Black and White or Color?

Black and White or Color is a questions that photographers have to ask themselves about their photos. When film was used it was a no brainer you had to use what was in your camera, so the decision was made earlier when you loaded film in your camera. With digital you can make a choice in post processing. Many photographer shoot in color and convert to black and white with the computer though the digital cameras can shoot black and white. I am one who tends to convert to black and white with the computer because that way I can make the decision based off what I think looks best for the photo. Most of the photographs I take do not make great black and white photographs but there are some that the color was a so so photo but the black and white was far superior.

Why would one choose black and white? There are many reasons. One reason is that black and white enhance elements of the photograph that color does not. Another reason that the photographer may be trying to create a mood. Still another is trying to give the feeling of a by gone era. Still some photographers just love to work with black and white. There is right or wrong reason for deciding to work with black and white instead of color it is up to the choice of the photographer.

The photographs I am going to share are actually the same photograph only one is the black and white version and the other is color. I think that the black and white version is the better version of the two. I took this photo of the spider web along Boyson Trail early one foggy morning last week using my 100mm Macro lens. The settings for the camera were iso 100, f/11, 1/12sec. Yes, I have actually been carrying my tripod a mile down the trail so I could use it. This thing that caught my eye about this spider web was the shape, size and symmetry and then there was the lovely dew all over the web and near by branches.

Here is the color version of the spider web. It is a nice photograph but it I felt that the green was taking attention from the wonderful dew covered spider web and the drops on the branches.

Here is the black and white version. This one I feel is much better because the spider web is the center of the attention with the plants taking more of a back seat to the spider web.

There is nothing wrong with the color but in this case I feel that the black and white version is the better version because you see the spider web first and the black and white emphasize the lines of the web that are coated with the dew. While you do see the web in the color version I don't feel that the lines of the dew covered web are as strong while the plants are trying to capture your attention.

As to how I converted the photo from color to black and white I used Adobe Elements and clicked on the convert to black and white and then played with the different black and white settings until I was happy with it. I did do some editing to the contrast and brightness in both the color and black and white versions. I know that you can do this in Adobe Lightroom, I have done black and white conversions in Lightroom, and in Photoshop and probably in all photo editing software. I choose to use Elements because I am used to using it.

If you get a chance take time and have fun playing with black and white versions of some of your photos.

Saturday morning marco photo walk

This past Saturday one of the photo clubs I am a member of had a Macro photo walk at a local park. We decided that it should be held at 6:30am so we could get out and shoot before the bugs became too active and the breeze started up. We have several members show and had a good time.

All these photos were shot using my Canon Macro 100mm f/2.8 lens. All of these were shot using natural light.

My first photo from the day is of an orange bug on a yellow flower. I like this photo because of the way the light was on him and the edge of the flower. My setting were: iso 200, f/3.5, 1/100sec

My second photo is of a spider. I like the way he was sitting there with the light hitting him. I would have liked to have taken him from a slightly different angle but he moved when I moved. My setting were: iso 200. f/3.5, 1/100sec

My third photo is of the spider's web. This was a bit of a challenge because I could not get all the web in focus because my depth of field was too shallow and the water I misted it with kept evaporating very fast. My setting were: iso 200, f/3.5, 1/320sec

My last photo is of a bee. He was very active and was a bit of challenge to get one that I liked. My setting were: iso 200, f/5.6, 1/160sec

All of these photos were very minimally edited, most of these have not even cropped.

Out early one morning

This past week it has been much nicer so I have been out more to taking photographs. I have been heading to near by park first thing in the morning sometimes before coffee. Usually this time of year the parks flower beds are over flowing with flowers but this year they are not doing as well because of the very hot and dry weather we have been having.

Here are some that I took Friday morning at Noelridge park using my Macro lens using natural light. The reason I chose these to share is that they are bright and cheerful to me.

Here is a Sunflower. I like the way the leaves are pointing both right and left and that there are still a few dew drop still on it. My settings for this photo were: iso 200, f/11, 1/80sec

Here is a bee on a Sunflower. My setting for this photo were: iso 400, f/11, 1/125sec

Here is a close up of the same bee. My setting for this photo were: iso 400, f/11, 1/64sec

Here is the center of a lily with an ant on the petal near the center. I just love the color of this photo. My settings for this photo were: iso 400, f/11, 1/50sec

One photo different edits

This week has been busy and hot so I have been out to take photos mainly in the morning, before I have even had coffee. I decided look at what different forms of editing can do for a photo.

I took this wildflower this week at Lowe Park here in Marion. It is a pink cone flower that is fairly common. The setting for this photo was iso200, f/5.6, 1/100sec

This was the basic image.

