• Members 430 posts
    March 15, 2025, 11:15 p.m.

    Welcome to the Weekly Black and White Photography Thread

    We’re dedicated to fostering discussions about Black and White photography. This open peer-to-peer forum allows critical feedback on images, leading to discussions on techniques, styles, interpretation, and storytelling. The first few weeks response has been outstanding - keep them coming.

    It’s easy - To participate: post an image or essay with a title, short description, and explanation. All comments must include the image or essay as a quote. Replies may or may not include quotes.

    THREAD GUIDELINES:
    1. This thread is for learning about Black and White photography.
    2. Post one image or photo essay for comments.
    3. Entries can be single images or short photo essays (3 to 10 connected images that tell a story).
    4. Give your entry a clear title and explain why you took it and the story it tells.
    5. Provide constructive feedback on others’ images/essays.
    6. Go beyond simple praise or dismissal.
    7. Explain why you like an image or essay.
    8. Negative feedback is welcome (be polite, honest, and constructive).
    9. Stay on topic and avoid politics or distractions.

    We refine our skill-craft through feedback - Analyzing prints pinned on the virtual wall is our approach, but discussions of styles and techniques are also acceptable. While most images are captured digitally, Black and White film can also discussed. The focus is on image.

    Post a photo or photo essay and get comments and feedback. In return, give honest but constructive opinions of others’ images. A simple “like” is insufficient. There are multiple levels of feedback: composition, technique, emotion and storytelling, etc.
    What caught your eye about an image and why? What draws you in and what distracts you? What changes would you make? Does the photographer tell their story? Does the image communicate their viewpoint or emotion? As W. Eugene Smith said, “A photo is a small voice, at best, but sometimes – just sometimes – one photograph or a group of them can lure our senses into awareness.” Does the image meet Smith’s criteria?

    Explore the image in your head, considering composition, perspective, toning, balance, exposure, and tonality. Consider the story, emotion or opinion the artist is trying to communicate. Provide feedback.

    Downloading and reposting - (please note: clear instructions are required).
It’s often challenging to verbalize useful comments about images. Instead, it’s easier to “show.” Unless the original poster specifically states otherwise, participants are free to download, alter, and repost images in replies to express their analysis and critique. The reposted image may remain permanently or be removed after a short period. Downloaded and altered images shall not be used for other purposes or uploaded elsewhere.

    Encouragement - When I first pinned a print on the cork-board for the professor and class to analyze, I was apprehensive. However, it proved to be an effective way to learn and develop my skills and vision. Well reasoned analysis and comments aid the artist in improving their vision, skill, and style. The goal is to promote and encourage people to enhance their artistic vision and skill in Black and White Photography by providing constructive feedback. General feedback is also welcome. Sharing techniques for capturing or processing images that aid in creating good Black and White images or photo essays is appreciated in replies.

    Why focus on Black and White - As Elliott Erwitt said, “Color is descriptive. Black and White is interpretive.” It’s an abstraction that simplifies photography by focusing on composition, forms, shapes, tonality, textures, and emotions. Ansel Adams famously said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make a photograph.”

    Clyde Butcher talks about the hundreds of photographers who flock to Inspiration Point in Yosemite National Park for the “golden hour.” However, the composition at sunrise is poor. For Black and White, it’s not about the color of the light, but the quality of the light. Ansel Adams arrived midmorning when the light was “right” to produce his iconic images. His iconic book, “Yosemite and the Range of Light,” had a significant impact on conservation and environmental movements in the West. It also attracts thousands of photographers each year to capture the “Range of Light.”

    clydebutcher.com

    Nick Ut’s “Napalm Girl” captured the horrors of the Vietnam War and profoundly impacted the United States. Stripped of distractions, the image exposed the terror in the children’s faces, prompting critical questioning of government actions. W. Eugene Smith’s “Minamata” warned the world. It exposed a corporation poisoning water and killing residents, highlighting the suffering of the Minamata community for profit. William Henry Jackson’s photographs convinced Congress to preserve Yellowstone as the first national park, leading to the creation of the National Park Service and commitment to wild land preservation.

    aboutphotography.blog/blog/the-terror-of-war-nick-uts-napalm-girl-1972
    www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/society-arts-culture/w-eugene-smith-minamata-warning-to-the-world/
    www.pbagalleries.com/first-photographic-images-of-yellowstone/

    Black and White strips away distractions to expose emotions. It tells unique stories in various photographic genres, from landscapes to social documentaries to portraiture. Check out Annie Leibovitz’s Black and White work.

    blog.artsper.com/en/a-closer-look/why-artists-choose-black-and-white-photography/
    fstoppers.com/fashion/why-its-still-important-shoot-black-and-white-48141
    www.designspiration.com/save/1600176374707/

    Another resource is the “Daybooks of Edward Weston,” though dated, still relevant.

