Making a Black & White Photo—Decisions to Make at the Point of Conversion

Submitted by Dwight Pounds

Supplementing Keith Bridgman’s excellent article on black & white photography, I would like to offer a few additional ideas on the subject from the perspective of one who has been working in the medium at one level or another for 70 years.  For starters, there is the subject of black & white film and no doubt many of us are acquainted with many common names—Kodak Verichrome, Plus-X, even XX, Tri-X, Ilford, Fuji, and the list goes on.  Likewise, the sizes—120, 220, 620 (!), 35, medium format and large format.  I’ll forgo mentioning camera models for sake of brevity and staying on the chosen subject of decisions to make in the process of producing convincing black & white photos in an age and plethora of color images.

 In the beginning there was the plate and other receptors of light which evolved into film, b/w to be sure, but eventually color, a medium which is still with us.  With the black & white negative, 

what we got out of the soup when it was developed (properly or not) was what we had to work with.  Like photography of all ages, it was a game of light manipulation, contrast, and definition.  Now well into the second century of photography, we have been enabled to both color and b/w photography to a degree and excellence only dreamed about in previous decades…but this comes with a serious caveat—by no means should one ever throw out their old negatives!!  New techniques and scanning and processing programs offer opportunities to squeeze more out of them that ever could be done in a wet darkroom. 

 

Concerning b/w photography in a digital age, I would like to present a digital color photograph and discuss some rather important, immediate decisions that must be made, even before the refinement processes begin.  This image of three posts from an old fence on very sandy soil and a pump jack from the West Texas oilfields will be my starting point.  Keith mentioned several conversion programs, 

to which I will add that I generally use “channel mixer” in PhotoShop.  The first step in the conversion process (see the series of three below) usually looks rather bland and in serious need of more attention.  One of the first elements of a photograph to get our attention is that of the sky and how to handle blue and keep it in balance with the remainder of the contents.  Here personal taste, to say nothing of the goal of the photographer, comes into play, as well as his/her intended audience.  While the first of the three photos may look perfectly acceptable to some, it probably is worth exploring additional options.  Please notice how the sky treatment gradually darkens and the changes in the following two images and how the lower half of the image is perceived. 

 

               

 

Ansel Adams used variations in sky shadings to great effect, relying primarily upon the blue-red relationship, a red filter darkening a blue sky considerably.  This of course, like any other aspect of human life and existence, can be taken to ridiculously and unacceptable levels, but even here there may be some lessons learned in what happened to the lower portion of the image that may be more acceptable than in the first three images.

 

Once the basic image is selected and the b/w conversion method selected, immediate decisions have to be made and the two I wish to briefly discuss concern (12) one’s artistic goal(s), (2) content, and (3) selection of a proper tint.  Again regarding the original color print, these considerations:

 

       

 

Precisely what is it that you as the artist are trying to say and how are you going to manipulate the original colors to get what you want…and to whom are you going to say it?   What is it in the photograph that you want to emphasize—the broad expanse of the area, the posts…or might it be the needle-like strands of prairie grass that are almost hidden in the first series of photos?  And what about that annoying can and the obtrusive scrap of paper?  Is your audience a photo club such as we have with Sunny 16?  If so, you may wish to clone out the paper and the can, but if you are preparing a program for an environmental group or simply citizens wanting to keep neighborhoods and open places clean, the “annoying” paper and the can may suddenly become key to your presentation. 

 Finally, there is the matter of tint.  Ansel did very well with standard black & white, but other tints of b/w are worth considering, most common being sepia and occasionally shades of blue.  Given that this image originates in a West Texas prairie area, I offer the same image in sepia for the viewer’s consideration. 

 While this is by no means a definitive description of everything that goes into the early phases of creating a viable black & white photo, perhaps it will get you off to a good start!