Digital SLR Photography - UK (2019-07)

T

HERE’SVIBRANCYINthenaturalworld
in droves– fromcolourfulclouds
duringsunriseandsunset,togreen
foliage,vibrantflowers,aquamarinewaters
andblueskies,sowhywouldyouconsider
discardingallof thatcolourinformationin
favourof shadesof grey?Well,sometimes
youshouldn’t– black& whitedoesn’twork
foreverylandscape,andtherearetimes
whena sceneis soreliantoncolourto
rendera pleasingimagethatconvertingit to
monochromecanturnit fromstunningto
lacklustrein aninstant.However,thereare
alsotimesandscenesforwhichblack&
whitebringsa landscapetolife.Thisisn’ta
comprehensivelistbut,forexample:
minimalistscenesdrapedin snow,mistor
fog,coastallongexposures,andscenesshot
understormyskiesoftenworkwell.There
aretimesat whichlandscapescanappear
almostmonochromaticin reallifetoo,such
asthecoastwithitsgreyrocksandmurky
watersona greyday– a lackof natural
colourin a scenecanindicatetheidealtime
totrya monochromeconversion.Weather
conditionscandictatewhetheryouchoose
toseein colourorblack& whitetoo– harsh
middaysuncreateshighcontrastlightwhich
isn’ttypicallysuitedtolandscape
photography,butit offerstheidealchance
forusingcolourfilters(seepage53)oran
infraredfiltertoexaggeratethetonalityin the
sky,cloudsandfoliage.Flat,dulllightcan
equallytranslatewellintomonochrome,

Scenesandconditionsthatpresent
minimalistopportunitiescanhelpcreate
strikingblack& whiteimages.Asmentioned
earlier,scenesthatarenearmonochromatic
in reallifetendtolookgoodin black& white.
Anotherwisebusylandscapeshroudedin a
blanketof mistorfogis oftenidealfora black
& whiteconversiontoo,asis a snowyscene
thatis practicallyblack& whitealready.
Scenessuchastheseneedcontrast,soif the
landscapein frontof youis almostentirelya
foggyhazewithnodiscerniblefeatures,then
black& whiteprobablywon’tmiraculously
saveit, butif thereareoneortwoskeletal
treespiecingthroughthefogthenit maybe
a differentstory.Whenshootingsceneswith
fog,mistorblanketedin snow,youwantto
beaimingfora widetonalrange,sowhites
shouldrenderbrightandshadowsshould
renderdark,almostblack.Yourcamera’s
meteringcanbefooledbysuch'white'
scenesintounderexposing,sokeepaneye
onthehistogramandaddexposure
compensationtoensurethatsnowandmist
aren’trenderedasa greysoup.

HELEN DIXON

MINIMALIST

PA RT O FTHEADVANTAGEOF

SHOOTINGDIGITALLYIS THATYOU

CANCHOOSEATA N YTIMENOW

ORINTHEFUTUREWHETHERYOU

WANTTO PRESENTYOURIMAGEIN

BLACK& WHITE ORCOLOUR

56 Digital SLR Photography July 2019

MONO-LITHIC

Coastal scenes are often quite

monochromatic already, making

black & white conversions easy.