some of the shots look like the high key images I've taken in the past 12months...
the grain* or noise* on these photographs is caused by a high ISO setting of 800 and fstop around 4 or 5, the effect is gritty grey/black pixels scattered across the image. i have read that camera manufacturers are getting better at eliminating "noise" even at very high ISO settings. of course there are post processing techniques which can create this look..i like it, i think it gives some images a real texture.
My Olympus E620 has a preset Art Filter which allows me to shoot in this format.
*grain is usually a term used if the image was shot on film as relates to the size of grains in film emulsion.
*noise is produced by the camera and is something to do with the analogue signal
There is some discussion that grainy black and white make images look 'older'.
Earlier this year I saw an exhibition by August Sander at the Dean Gallery in Edinburgh
some of the images certainly did look 'old' but they were dated by the subjects' clothing, hairstyles and/or the accessories around them. These photographs were taken in Germany in the late 1920's very early 30's.
However some of the other portraits he took could easily be seen as current and 'now'. This image has has vintage feel but wouldn't look out of place in Vogue 2011 (except perhaps the smoking cigarette wouldn't be allowed!)
I read a review about Welsh photographer
(born in 1963 now based in Italy)
and his work recent work in China. The suggestion was that the grainy black and white was an additional statement by the photographer about the 'increasing industrialisation of China' .
This first image is dated as a recent shot only because of the sports cap with it's familiar symbol. The second gives no clues that it was taken in the 21st century.
In his biography Rhodri Jones states that he wants to 'present images directly'.. 'without commercial or political manipulation' I'm guessing that could have been quite difficult in China and he doesn't make any explanation about his choice to use grain and high key.
Personally I think it's simply about a creative process and grainy black and white/high key (very black and very white) images have resonance for the photographer and the question that grain/noise ages an image is simply about perception. Do we automatically see an image with grain as being poor quality and therefor taken by equipment which is elderly?
It is quite common to read that photographers who shoot or produce their images in mono do so because it removes any potential distraction caused by colour.
If i said that in my first shot on this post (an SP) I was wearing blue jeans and the t-shirt is cream with Roylance 1899 written in red, then would you agree the image would certainly have a very different 'feel'.
is my friend in Santa Fe, he shoots mostly in black and white (with a really beautiful Leica M8) and his creativity and confidence have been inspirational. His advice has been that if something catches your eye that's your shot. He also talks a lot about "seeing" which is born from his Buddhist principles. I'm not quite sure i understand completely what he means by this but i am trying to simply "see" and in doing so i am drawn to shapes and lines and do feel that this becomes more clear when I show my photographs in black and white.
here's some from this week:
iso 400 f5.6 processed with Silver fx
iso 400 f5.6 processed with Silver fx
Taken on a landscape setting in colour, iso 200 f.4 processed with Silver fx (silhouette preset)
I think my personal struggle with my images is working out what I want "to say"...i've not quite worked that out yet. I'm just taking photos every day at the moment without a clear direct or purpose.
Making my images have some kind of commentary - now that's my challenge!
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