Monochrome

Today's challenge was to use the monochrome setting on my camera, which meant first figuring out how to set the camera on "Monochrome"! I sat with my iBook about using this particular camera model and finally found the way to tell the camera to take pictures in black-and-white. And then we set out for the Museum of Contemporary Art, only to find them in between exhibits, so we just wandered. Much better for picture-taking! Most of the shots I took weren't anything to write home about, but they all helped me see what works in monochrome and what doesn't, and what a scene needs to really stand out in black-and-white.

When I started in photography as a teenager, I began with black-and-white because we did our own developing in my high school photography class. I learned how to see the world in terms of light and dark, lines, and contrast. For many years, that's how I worked. And then at some point, I don't exactly remember when but I remember the decision, I decided to try color. It was very hard for a while to see colors as the point of interest in a photograph.  It took me a long time to learn to see that way.

Once I did, I stuck with color for many years, until now.  This week I decided to go back to black-and-white so I can regain my monochrome vision.  I feel confident of my color vision now, but today's outing showed me how much I've lost in the monochrome range.  I want to be able to be a switch-hitter when it comes to color or monochrome photography, using each one when appropriate and doing both with skill and sensitivity.

And black-and-white is so much fun—I forgot how much I love it!

looking down our stairway