I was planning to search for an interesting street scene today. I normally park at the Roger Williams National Memorial since it's free parking and within striking distance of most of the city. Today, I hopped out of the car and immediately spotted this student jogging down South Main with his backpack, heading to class at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design.) I quickly got into a position for the photo, intentionally using the trees, the 19th century building in the background, and the large expanse of snow-dusted lawn in front of me for the setting. The student noticed me setting up the shot, smiled, waved to me, and never broke stride. This photo is the result. While I was originally tempted to move closer for a more detailed shot of the jogger, I'm glad I didn't. The rest of the setting would have been lost, and I think it's the trees and snow that really sets the stage and tells the story. I'm also pleased that he saw me setup and, by his smile and wave, gave consent to being a subject in the story. The more I get into the street photography scene, the less I like the concept of being a hidden photographer. I'm finding that the story is better told if the subjects are well aware of what you're doing, but continue to go about their business anyway.
Post processing started with a classic filter in Topaz B&W FX. I adjusted color sensitivity sliders, contrast, protect highlights, boost black, and boost white. I added a brightness/contrast adjustment and a sepia photo filter in PSE. I was tempted to tone the contrast down a bit, however I decided to take advantage of those really long shadows and use the contrast to emphasize the cold. The contrast is indeed harsh, however the temps have been pretty harsh this week as well, and that story also needed to be told.
It's certainly a contrasty scene. I love the b&w effect. There's something about it that I know could never have come out of my camera. It's really pleasing.
It's interesting what you say about the jogger. I can only guess, but there was probably a moment of unspoken communication between you that raised the spirits of both of you after the interaction between you. I know that moments when I communicate nonverbally with people in the street I have a smile lingering on my face. And that smile often provokes a smile in the face of the next stranger I meet. Sorry to go on and on Ron, but you like to chew things over too, so I hope it's ok with you.
@medusa Oh,it's fine with me! I enjoy the conversation, and I also enjoy hearing what others take from the photo. It helps improve the ability to tell the story with the next shot. You're right about the unspoken communication factor. Street photography is highly addictive, and that's one of the reasons for it.
As to the contrast and b&w conversion, it's not something that will come directly out of any camera. B&W requires post processing. Most cameras have a b&w mode, however it's never recommended to use it. By doing so, you limit yourself to 256 tones, as opposed to approximately 940,000 tones in a color image. That's a LOT of data to throw away. Even after doing a b&w conversion in software, though, you still need to adjust the levels, brightness, and contrast. You want to show a pure black and a pure white in the image to give the viewer the full range of tones as perspective. Unfortunately, all of the software conversions will give a somewhat muddy "neutral gray" tone. I also like to add a 25% sepia filter to the top of it since it eliminates the silvery-bluish cast and gives it more of a b&w print look.
The b&w print photographers did effectively the same thing, using a very high contrast paper, and dodging / burning the areas of the print they wanted at the extreme ends of the histogram. Look at any Ansel Adams print for an example of dodging and burning at its best.
@medusa@naturalbeauty Woops! They need an edit button here. I meant to tag Fran in that reply since she's been doing a lot of b&w as well (and has a natural talent for spotting great b&w subjects) and might be interested in the conversation around b&w conversions.
@kannafoot Ah, that explains it. You see, I can remember sitting on the edge of the bath, beside my father, and watching the image magically appear in the dish, and the smell of the fixer, finished photos swimming in the bath behind me for their last wash. Highly addictive stuff. No wonder I am never satisfied with prints. In fact I never print any of my photos. However, there is an Ansel Adams exhibition on in London until April and I am arranging to go with a friend. Won't that be a treat!
@medusa That exhibition will be amazing! It'll definitely provide inspiration for a whole new set of shots. I'll need to see if the exhibit is coming to the States this year. I'm only an hour from Boston and 3 hours from New York, so there's hope!
I nearly fell of the chair. I swear I just literally said out loud 'Wooooow!, Blimey!'. That is staggering. How the picture comes alive! Really...what a shock. Please everyone look at this. you won't believe it.
BTW, I just realised you might not know the expression 'Blimey'?
It's interesting what you say about the jogger. I can only guess, but there was probably a moment of unspoken communication between you that raised the spirits of both of you after the interaction between you. I know that moments when I communicate nonverbally with people in the street I have a smile lingering on my face. And that smile often provokes a smile in the face of the next stranger I meet. Sorry to go on and on Ron, but you like to chew things over too, so I hope it's ok with you.
As to the contrast and b&w conversion, it's not something that will come directly out of any camera. B&W requires post processing. Most cameras have a b&w mode, however it's never recommended to use it. By doing so, you limit yourself to 256 tones, as opposed to approximately 940,000 tones in a color image. That's a LOT of data to throw away. Even after doing a b&w conversion in software, though, you still need to adjust the levels, brightness, and contrast. You want to show a pure black and a pure white in the image to give the viewer the full range of tones as perspective. Unfortunately, all of the software conversions will give a somewhat muddy "neutral gray" tone. I also like to add a 25% sepia filter to the top of it since it eliminates the silvery-bluish cast and gives it more of a b&w print look.
The b&w print photographers did effectively the same thing, using a very high contrast paper, and dodging / burning the areas of the print they wanted at the extreme ends of the histogram. Look at any Ansel Adams print for an example of dodging and burning at its best.
BTW, I just realised you might not know the expression 'Blimey'?