Monday, May 27, 2013

Film Photography Project Report on Shooting B&W Film

 

Photo by Lance King
Image Source: http://filmphotographyproject.com/content/features/2013/05/exploring-engaging-enlarging-black-and-white
 
I fell in love with the picture above when I saw it. It was taken on a recent walking workshop, put on by the Film Photography Project (FPP).
 
(Click Here) to check out FPP. These guys are great. They have a regular podcast that's pretty fun, and their store sells Kodak film for prices equivalent to the big NYC stores. I like to support FPP.
 
In a recent article on the FPP site, Jim Austin writes about black and white photography's important characteristics of austerity, authenticity, and abstraction.
 
By austere, I take Jim to mean that black and white photos offer none of the warmth or comfort of rich colors. It makes me think of the expression "It's right there, in black and white."
 
His point on authenticity is that monochrome images give the impression of being made before the days of photo manipulation. This is not true, of course, as manipulation has been around since the beginning of photography. But, I see his point. Most photos that are manipulated with modern software tools are likely to be color images.
 
The abstraction point is also good, in my opinion. Lack of color immediately takes us away from ust trying to replicate and show exactly what we saw, and hopefully leaves us with what we felt.
The Libyan Sibyl, by Reed A. George
Leica M4-2
 
So, go buy your film at FPP. Let's support the guys (and gals) who are keeping film photography alive!
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

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