Color Photography:
The first three years I was working as a photojournalist I shot exclusively in color. As a matter of fact I had very little interest at all in black and white and it was not until years later that I was trying to prove a point and make a joke, that I started working with black and white in depth (it is funny story and I will tell it in detail at another time.) The point is that when I started working in black and white I really enjoyed it and also found a lot of meaning in it. It was when I first started photographing war and I fascinated that current black and white images looked so similar to the images captured in other conflicts throughout the years, such as World War II, Vietnam etc. To me, this showed how little has changed over the years and is a powerful and important point to make.
Over the past few years I have done less and less work in color and for the most part I am happy with the timeless and moody quality that black and white provides. However, shooting full time, year after year can get a bit boring so I am always experimenting and trying out new techniques.
Recently I have been experimenting with split toning images. The process involves adding separate color hues individually the shadow and highlight channels of an image. Normally this is done with black and white images but recently I have also been experimenting with its effects on color images. This process, when done subtly, does not actually change the colors in the image but it does alter the hues in the darkest and lightest portions of the image. The effects are surreal and moody, so of course I like them. Here are a few of my first experimental images shot recently in Istanbul:
Children playing ball in the back of a pickup truck on the streets of Istanbul.
View from the roof of the Four Seasons Hotel (and yes, I did sneak in...come on, you think I paid!! Ha!)
A man watches afternoon foot traffic on the street below his home.
An apartment building entrance.
My friend the dove who sits outside my hotel room window.
Run down aparment buildings built on top of each other.
Street cats having dinner outside of a butcher shop on one of Istanbul's many hilly streets.
A sign at the entrance of a car parking lot.
A young girl plays catch from her window with friends on the street.
Note: If you like one of these images they can, like all of the images on this blog, be dowloaded in a resolution high enough to be set as your desktop or screen saver. Enjoy!
ok...i will...have a great weekend zoriah, take care :)
Posted by: p.m.w | April 28, 2012 at 17:34
You are correct. Black and white is for photos with great emotions and kinda tragic. It also works sometimes with photos that can be inferred with so many meanings. Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Posted by: photographers central coast | April 28, 2012 at 19:49
I have been doing both black and white and color. My editor WANTS color, but the Nikon can switch so at times I shoot the same image in both. You are correct, black and white is great not just as a learning tool, they are far more dramatic as well. When I photograph city council, well that is color and just color, but protest photos, I have been doing both and posting the black and white, as I learn, on Facebook.
Your last shot is quite timeless. and I will have to start doing things like this. So far I have done very little after processing... mostly I prefer to send these photos as is.
By the way, you are one person responsible for the two cameras I carry. Hell, I have proven to a few people that a point and shoot is good enough many a times.
Posted by: Nadin Abbott | April 28, 2012 at 21:03
A young girl plays catch from her window with friends on the street.
Posted by: riem john richmond | June 02, 2012 at 09:56