I wasn't happy with this photo because the background had too many highlights.

I decided to try Gray scaling the background.

I still wasn't happy with this the background was still too distracting because of the highlights.

I had suggested to me try darkening the background.

This was better but I felt there was too much background so I cropped the photo.

This version of the flower I think is the best I can get this image. I also upped the color saturation a little bit as well. In this version the flower attracts your attention while the background is not totally nothing it does not distract.

How can I improve this photo. There is not much I can do to make this a really good photo but I did learn several things. I will make sure I have a cup of coffee before I head out so I will be a bit more awake.  I definitely will pay more attention to what the leaves in the background are doing in the light. I will set me camera to slightly underexpose the flower so I can do more in editing the photo. I probably would choose I more perfect flower.

Macro photography

Macro photography is very close up photography often getting details and images that are not possible any other way. This is a type of photography that intrigues me and I am trying to learn to do better. I love working with macro and while I am not that great at it I am getting better with it as I learn how to see the images and work with the lens.

My macro lens was the lens I bought as soon as I could afford it after buying my camera. I have the Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro. I would have loved to have bought the 100mm f/2.8L but that was not in the budget and I was told by several photographers who do wonderful macro work that the lens I bought was terrific. I have to agree that it is a very sharp lens.

Here is an early attempt with the macro lens. Chocolate Covered Cherry, the setting were iso 800, f/4.0, 1/12sec

 While I like the photo I can see how I could have improved it. My iso was was too high, my f stop way too low, I should have positioned my lighting better and a slightly different angle would have made it more interesting.

As I have played with the macro lens outside as well as inside. Here is a dandelion puff that I took in my yard. The settings for this photograph were iso200, f/11, 1/40sec

In this photograph I like how you can sense the silkiness of the dandelion puff while seeing the detail of the puff, but the problem with this is the background. I should have been in a different angle. The green/white line is very distracting. While I would have loved to try again shooting the dandelion puff I was not able to because we did not have more in our yard or many of the normal places this year because of the weather.

I played with the very close up as well. This is a circuit board that we had lying around the house. The settings for this photo was iso200, f/5.6, 1/32sec

This photo does show an improvement in my ability to handle the lens and is better that the others there are still a couple of things I would change. I would use a more indirect but even lighting maybe even a back lighting at the same time. I think that this would bring out the colors of capacitors. I love the intricacy of circuit boards. They are often tiny works of art but there is something about this photo that is sterile and a bit boring to me.


This last one is a rose that was part of a bouquet that my husband gave me. The setting for this photo are iso200, f/11, 1/6sec

One of my recent ones was an experimental one because I was playing with my reflector and using a desk lamp for the light source. I am please with the depth of field, the color, the shadows and the background. To allow me to control the camera and lighting easier I used my cable release for my shutter. On this photo I sprayed the rose to create more texture but I think I went a bit overboard with the spray. I do think I need more practice.

I decided to try again with the rose, a couple of days later, only this time be a bit further away and use only one drop of water. The setting for this rose are iso200, f/11, 1.0sec

I like the drop falling off but think that even thought I also was trying to diffuse the lighting a bit the shadows are a bit harsh but I still like this photo.


As you can see there is a definite improvement with each photo but there is still lots of room of improvement and experimentation in my adventures in Macro photography.

A Beginning

I am going to try blogging again. This time I am going to write about something I have fun with and want to improve my skill at- Photography.

I am not much or a portait photographer but I do love taking photos of architure, nature and things around me. I am getting more into Macro photography.

Not all my posts will have photos but at least one a week will be a photograph. My assignment for the year is to post a photograph a week. This does not mean that all the photos will be good. It does mean that for one reason or another this is a photograph that I want to share. It maybe that there were mistakes in the photo or I am trying a new technique or it is one I like or it could be that I think it is good.

I will appreciate all comments, others looking and commenting on my work as well as passing on tips and links will help me to improve as a photographer.

As to my camera. I am using a Canon T2i. It fits my hands well and was afforable and has been very dependable. I have had very good luck in the past with Canon cameras. I have an old Canon Powershot that I took on a trip and unfortunately it was dropped on to a tiled concret floor several times and continued to work for a few more years.

My lens are: a EF-S 18-135mm and Canon EF 100mm Macro. I am looking at other lens but right now I have to wait a bit before I can buy another lens. I occassionally rent lens to try out so I can decide which lenses I would like to buy and will post my results and my opinion of the lens.

I think that I have rambled enough. Welcome to this adventure of this dangerous combination: A Mom (me) and a Camera.