Beautiful!!!! I LOVE all the pictures, but especially the color and B&W images with water and the fog/mist. Those are stunning!! Thanks for sharing. XO
Beautiful images Gill. I know I am guilty of relying on colour and not spending enough time on other compositional tools, especially when the colour is so in-your-face. Even changing the camera's EVF/LCD screen to BNW is a worthwhile challenge.
Thank you very much for your comments James. I think changing the EVF to black and white is a great way to experiment as it gives you a much better idea of what is possible. It is hard to do anything different though when the autumn colours are looking stunning.
I recently tried doing just this with some shots at a local horse farm. I thought they worked well, though I certainly preferred the ones in color. Still, it was a worthwhile endeavor. The day I shot there was heavy mist in the early morning. The leaves were still on the trees, though many had fallen, and indeed they were all down the next day. One shot in particular worked really well as you can see that the trees are losing their leaves, you can see them on the ground, and the mist worked well with the curving fence in my shot. I'm likely to print it.
I add a new gallery of black and white photos to my SmugMug site. You can view it here if you’re interested. View my photos at: https://bob-warner.smugmug.com/Black-White
I think the single fallen leave is the one that conveys autumn best in b/w, because to me fallen leaves is what makes autumn. So I guess my brain fills in the color?
Very interesting Gilly, full of very thought provoking ideas. Your illustrating images are excellent, including the b&w. The idea of conveying the story of Autumn without the colour is a great project.
Thank you very much for your comments Peter. I am glad you found it thought provoking. It was a more difficult challenge than I thought but good fun to experiment with.
Beautiful images. I did a bit of the same on a walk near a river in Arizona. The monochromes were interesting to make, the contrast instead of color. Sometimes monochrome tells the story better. It certainly provides a wonderful creative constraint. You always tell a good story in your posts. Peace
Very interesting I love the idea of getting the feel of Autumn in black and white, a great challenge but difficult to achieve I think . Nice shots of Scotland.
Thank you very much Philip. It was more difficult than I thought to convey autumn in black and white, but a good learning curve. I am glad you enjoyed the post.
Lovely to see some more of your recent Scottish images. I think black and white is an interesting challenge – probably greatest in autumn – making your mind really focus on subject choice and composition, without being swept away by the glorious colours. Plus, it's always fun to try something out of the ordinary!
Thank you very much Jane. It was definitely a challenge and it made me think so much about how we portray autumn and how much we rely on the colour to get our message across. It's always fun to try something different even if it doesn't work very well. 🙂
An interesting read Gill but I think autumn shouts colour before the dull colours of winter begin. I agree with Chris that b/w images would probably work better in winter.
Thank you very much Rosey and I absolutely agree. For me it was interesting to see how much we rely on the colour to portray the season - finding equally strong imagery in black and white was definitely a challenge.
Honestly, I am so in love with autumn color that photographing in B&W has never crossed my mind! You are exactly right though, in that the monochrome versions need a strong autumn indicator to convey the season. I particulary like the fallen leaves on a rotting tree trunk for the textures and the final image of the trees with leaves on the ground. Excellent!
Thank you very much for your comments Erik. I have to admit I had never considered black and white for autumn before as for me the season has always been about colour. I did find the whole exercise interesting but found it harder than I thought to find strong imagery that worked well.
I have to agree with you, the colour images, that of Loch Chon and that of the five birch trees, really depict Autumn. I don't think the Scotish B&W landscape works, the rowan berries not so bad. As you say Autumn is about colour, B&W photography is about tone and shape, so it's not surprising that we, you come to the same conclusion! The B&W leef images are OK but I bet they are better in colour. As usual I have enjoyed the read, it will be interesting to see if you repeat the exercise in spring? Winter might afford a better season though?😀
Thank you very much for your comments Chris. It was a really interesting exercise and one I felt I have learned a lot from. I think you can photograph colour with an average composition and get away with it, but with the absence of colour there is nowhere to hide. The imagery and story telling in black and white needs to be spot on to get the autumnal message across.
I think it would be an interesting exercise to undertake in other seasons and would definitely be easier in winter.
Love that you have tried something different and it doesn't not work particularly if you are going for more intimate landscape shots...but....for me, Autumn is all about dialling up the colour volume and enjoying nature's last hurrah of the year. Birch Trees are the only exception as their already mono trunks and texture lend themselves to b and w treatment! 😁
Thank you very much for your comments Manda. I agree with you. It was fun to try something different and a good exercise to learn from but I will be sticking to colour next autumn. 🙂
Beautifully written, wonderfully photographed...
Thank you very much Ernest, I am glad you enjoyed it.
Beautiful!!!! I LOVE all the pictures, but especially the color and B&W images with water and the fog/mist. Those are stunning!! Thanks for sharing. XO
Thank you very much for your comments Danielle, I am glad you enjoyed the images.
