Learning To Love Black And White Photography
September 13, 2023
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of websites and blogs offering tips and tutorials about shooting black and white.photography – what works, what doesn’t, how
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of websites and blogs offering tips and tutorials about shooting black and white.photography – what works, what doesn’t, how
One of the most famous examples of Japanese art is called The Great Wave Off Kanagawa. It is a woodblock print produced by Katsushika Hokusai
Stuck in a photographic rut? So you’ve found yourself lacking motivation with your photography lately. It’s not uncommon. It’s happened to all photographers at some
Some time ago I was lucky enough to be gifted an elderly but still functional, Minolta Dynax 8000i fitted with a 35-80mm zoom lens. This
They say good things take time In my case a long time. It was last year when I decided to start shooting with Ilford HP5
The last time I had hands-on experience with On1 Photo RAW 2023 I wasn’t convinced it would be a good upgrade for me. My goodness
Film is on the comeback trail There is no doubt that, just like vinyl LP records, film photography is making a comeback – not that
Almost a year ago I wrote a story about 6 reasons to use Nik Collection 5, and a few days ago DxO released the latest version of
I guess there are two backstories to this story. The first is that I have developed a fondness for retro-style photos, which you’ll be aware
This was never intended to be a story about shooting black-and-white photos with a smartphone. Nor was it intended to be a story about shooting
I try hard to publish stories regularly, but often I am overcome with bouts of laziness, uncertainty, lack of ideas or a combination of all
Retro is back in style Creating retro-style postcard images is a lot of fun. You can let your imagination run wild to a certain extent,
Have you tried DxO Photolab yet? Back in late October I asked the question “Is it worth upgrading to On1 Photo RAW 2023?” and came
Diane Arbus, a doyen of black and white photography, once said “It’s important to take bad pictures”, the rationale being that by recognising
Most of my great ideas for stories come to me while I am out walking the dogs. Likewise, most of my bad ideas come to
What I am learning is that learning to see in black and white is an ongoing process – at least until it becomes a
Shooting photographs in black and white can be a bit like stepping back in time – after all black and white photography has been with
Turning dull photos into keepers… Thanks to advancements in AI technology, sky replacement is now a common feature found in most modern photo and image
Here’s one way to make dull photographs pop If you’re like me you’ve often come back from a walk or a photoshoot and found that
Is It Worth Upgrading to On1 Photo RAW 2023 Update June 2023 – – – yes it is worth upgrading to On1 Photo RAW 2023.5.
The Lazy Photographer For better or for worse, I’ve always considered myself a lazy photographer. My photography seems to go in fits and starts
What an incredible amount of feedback I’ve had about a story I published here a couple of months ago – Photographing Trees. Thanks to
An alternative visual world In his book, Black & White Photography renowned photographer Michael Freeman says one of the appeals of black and white is
Is it really two months since I posted my first collection of Postcards From The North Island? Mmmm – yes it is! The first collection
In my website’s brief “about me” section I describe myself as an opportunist photographer but if I am blunt I would say that I
Before I get to the 6 reasons to use Nik Collection 5 – first things first. What is the Nik Collection? The Nik Collection is
Photographing Trees I never really stopped to think about taking photographs of trees as a specific niche genre of photography. But apparently, it is!
Back in April I wrote a story called Our Favourite Freedom Camping Sites – Part 1. This isn’t Part 2 – that is still to
Postcards From The North Island Growing up I remember listening to a radio programme by Alistair Cook called Letter From America. I loved his mellifluous
Freedom camping in the South Island of New Zealand This is a story about some of our favourite freedom camping spots – or at least
Goodbye to Nikon – but potentially not forever…. A Nikon D5100 has been the number one camera in my photographic arsenal since late 2012 –
It might be strange for me to say this, but this collection of photographs of black and white street views was inspired by – or
These photos were almost “shot on the run” as I rushed around before the day lost the last of the sun. As a result of
10 October, 2024 Update… AperturePriorityNZ is no longer hosted by WPX Hosting. Purely as a matter of economics my blog is now hosted in
In the photography world nifty fifty refers to a 50mm lens, normally with a decent wide aperture of f1.8 or thereabouts; a prime lens many
I have always been aware that most digital cameras have an Auto ISO feature but was never inspired to work with Auto ISO as my
As we spent Christmas at home this year, and as the weather was really kind to us, we decided to do a few day trips
Perhaps to say I still shoot film – even occasionally – is a little bit of a white lie It has been about 12 months
The Jackson Bay sandflies are huge…. But this is not actually a sandfly. It is a urepetala carovei…a New Zealand bush giant dragonfly. This incredible
More than meets the eye We’ve been back from our last motorhome trip for over two weeks now, and it was only yesterday that I
Shortly I’ll tell you my 5 reasons to use On1 Photo RAW 2022, but first a little background. The last full version of On1 Photo
We were very lucky that New Zealand, except for Auckland, moved from Covid Alert Level 3 to Level 2 at one minute to midnight,
Although it was introduced way back in 2007, the Nikon D300 DSLR is still very much fit for purpose. So it was with a certain
I’ve taken the opportunity over the last few weeks while we’ve been in lockdown to troll through my archives and select a few of my
Should you use photography presets? Do real photographers use photography presets? I ask those questions, especially the second one, a little tongue in cheek because
Well, it seems that with the recent purchase of my new micro four-thirds Panasonic I’ve gone full circle with Lumix. Eight days ago New Zealand
Shortly I’ll tell you 5 reasons why I switched to a micro four-thirds camera. But first – I have been a Nikon user for many
You may think that mist opportunities is a miss-spelling, and should be missed opportunities. In fact, it’s not wrong. Whenever you travel up or down
Why shoot JPEG? Why shoot JPEG instead of raw is not a question I ever really asked myself. I was sold on RAW when I
Whether you call it selective colour or selective desaturation, selective colour in black and white photography often seems to get a bad rap. Selective colour
Don’t ditch your humble kit lens just because a “real photographer” tells you you need better glass on your camera. Yes – your kit lens
I’ve never really tackled any candid street photography before, but an opportunity arose recently so I took a crack at it. There is a major