    Additional Resources - It is encouraged to discuss additional resources on Black and White photography in posts, whether in your images or commenting on others’ when those resources aid in the goals of the thread.

    Growing Together - The Black and White thread focuses on growth and learning together. Be active, honest, and respectful.

  • Members 430 posts
    March 15, 2025, 11:27 p.m.

    Aunt Irene's Barn

    When I was a kid growing up in Western Kentucky, Tobacco and cattle were king. Big Tobacco barns doted the landscape. All that changed over time and time has ravished the barns and today few are standing and the ones that are no more than a good thunder storm away from not being. When I traveled back in September of 2017 for the total solar eclipse to experience totality for 10 minutes over the old homestead, I got this shot of the barn on my Aunt Irene's farm.

    Instead of being surrounded by rolling pasture lands, it sit on the edge of a corn field.

    DSCF1529.jpg

    DSCF1529.jpg

    JPG, 3.1 MB, uploaded by tprevatt on March 15, 2025.

  • Members 1802 posts
    March 16, 2025, 11:16 a.m.

    Old barns bring out the B&W in all of us.Perhaps it's because we equate B&W with "old" and because weathered timber texture is picked up be B&W?
    I'm puzzled by this shot. The shadows seem too pronounced to have been taken during the full eclipse period. But I don't know, I've never tried to take a photo in that brief period.
    Confession. I read the title first, then looked at the image.First reaction was that the shot needed to be brighter because the shadows seemed too strong for the overall scene. Then I read the rest of the text. Now, I simply don't know.
    Suggestion. Change the title. It needs a clue that the shot was taken during an eclipse.

  • Members 1188 posts
    March 16, 2025, 2:13 p.m.

    Stumped!

    Taken yesterday on a walk through the snow covered hills near Mühlbach, Austria.
    It was sort of monochrome to begin with, converted to B&W today using an iPad.

    DSC_8481.jpeg

    DSC_8481.jpeg

    JPG, 7.7 MB, uploaded by Fireplace33 on March 16, 2025.

  • Members 430 posts
    March 16, 2025, 2:22 p.m.

    Mike, I like it. Nice balanced composition and nice use of negative space to direct the eye. One has to wonder what is engrossing the woman's attention.

  • Members 430 posts
    March 16, 2025, 2:35 p.m.

    Hi Mike, I guess I wasn't clear. I went back up for to visit relatives and view the eclipse. This was taken during that trip. It was not taken during the eclipse. This was taken the morning after a cold front had moved through (witness by the cirrus clouds). Sorry for the confusion. The epicenter for viewing that eclipse was just South of Hopkinsville, Ky. The reason was that was the perigee of the pass ( where longest totality) and totality was about 15 minutes. Over the old homestead it was about 11 minutes. This little town of Hopkinsville, Ky of about 30,000 had over 300,000 people descend on it. The roads were packed as were hotels, motels and campgrounds for miles around. NASA had a temporary tracking site sit up in a farmer's field about 15 miles north of the homestead. During the eclipse we sit in my cousin's backyard, sucking on a few beers marveling at a seldom seen event and staying off the roads when have ground to a standstill. The aircrafts that NASA was tracking were downloading much better images than I could ever get with my equipment so I just enjoyed the scene.

  • Members 430 posts
    March 16, 2025, 2:37 p.m.

    Nice composition. A lone stump in what looks like freshly fallen snow - a classic scene for B&W.

  • Members 775 posts
    March 16, 2025, 5:43 p.m.

    Buried Treasure

    The Treasure Map said X Marks the Spot at the base of an old tree next to a small stream.

    There's buried treasure here.

    I just know it.

    IMG_2367.JPG

    Steve Thomas

    IMG_2367.JPG

    JPG, 553.6 KB, uploaded by stevet1 on March 16, 2025.