a raggedy edge (check

out Moab paper), smaller sheets are easily folded then stitched

using conventional bookbinding techniques. Try purchasing

paper that is double-sided, so you can print sections, as

shown, rather than single sheets.

THE HANDMADE BOOK

SECTION 3: MAKING YOUR

PROJECT INTO A BOOK

Your finished project makes for a fascinating book,

with plenty of creative options to make the concept

of ruin even more tangible.

SECTION 2:

THINKING ABOUT YOUR PROJECT

Shooting static spaces doesn’t require any new

approaches in your shooting, but better results

will come if you think around your subject.

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