Sunday Morning, Black and White

[Ken Ramos]

I have been trying to get away from color for sometime now. I like shooting black and white because of its simplicity and the ability it gives for expression.


EOS 20D
Manual mode/hand held
1/200 sec. @ f/11 ISO 100
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 macro
Canon 430EX Speedlite (full)
Early morning, in shade

Nothing more than a group of Honeysuckle blooms, however, for some odd reason they appealed to me. Turned out pretty nice I think.




(Data for last two images, same as above)

I thought this moth to be quite interesting. Insects seem to be more amiable in the early morning hours. The second image was cropped from 50% and the last from 100% of full frame

[beetleman]

The first one is excellent in B&W. I like the symmetry and textures of the flowers and the way everything seems to radiate out from the center. It just seems very balanced between the light and dark items in the picture with neither one overtaking the other. It seems like not much is happening in the second picture but the crop is much better…brings everything much closer to the front and makes the moth much more interesting IMO.

[Ken Ramos]

I too like the first and the third there Doug. Your right not much is going on with the second image, though I was more into trying to compose that image than to show detail and fill the frame, which of course is all part of compositioning but yeah, it does lack interest and doesn't quite fill the frame as it should. Point well taken there. I will have to keep that in mind. The honeysuckle is as you have said too, my favorite really. I will be doing much more in black and white as time goes on, so some constructive criticism is really going to be important to me in achieving my goal of taking better b & w's. Thanks Doug

[cactuspic]

The first one is excellent in B&W. I like the symmetry and textures of the flowers and the way everything seems to radiate out from the center. It just seems very balanced between the light and dark items in the picture with neither one overtaking the other. It seems like not much is happening in the second picture but the crop is much better…brings everything much closer to the front and makes the moth much more interesting IMO.

I agree with Doug on the images. What makes #1 so successful for me is that it seems so new, so fresh. While it may be just another honeysuckle, it is so much more. The use of black & white emphasised the form and helped capture the lyrical grace of the cacading blooms.

Irwin

[Ken Ramos]

Thanks Irwin. From your and Dougs response to the honeysuckle, I now have something to build on in that respect, thanks.