Week 1/52 ~ Lesson 1: Slow and Steady

'Something out of nothing' - Black and White

I know it is only week one, and although I would like to be further along in my studies, I have decided to take it slow and enjoy this journey. In the past, I’ve moved to fast and ended up overwhelmed and paralyzed. Not this time.

The book that I’m reading (Black and White Digital Photography, Photo Workshop) starts out with photography basic fundamentals. I already know this basic information about exposure, aperture, shutter speed, ISO and composition. Nonetheless, I decided to go ahead and read through the first few chapters in hope of finding a nugget or two that is new or that I had forgotten or not used.

True to form, this workshop book ends each chapter with an assignment. I figured for now that this was a good place to start for now.

Assignment 1 | Something Out of Nothing

Look at the things around you and create a new black-and-white image. The only requirement is that the subject be something nearby that you see often. Use tone, shape and contract to locate things right under your nose that would make interesting photographs.

The Shoot. The two image below were shot here on our property with my Canon Rebel T3i, using my 50mm lens. I have decided to start shooting in raw although I'm not yet proficient in using and editing raw files so I set my camera to shoot in raw, + .jpg. I will work with the raw files at a later date.

After taking the first set of images I decided to set my camera to 'picture mode: monochrome'. I thought I would be able to see (in the view finder) how each image worked as a monochrome before I took the photo. I still have the raw file for converting to black and white in Photoshop later, but the actual .jpg file is black and white.

The Results. I found it difficult to determine if an image would work by looking at the viewfinder before the image was taken. Although, after I shoot a few shots, I can scroll back through the pictures in my camera to review the results as well as look more closely at the histogram in the viewfinder. Check out Helen's post: How to Read the Histogram in Photography and Why You Should

I plan to keep shooting jpgs in color and monochrome for the time being. The monochrome image is not for processing, but for evaluating the image as a monochrome picture. Keep in mind, I have to change the picture styles when switching from 'standard' to 'monochrome'. I will also be saving the raw files for future study.

The images below were processed from color .jpgs and converted using a filter in Nix Collection/Silver Efex Pro 2. This is my fallback monochrome image converter for now. My goal is to eventually be able to convert a raw file to a monochrome using Camera Raw. Then I can start making some comparisons. Stay tuned.

I would love to hear from you as I journey through this year - slow and steady. Feel free to send me your critiques, thoughts, ideas, tips and questions.