I wrote a post last year about black and white bird photography (or any other wildlife for that matter) and how we don’t see it that much I have always wondered why that is, so I continue to explore various takes on it Greg posted a comment on that post that it really depended on the situation and subject to make it work, and I tend to agree Birds that are already black and white or shades in between are obvious candidates.
In this case, it is more of a ‘vintage’ look versus a neutral B&W just to try something different again I was playing around with some presets downloaded from Matt’s Lightroom Killer Tips site If you use Lightroom, his site is a great place to visit particularly on Mondays because those are “Preset Mondays” where he shares various presets he has developed or has become aware of And of course, presets are a great toy to add to your creative playground! You can never have too many, especially when it is so easy to scroll through them to get an idea of the effect or even promote an entirely new idea.
Once I create a few of these, other than for my own enjoyment, I begin to think about how other people might use them For stock use or publication, probably very limited – but who knows For fine art prints, I think there is potential for people looking for something a bit different Maybe they have a particularly vintage or nostalgic decor, with also a love for nature Well, a full color nature image might not exactly look right in such a room But with a little creative processing, you can develop an entirely new look that might create a nice fit Not that I am processing these for that specific purpose, but it is another example of the “ruler” that someone might judge an image by.
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Perhaps another post topic entirely, but for as much burden technology can place upon a photographer these days, it also can open up new doors to explore, and make it a bit easier also Yes, sometimes a little fun is involved too! :)
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I’m open to B&W bird photography, but the colorful markings are in itself what can make a bird photo so interesting. The variety of displays and coloration can make the difference between the photo clearly showing one species versus another. From an art perspective I think B&W is great, but from a birding perspective I think color is critical. It all depends on the purpose of the image.
Mark, you’ve touched upon a very rare area. Black & white bird photography. I’ve never seen it. BTW, as an aside, I love the new monochrome look of the site. Very classic!
In looking at this photograph, I’m drawn to the details of the bird. I can spend a bit of time looking at the feathers, body shape, beak, etc. However, I agree with Jim’s post about the color being critical in identification, especially in determining gender.
A very nice photo and a nice concept. I’d like to see more.
Thanks for the comments guys. I know what you are talking about as far as bird identification, but thankfully that is usually done prior to washing their color away.
That is, if I get my ID’s right…. ha!
Hi Mark,
It’s the hallmark of an artist to keep pushing the creative boundaries and find new ways of interpreting old subjects. I agree, B&W bird photography is a rarity to see, so I like the uniqueness and I think it can fit in the fine art ‘box’ quite well. That said I agree with Jim that colour can also be a big part of bird photography, so it comes down to the image. I could imagine an early morning shot with a bird against the morning mist or something along those lines as a beautiful B&W shot. Keep experimenting…
I like b/w artprints very much. They speak the mood. I also prefer the vintage look to the very stark b/w, just a hint of softness.
Nice new look! I think any boldly patterned bird would work well in black & white (in particular, I’m thinking of blue jays.) One bonus to b/w prints is that they’ll fit any decor, whereas color images may not, y’know?
Hi Mark,
I like the B/W shot of the bird as it has been a long time since I have seen any wildlife photographed in B/W.
I am doing more B/W conversion of my digital files than when I first started in digital and these days it’s a lot easier than in the days of the traditional darkroom with smelly and messy chemicals.
Hope you always find great light …………… Aubrey
A POST AFTER MY OWN HEART.. I LOVE B/WHITE BIRD IMAGES AND CALL MY OWN ‘STUDIES’.. CHICKADEES ARE PERFECT FOR THIS, LOVELY PHOTO..
AND THIS IS WAY TOO UNCANNY.. I DOWNLOADED THIS VERY THEME KAST WEEK.. GUESS I’LL USE IT ON MY NEW DOMAIN OR PEEPS WILL THINK I’M COPYCATTING YOU.. NOT THAT I COULD EVER MASTER YOUR CODING ABILITY.. LOOKS GREAT MY FRIEND
Great article Mark. I love black and white photography. Nice image. I think toned studies whether photographs or graphite renderings help us to really learn to see powerful images. I remember the first time I ever shot a roll of black and white film being very disappointed with the result as I had not looked for subjects with strong tone contrast and the result was very flat images.
Great new look on your site! I love it.
My new site should be up pretty soon, thanks for asking. Hopefully it’ll have a blog built in and a lot of other toys my other site didn’t have.
Hey Mark,
Nice photo, very cool. I like the B&W touch, but the image stands out regardless, IMO.
Beautiful photograph……you know I’ve never been especially drawn to bird photos. I know they are extremely difficult to do well and does take real talent to be consistently creating great images. It’s just not something I can emotionally connect with…..just like I know some people don’t connect with my work.
You know I’ve never seen a B&W bird photograph before……perhaps I did and just don’t recall….
Anyways, what I wanted to say was that this photograph you made really connects withs me, the composition, angle, birds posture, the DOF, and yes…………the Black and White really works well.
Very Nice!
btw. I really like the look of your website.
I love Black and Whites no matter the genre. There’s just something rich and classic about B&W photos. Something akin to the innocence of old times.
The only thing I don’t like about them is the obvious lack of the trademark colors of the object pictured, in this case your feathered friend, which makes the subject unique to begin with.
But that is what’s great about art: it has no boundaries.
Thanks folks, I appreciate the comments. Just shows I need to do more of these I think.
Having a passion for black and white photography myself, I very much appreciate your black and white bird image, its quite beautiful.
Hi Mark,
Nicely done. I can’t say I was a fan of black/white bird images before today, or rather of songbirds at least. This is the first (that I can remember) songbird image in B/W that I’ve found appealing. I think it varies with the subject quite a bit though. As you said, a bird that is already black/white will probably be a better candidate than a colorful bird. Great Egret’s or other charismatic birds in a pretty setting (loons, maybe?) would also work out well I think.
I like the new blog design, by the way!
Thanks Chris. I think Great Egrets would work really well – unfortunately I don’t have many images of them. I have some Great Blue Heron images that I am playing with now.
Mark, this image falls into the ‘it works’ category! I like how it turned out…the vintage look is most definitely the way to go; I agree that pure BW would have been too harsh. For artwork, I think vintage BW would work well for certain animal images. It would be interesting to see how a set of images like this did at some shows…
This image also reminds me of a few images I capture during a trip home last summer, I applied the same type of vintage look to a shot I took down a country road back in Wisconsin…I loved the effect it had.