It's hard to believe but February 25-28 will bring 2019's Flash of Red to a close. Some of you will sigh with relief! Others will start looking forward to next year. But whether you're glad it's over or sorry it's done, I hope you will return to black and white a few times as the year progresses. Many thanks to the 78 photographers who took part this year. Although I did not get to visit everyone's project individually, I did browse the tag frequently and was amazed by all the creative approaches to the challenge. For the final days of the month we'll work on one of the elements of composition that black and white loves best- contrast.
Playing with Contrast
Contrast in color is determined by relationship of one color to another on the color wheel, particularly in opposites (red/green, yellow/violet, blue/orange). Keep this in mind when shooting in black and white. If you see a strong contrast in color, it will translate well to black and white. Contrast in black and white is also known as “tonal contrast” and this identification mainly refers to the difference in tone from the lightest tones to the darkest ones in your picture. When the contrast is high the blacks and whites are very distinct and there are not many mid-tones (gray). When the contrast is low, the picture is predominantly gray with few areas of pitch black or pure white.
For the final four days of “Flash of Red” pay attention to the contrast levels in your photos. You can concentrate on high contrast shots, low contrast shots or a mix of both. It’s your project, so it’s your choice!
The most obvious type of contrast is the extreme in either direction- high contrast or low contrast. Watch for colors that are contrasting (opposite one another on the color wheel) for high contrast shots. Colors that are complimentary (next to one another on the color wheel) will translate as low contrast shots in black and white.
The terms high contrast and low contrast should not be confused with high-key and low-key. The latter terms have to do with how much light is in the picture (high-key means there is a lot of light; low-key, very little). The former has to do with the tonal value produced by the light in your picture (high contrast- sharp distinct areas of light and dark; low contrast- mostly mid-tones make up the shot with less distinctive areas of light and dark). You have artistic license to manipulate contrast in your picture your by how you set your exposure level. How you play with contrast will be determined by how you want to define your subject.
(From Seeing in Black and White: An Amateur Photographer’s Thoughts on the Art of Monochrome. AHL c.2018)
Tag your photos flashofred2019 and feel free to post your favorite photo from Feb. 25-28 in the discussion thread below. The monthly theme run by Ross Scrivna @scrivna is featuring black and white as well. The tag is theme-blackwhite. Why not tag your shots for both?
And if you have a favorite shot from last week you'd like to share, put it in the discussion thread below. We'd love to see it!
Once again my humble thanks for taking part in the Flash of Red Challenge! You always make it such a pleasure for me to put together! Now go out, find contrast shots , and finish strong!
I've so enjoyed this month as my learning has also encompassed editing in addition to composition and seeing in BnW thank you and I'll be back next year. Thank you
I could only find a couple of b&w shots in my library before this. So this has been a real learning experience. I really appreciate your informative lessons. Thanks for making this challenge.
Thank you very much Ann @olivetreeann for leading and organising this challenge. I have done this each year that I have been on 365 and look forward to it each time. Here's to the 2020 vision (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun). My favourite medium is B&W and that was how I first found this challenge in my first year.
Thanks, Ann, for running a great flash of red this year. Your intros each week were always informative, and the images that have been posted have shown such creativity and range of ideas. It worked well to tie it to the monthly theme as well. Here's my favorite from last week:
just some thoughts on contrast that you havent mentioned above... thinking purely in terms of color is not always helpful when determining how that will work in terms of contrast, for instance red and green are opposite on the color wheel, but they can convert to very similar tones in grayscale. Seeing the tonal values in a scene is very different to seeing in color in many cases, the light has so much to do with it.
Also using filters, either in-camera or in post production to boost or reduce the tone of certain colors in relation to others in your final creation is something that would be very helpful for people to learn about in order to achieve the contrast the 'see' in their minds eye when they take the shot...
I think these points would be very good to discuss further this week!
Thank you for hosting this challenge - I have really enjoyed taking part and looking at the world in black and white! It was great to have weekly themes and thank you for the tips as well. Learnt loads and the learning curve continues :)
Thank you Ann - I have enjoyed the month of Flash of red with your great tuitions along the way, breaking the month into weekly mini themes ! A lot to learn and to keep my interest ! I shall be back next year !
@30pics4jackiesdiamond You are welcome Jackie! And thanks for all the feedback throughout the month!
@adi314 You're welcome Adi! I always have just as much fun putting it together as everyone else has taking part in it.
@shutterbug49 You're welcome Shutterbug! I'm glad it's been a rewarding challenge for you. The first time I did this I never thought I'd be able to do 28 black and white photos in a row!
@mandygravil You are welcome Mandy! I'm glad it's something you look forward to! I am always amazed at how many people decide to participate and seeing all the pictures when I go to the tag is just as rewarding for me as it is for all of you to take part in the challenge.
@alannascanlon Nice shot Alanna! Black and white is a great medium for street shots- it has that journalistic flare to it.
@taffy Thank you Taffy! That was one of my favorites of yours too! I do appreciate your taking part in this challenge. Your pictures are truly inspiring!
@kali66 Thank you for adding in those thoughts Kali. I give a lot of thought as to what to include and what not to include. Sometimes I sense there are a lot of "newbies" trying black and white out so I tend to simplify things to give them confidence. But what you shared is so helpful. Hopefully people will scroll through the discussion thread and see that. I am also going to add it to my own "notes" for the future. I don't know if I'll include contrast next year but it's certainly info I'd want to include! Thank you again for participating Your work is beautiful and I always enjoying seeing your creative approach to pictures- especially the black and white ones!
