Ali: Hey, isn't it dull if your photos are without colors.
Baba: Hello, its black and white and there are 2 colors there. Black and white.
I kinda agree with Baba. Black and white are colors too and its kinda interesting.
Check out some of my photos taken in a wonderful town, Melaka:
Pictures taken with a Nikon FG coupled with Lucky B&W 100.
Taking photos in black and white ain't easy. Imagine, u lose the option to show interesting colors through your lens. All you see is black and white and all the tones in between. There are only 2 colors for you to manipulate around. If you are using film, that's even worst. That's why, contrast is very important. When we are not focusing on the colors of the photo, our eyes tend to be more sensitive to the light intensity. We will naturally pick up areas of contrast. That's how we distinguish one thing from another and bring information to our brain on which to focus or which is important. Do not forget to seek out scenes that naturally show signs of high contrast and your black and white photos will be as interesting as a photo with full of colors.
Next, texture is very important too in black and white photography. It's just a form of contrast but its perceived in a different way. Textures in a layman's term for me is like patterns on a surface, whether is regular or irregular. Its like the surface of an old tree, the surface of an old building or the surface of my post pimple infested face. Lol.. All these are great for black and white photography as there are no colors masking the interesting surface you would like it to shine. With a layer a color on top of it, there will be another extra layer of complexity and thus you can't show the true colors of the texture.
Practice makes perfect but do remember that processing black and white film will cost more. (For those that are processing in Fotosun SS2, RM19 for develop and scan. You need to wait for a day or 2 to get it done)
Jason, I hope you know who am I after seeing these photos. :)
With Love and Peace,
Filmmy
