December 3rd 2013 - World in Black and White.

There was a time when photography had no color. Since the discovery of color in photography we have been seeing color everywhere. Black and white still captures the world in all it's essence and beauty. Even today when we revisit pictures in black and white, a sense of purity and simplicity prevails. So, on one hand, color attracts the viewer with its catchy designs and color, black and white attracts the viewers by it's composition, lighting, focus and the story in the picture. A beautiful excellently executed black and white picture can surely beat a flashy color picture. I love color and capturing it is just what I do, but lately I've been attracted to the black and white. There are so many tones to black and white and capturing the right one for the right thing is just as important.

The topmost picture is of Holland Beach. It is a sunset at the Great lakes. The colorful sunset can be captured in black and white with equal drama even without color. Click on the images to view a larger version.

Shutter speed - 1/40 secs
Aperture - F10
ISO - 100

The picture on the right is of Fredrick Meijer Garden. It has sculptures of various artists.  That day, when I reached the garden it was closed , so I could only take shots from outside.

Shutter speed - 1/1000 secs
Aperture - F4.5
ISO - 100
The clouds and the sky can change your black and white picture from ordinary to dramatic.

This is a picture from the Zoo. This is the African elephant. Note the skin has come out beautifully in the black and white version. The wrinkles in the skin have come out perfect. They give the texture to the picture against the blur background.

Shutter speed - 1/320secs
Aperture - F7
ISO - 200

I have even added a new gallery for black and white on my website www.dipalis.com. Feel free to visit and leave your feedback. The other thing I've been working on in the last few weeks is Illustration. Hope to share a few in the next posts.

Hope you all will enjoy these pictures as much as I did capturing them.