After last week’s picture of a pink dogwood and comment about wanting to take pictures of them for black and white images, I thought I’d share one such image. Perhaps it is apparent now that you’re seeing it, but the reason I was looking for pink dogwoods to do black and white pictures is all about the contrast. I’ve mentioned before that the challenge to black and white photography (and one of the things that makes it fun for me) in the digital age, and probably in the film age as well is solid mid-tone contrast. Vibrant whites and rich blacks are what make black and white images moody. With color conversions (converting a color image to black and white using software), you have to fight for images that aren’t just flat grays. In reality though, we also have to fight for color images that aren’t flat as well to make really compelling images… something that I’m certainly no master of. The pink of the dogwoods adds a darker gray hue that helps define the bloom and draws your eyes to the various lines in the pedals; details that would likely be lost on a pure white flower. Have a wonderful week!
–Dan Thompson