Photo Assignment #3: BLACK & WHITE

For our third photo assignment, I chose to capture black and white photos.  While shooting, I really looked for objects that provided great contrast.  I originally set out looking for things that were strictly black and white…I began with the piano and music sheets.  As I ventured through my house, I began looking at things, thing that I see day in and day out, in different ways.  I’d barely even noticed the lights in our kitchen and dining room before I shot for this assignment.  It was weird discovering new things in MY OWN house I’ve been living in for years now.  I shot all of my pictures in color, and then worked on them in Gimp for the most part.  A challenge I faced was not having enough contrast in my pictures.  A lot of great pictures I took, I was unable to use because when put in black and white, everything just washed away.  I was able to deal with lack of contrast by adjusting the levels in some of my pictures.  I haven’t worked with black and white photographs very much, so this week gave me a whole new perspective for photography. 

Through this assignment, I experimented with the “de-saturizing” tool which made all of my pictures black and white.  I also used levels adjustments, and am becoming more familiar with the effects of this tool.  For a few pictures I used the contrast tool which more clearly distinguished the blacks and whites of my pictures.  This tool was good in some situations, but often made the pictures look “fake” in the finals products.  I learned that all of the tools Gimp has to offer are good…in moderation.  A lot of the levels adjustments I did added noise to my pictures.  Although converting to black and white often took away some of the grain in my pictures, I had to find the right balance between the levels, digital noise, and de-saturation.

My best picture was one shot of the plants on top of our fire place.  I didn’t originally think that these plants would work for black and white, but the light coming through the nearby window provided a lightness that contrasted the outline of the plants.  I really liked how the plant curved over and had an interesting shape that stood out against the well lit white walls.  I never even laid eyes on these plants before taking these pictures.  They really are quite appealing.  After some minor levels adjustments, and de-saturation, this picture came to be what it is.  I’m very pleased with the result.

My Best Photo:

Technical Info:
-ISO 400
-Aperture: f/5.0
-Shutter Speed: 1/13