Beautiful images Gill. I know I am guilty of relying on colour and not spending enough time on other compositional tools, especially when the colour is so in-your-face. Even changing the camera's EVF/LCD screen to BNW is a worthwhile challenge.
Thank you very much for your comments James. I think changing the EVF to black and white is a great way to experiment as it gives you a much better idea of what is possible. It is hard to do anything different though when the autumn colours are looking stunning.
I recently tried doing just this with some shots at a local horse farm. I thought they worked well, though I certainly preferred the ones in color. Still, it was a worthwhile endeavor. The day I shot there was heavy mist in the early morning. The leaves were still on the trees, though many had fallen, and indeed they were all down the next day. One shot in particular worked really well as you can see that the trees are losing their leaves, you can see them on the ground, and the mist worked well with the curving fence in my shot. I'm likely to print it.
Thank you very much for your comments Bob. It is always good to try something different and it sounds like you got some nice shots.
I add a new gallery of black and white photos to my SmugMug site. You can view it here if you’re interested. View my photos at: https://bob-warner.smugmug.com/Black-White
I think the single fallen leave is the one that conveys autumn best in b/w, because to me fallen leaves is what makes autumn. So I guess my brain fills in the color?
Thank you Ronald, it is good to hear your thoughts and I think I agree. That image probably worked the best in black and white.
You’re welcome :)
Very interesting Gilly, full of very thought provoking ideas. Your illustrating images are excellent, including the b&w. The idea of conveying the story of Autumn without the colour is a great project.
Thank you very much for your comments Peter. I am glad you found it thought provoking. It was a more difficult challenge than I thought but good fun to experiment with.
Beautiful images. I did a bit of the same on a walk near a river in Arizona. The monochromes were interesting to make, the contrast instead of color. Sometimes monochrome tells the story better. It certainly provides a wonderful creative constraint. You always tell a good story in your posts. Peace
Thank you very much for your comments Brian, it is good to hear your thoughts and I am glad you are enjoying the posts.
Very interesting I love the idea of getting the feel of Autumn in black and white, a great challenge but difficult to achieve I think . Nice shots of Scotland.
Thank you very much Philip. It was more difficult than I thought to convey autumn in black and white, but a good learning curve. I am glad you enjoyed the post.
the first photo is breathtaking
Thank you very much Daniela.
Lovely to see some more of your recent Scottish images. I think black and white is an interesting challenge – probably greatest in autumn – making your mind really focus on subject choice and composition, without being swept away by the glorious colours. Plus, it's always fun to try something out of the ordinary!
Thank you very much Jane. It was definitely a challenge and it made me think so much about how we portray autumn and how much we rely on the colour to get our message across. It's always fun to try something different even if it doesn't work very well. 🙂
An interesting read Gill but I think autumn shouts colour before the dull colours of winter begin. I agree with Chris that b/w images would probably work better in winter.
Thank you very much Rosey and I absolutely agree. For me it was interesting to see how much we rely on the colour to portray the season - finding equally strong imagery in black and white was definitely a challenge.
Fascinating! I agree that autumn is about colour just like fresh green says springtime. Thanks Gill.
Thank you very much Sian, I am glad you enjoyed the post.
Honestly, I am so in love with autumn color that photographing in B&W has never crossed my mind! You are exactly right though, in that the monochrome versions need a strong autumn indicator to convey the season. I particulary like the fallen leaves on a rotting tree trunk for the textures and the final image of the trees with leaves on the ground. Excellent!
Thank you very much for your comments Erik. I have to admit I had never considered black and white for autumn before as for me the season has always been about colour. I did find the whole exercise interesting but found it harder than I thought to find strong imagery that worked well.
I have to agree with you, the colour images, that of Loch Chon and that of the five birch trees, really depict Autumn. I don't think the Scotish B&W landscape works, the rowan berries not so bad. As you say Autumn is about colour, B&W photography is about tone and shape, so it's not surprising that we, you come to the same conclusion! The B&W leef images are OK but I bet they are better in colour. As usual I have enjoyed the read, it will be interesting to see if you repeat the exercise in spring? Winter might afford a better season though?😀
Thank you very much for your comments Chris. It was a really interesting exercise and one I felt I have learned a lot from. I think you can photograph colour with an average composition and get away with it, but with the absence of colour there is nowhere to hide. The imagery and story telling in black and white needs to be spot on to get the autumnal message across.
I think it would be an interesting exercise to undertake in other seasons and would definitely be easier in winter.
Love that you have tried something different and it doesn't not work particularly if you are going for more intimate landscape shots...but....for me, Autumn is all about dialling up the colour volume and enjoying nature's last hurrah of the year. Birch Trees are the only exception as their already mono trunks and texture lend themselves to b and w treatment! 😁
Thank you very much for your comments Manda. I agree with you. It was fun to try something different and a good exercise to learn from but I will be sticking to colour next autumn. 🙂
Thank you!