Times Square

Pic of the Day: Oh He Knew (Delayed)

A photo of a New York City Calvery Officer while he's on horse back, at Times Square.  The title says it all.  He saw me lining up my lens from at least 20 feet away.  He made the face on purpose.  I believe he was having a bit of fun.  It makes me smile.

Shooting black and white

When you first come to my site you may find a super large photo of a woman with facepaint on.  The face paint makes her face look pretty evil.  She was anything but.  Now you may be asking yourself, "What does this have to do with shooting in black and white?"  Good question.  The answer... Nothing.  Shooting black and white is just a part of my taking photos.  I first discovered the wonders back in college.  I shot a LOT of black and white film back then.  But I didn't really see how much it effected my shooting digitally until about a year or two ago.  Over the past couple of years I have grown to really favor black and white photography.  Even when desiring color as my final outcome.  

I'd frame up my shot.  Switch the camera setting to monochrome.  Check out the tones of the image.  Then I'd switch back to one of my color settings.  I honestly don't think I'd ever have to worry about color afterwards.  For me it worked out.  I'd say give it a try and slowly see how that works out for you.  In my experience, I loved it.

Now when you look at my site, you may think that I shoot a lot in black and white.  Well I do.  But not as much as you would think.  Quite often I'd come across a photo which I intended to be in color.  I shot it in color and and processed it in color.  However for some reason or another I made the final decision to create a black and white version of the photo.  OR!!!  You may be looking at a photo I took while shooting film.  I generally prefer black and white film, as there is a certain quality in the final outcome of the photo which digital photography can't match.  I do not post nearly as much black and white film photography as I do digital.  Why?  I share a lot on the blog and in the site.  Some things I like to keep just for myself.  Those photos are printed, mounted and hung.

Photo by Daniel Russo @2012
Canon 5D Mark 2 - Carl Zeiss 50mm F1.4 Planar T* ZE