Without color: The pictures of the week

Contents

Black and white is a popular medium, necessary for certain styles, even though color photography is the norm today. It has some advantages when you want to emphasize a certain aspect of the composition. Eliminating color can help you better understand the behavior of light and learn how to best use it.

Men in short skirts

"The picture shows the Swiss Simeon Brügger, the winner of the Highland Games in Nürtingen in the 'Caber toss'. I had to decide whether to take a long shot of the almost six-metre-long tree trunk being thrown or focus on the athlete. The concentration and tension in Brügger's face, his imposing appearance in his tartan skirt made the decision easier for me," says photographer Martin Ruopp about his intention behind the shot of men in short skirts.

A successful portrait that focuses on the man and his passion for sport.

Steps

The clear lines of the construction are complemented by those of the shadows in the picture Treppenstufen by Nils Schulte-Jokiel ( NilsSch) . This creates a pattern that is an impressive composition in itself. However, the photographer places a person in the picture to break up the clear structure, an element that attracts the viewer's attention. The photo is an excellent example of how light and shadow can work in black-and-white photography through stark contrasts.

"The picture was taken on the banks of the Rhine in Cologne. As is often the case, I photographed in harsh sunlight, so that light and shadow form strong contrasts. The choice of perspective reduces the staircase to an abstract pattern. A person helps to form a fixed point in the picture, to create an atmosphere and context," he says.

Anja

In his portrait of Anja, M. Schröder succeeds in focusing on the model's gaze. The facial expressions signal a serious mood, supported by the dark clothing and accessories. Modern elements such as piercings and earrings emphasize this, combined with a slight Victorian flair through the clothing and parasol. The soft light illuminates the model's face, while the glaring light from behind is blocked by the umbrella.

Wild pear

An infectious laugh. The childlike joy over a pear in Wilde Birne by Alexander Brand simply infects the viewer.

He himself explains: "The motif arose from the situation. We were on our way to the Ahornböden in Austria when we had to stop for a snack. I found the scenery extremely picturesque. What's more, my son Edgar was indescribably enjoying the sweet delicacy of his pear - a moment for the ages. Looking at the picture afterwards, I was gripped by a kind of Wild West romanticism: the flat, rippling stream and the towering mountains in the background. The rugged texture of the wood in the foreground, as well as Edgar's favorite sweater from the cartoon series Yakari and, of course, his radiant smile.

A different kind of portrait

Gallery photographer Katzenfutter shows us a somewhat different portrait. His shot of a horse with a 35 millimeter lens creates a perspective that inspires with its expressive contrasts and soft gradations of grey tones. Due to the short focal length and the resulting slight optical distortion, the animal's head appears large and fills a large part of the picture. The grasses add another element to the shot, making the scene appear natural.

Dandelion

"As there were many dandelions around a few weeks ago, I often went dandelion hunting with my son and took a few photos of them. I took this photo too, but it was spontaneous and not posed. He had a lot of fun sliding down the mountains on a building site and collecting dandelions at the same time. We attached the loot to my rucksack. Dad also had a lot of fun taking photos while out walking and always had his favorite motif with him," Stephan Sohn (Fidipix) tells us about his dandelion shot.

The slightly overexposed parts of the picture complement each other well with the slightly darker parts, such as the grass off the path and the natural vignette that this creates.

W A N D E R L U S T

In the picture W A N D E R L U S T by Donato Cuoio (don_cuoio) we see an airplane from below and against a white background. He describes his composition as follows: "I took the [...] photo a few kilometers from Frankfurt Airport. It was already clear to me when I was taking the photo that I wanted to keep it very minimalist. The image processing was also minimalist: align, crop, convert to black and white and add motion blur. As an antithesis to wedding photography, I have been trying to realize my creativity in digital image editing and image design for some time now. Here I can let my imagination run wild and change the images in a way that goes beyond pure photography". Intention and realization have definitely succeeded.

You can find an overview of all of this week's images here:

(cbr)