Quote of the Day (iii) - This is where I shot my baby

Canon EOS 5d, 35mm Carl Zeiss

"Black-and-white photography has a grammar of its own. Indeed, there is a certain poetry in black and white that color seems to lack. Consider the landscapes of Ansel Adams, Bruce Barnbaum, William Clift, Michael Smith or John Sexton. Now try to visualize any of their beautifully expressive black-and-white prints in the colors of nature. They didn’t see their pictures that way, and neither should we."  (Back to the Future, Jim Hughes, TOP)


Addendum (updated March 11, 2011):  Stripped of distracting colors, BW gets right to the core essence.  It’s like trying to remember something, and what remains of my memory is sublime essence of reality. Heh… the title was an afterthought… I was thinking of Neil Young’s Down By the River (I shot my baby) but this wasn’t a river… oh well.

Note the distracting elements on the colored version:

Tech notes:  Shot in Jpeg format at high noon contrary to conventional wisdom, Canon 5d, 35mm Carl Zeiss, f8, Graduated ND filter, long exposure, tripod, converted to BW using Silver Efex Pro

I think the gradient sky is the result of using the graduated ND filter. Believe it or not, this was shot at noon contrary to conventional wisdom. I think the noon day lighting filtered through gradient ND produced a pseudo film noir look. I was thinking how would Ingmar Bergman interpret this scene. Quite a challenge to think like Bergman because first I would have to experience massive nervous breakdowns and go through several divorces. I’ve not accomplished that yet.

see also Flickr