@4rky Thank you 4rky! I'm still learning too- but I'm glad you felt this was beneficial and that the themes were helpful.
@beryl You're welcome Beryl! I'm glad you'll be returning next year and have enjoyed this one. It truly is a pleasure to host this challenge. The creative and enthusiastic participation of everyone is so rewarding for me.
Many thanks Ann for hosting this wonderful challenge again!! I have really enjoyed it this year and have learnt a lot. I have followed the themes (or tried to) this year and it has made the month really interesting and also a challenge which I have loved!!
Thank you for your feedback, and for all the work you do to keep this group so positive @olivetreeann! I am really enjoying being part of this experience!
I have really enjoyed this challenge, as I always do, and this time have been converting some old pics to b&w and learnt a lot about which convert better. Plus how much better some look in b&w too - can really make a great improvement on some shots. Thank you for organising Ann - looking forward to seeing everyone's collages of the month now as they always look great!
This is my first year participating in challenges and this has been so much fun and I'm learning so much - thanks Ann!
This was my big finale to the leading lines theme of last week, with what became a movie Walking the Line :)
THanks for hosting Ann it’s been a lot of fun, both doing it and looking at all the shots everyone else submitted too.
I think this may be my favourite one I posted for leading lines.
Thanks so much for hosting Flash of Red Ann. Your post each week has been informative and very helpful. I've really enjoyed it even though I might be a little relieved at the end of the month :)
@lyndamcg Thank you Lynda- I'm glad it's been a beneficial month for you!
@koalagardens I'm glad you joined in too- and that shot was my favorite of the series as well.
@gardencat Thank you Joanne- I'm glad you enjoyed the challenge. Every time I went out to look at all the Flash of Red pictures I was amazed at all the great shots everyone was taking. Beautiful leading line shot!
@bella_ss Thank you Sheralee! I'm glad you enjoyed it and you're not alone- there are quite a few people who are counting down the final days of black and white!
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Thank you so much Ross for featuring Flash of Red 2019 as your monthly theme. It means the world to me!
just some thoughts on contrast that you havent mentioned above... thinking purely in terms of color is not always helpful when determining how that will work in terms of contrast, for instance red and green are opposite on the color wheel, but they can convert to very similar tones in grayscale. Seeing the tonal values in a scene is very different to seeing in color in many cases, the light has so much to do with it.
Also using filters, either in-camera or in post production to boost or reduce the tone of certain colors in relation to others in your final creation is something that would be very helpful for people to learn about in order to achieve the contrast the 'see' in their minds eye when they take the shot...
I think these points would be very good to discuss further this week!
@adi314 You're welcome Adi! I always have just as much fun putting it together as everyone else has taking part in it.
@shutterbug49 You're welcome Shutterbug! I'm glad it's been a rewarding challenge for you. The first time I did this I never thought I'd be able to do 28 black and white photos in a row!
@mandygravil You are welcome Mandy! I'm glad it's something you look forward to! I am always amazed at how many people decide to participate and seeing all the pictures when I go to the tag is just as rewarding for me as it is for all of you to take part in the challenge.
@alannascanlon Nice shot Alanna! Black and white is a great medium for street shots- it has that journalistic flare to it.
@taffy Thank you Taffy! That was one of my favorites of yours too! I do appreciate your taking part in this challenge. Your pictures are truly inspiring!
@kali66 Thank you for adding in those thoughts Kali. I give a lot of thought as to what to include and what not to include. Sometimes I sense there are a lot of "newbies" trying black and white out so I tend to simplify things to give them confidence. But what you shared is so helpful. Hopefully people will scroll through the discussion thread and see that. I am also going to add it to my own "notes" for the future. I don't know if I'll include contrast next year but it's certainly info I'd want to include! Thank you again for participating Your work is beautiful and I always enjoying seeing your creative approach to pictures- especially the black and white ones!
@4rky Thank you 4rky! I'm still learning too- but I'm glad you felt this was beneficial and that the themes were helpful.
@brigette Thank you Brigette! I'm glad you did!
@beryl You're welcome Beryl! I'm glad you'll be returning next year and have enjoyed this one. It truly is a pleasure to host this challenge. The creative and enthusiastic participation of everyone is so rewarding for me.
@pamknowler thanks Pam! I'm so glad you enjoyed the challenge- I even challenged myself!
@jacqbb You're welcome Jacqueline! I get just as much out of it as all of you do so I'm really glad you enjoyed participating.
@alannascanlon You're welcome Alanna! It means a lot to me that so many 365ers enjoy the challenge and learn too.
This was my big finale to the leading lines theme of last week, with what became a movie Walking the Line :)
I think this may be my favourite one I posted for leading lines.
@koalagardens I'm glad you joined in too- and that shot was my favorite of the series as well.
@gardencat Thank you Joanne- I'm glad you enjoyed the challenge. Every time I went out to look at all the Flash of Red pictures I was amazed at all the great shots everyone was taking. Beautiful leading line shot!
@bella_ss Thank you Sheralee! I'm glad you enjoyed it and you're not alone- there are quite a few people who are counting down the final days of black and white!