When someone on RUclips states that it is not good to do something with photography and never do it if it is a limitation I think no. I want to be free the photograph the way I want and placing limitations on what I can do is not good. I can choose limitations myself on any day I photograph and that can be helpful, but I will give myself the freedom to experiment and come up with my own judgement. I learn from other photographers and have spent many years studying photography and doing it. I find your approach to photography perfect.
I completely agree. So many RUclips videos start with "Stop doing this" "This is ruining your photos" "The worst mistake" etc. etc. Peter's positive attitude and encouraging approach to trying things out is ideal. Matti Sulanto's channel is also full of positivity. There must be something in the photographic ether of Finland!
It is good to know I am not on my own with the concerns I expressed. Matti and Peter are among my most favourite photographers and I have learned so much from them both.
I love your work Peter. I’m mostly a Black and White photographer, and I love photographing in high contrast since it draws attention to the work. Thank you for sharing!
Slightly off balance is exactly what I prefer in most situations. Bit of distortion too is fine by me, as is high contrast b&w. Reflections are particularly good in high contrast b&w. I agree about the new library - a stunning building inside and out that's great to photograph. Thanks for this one Peter.
I love abstract photography. I love looking at geometric equivalent shapes and the way light creates shapes, the way colours combine and also high contrast black and white. I love high key photographs too. Thanks Peter.
Thanks Peter.. I enjoyed that very much and I really think you should call this photo walk a big win,, I saw a few very attractive shots. I hope to remember to try this out when I'm out next. I don't live where there is anything close to that type of incredible urban architecture,, but I should try to apply the same skill set to some our amazing nature scenes here in the Rocky Mountains... definitely something to shoot for!!
Love contrasty b&w images, yours are great and although you say it’s not your best work or portfolio worthy the key thing here is that you went out and took some shots, made a video and shared it with us👍🏼
The right monochrome can look amazing. For me, I love very old buildings (ones that are almost falling down). The B&W adds to the sense of ‘ancient’ if you will. This was another great video! Expanded my horizons!
Unless there is a lot of texture in the image, high contrast B&W works well, especially in the middle of the day. It simplifies the scene, in my opinion. I don’t do much B&W photography, but I enjoy looking at it. Thanks for the film!
Love the high contrast black and white. As an exercise it helps the image maker to really understand light and shadow. I noticed how often you included just legs and feet. I am happy to see this - it is my favorite thing to focus on!
That composition with a small object in a large area is a classic composition idea, and having lots of big areas of black with feet in the distance uses the blank black shape to make the shoes stand out and be noticeable. I have enjoyed looking at your photographs and it motivates me to get out more and do street photography. I love it that this more about photography and less about gear.😊
Thank you very much. I have used negative space quite a bit. It works the way you described. On that particular image I am not sure if it works as it best. Part of a series it goes well, but as a stand alone image I am not sure.
I tend to more abstracts than traditional street photography where people are the main focus. I like the "citycenter" photograph, the story is there. It is a personal thing, but I would crop most of the highlight of the street grating. I like this new direction of your channel, thanks Peter.
I have been photographing quite tight compositions in the past and I am bit experimenting with looser compositions to show a bit more. I also like to use negative space. Thank you for the comment about the direction of my channel.
You say it is not your best work but for me it is one of your most inspiring videos. I like these pictures very much. While I first learned about yur channel when watching videos about Olympus M43 gear and found your content usefull I like your less gear related videos even more. While high contrast mono work will not be to everyone`s taste, I actually like it and think this kind of photography shows that you have good eye for composition as this style really needs good framing. Best wishes from Austria, Thomas
A video or 3 on vertical images would be wonderful. I often have problems finding the vertical shot compared to the horizontal photograph. Love your HC B&W images in this video, also your music selection works very well.
The use of 'negative space' often unbalances a photo, I have recently used the high contrast B & W and really enjoyed the experience of finding and waiting for the right moment.
Peter, you asked about image at 12:57, so here is my take on it. I would crop the image using the dark shadow at bottom left as base, then take the window at right out, but leave the negative space top of city center sign. That black space on top will force the view downwards. If the tiles nearest bottom are too bright, then chop more off the bottom, but it serves a purpose of odds, or a third element. Loren
One thing about high contrast black and white, is almost any camera can achieve good results from old point and shoots to the latest full frame models. Add grain in post and it's virtually indistinguishable from film.
Thanks for the video, very informative and inspiring! The only question I have is: there is no saturation slider in the Ricoh GRIIIx high-contrast BW adjustment menu… how did you crank up saturation to +2? Thanks!
That's excellent. I only do b&w and I find the higher contrast more interesting. I'm using a 6d with a 40mm pancake, would a smaller lighter camera be worth purchasing as the full frame is a little bit intrusive
If you get the results you like with your excisting gear I would not get a smaller camera. If you have a possibility to test one do it. then you find out.
I like the video. I took a similar picture of the "weeping" statutes outside the library when I was in Helsinki a couple of weeks ago. As with you I thought the image worked well in black and white.
I hope you enjoyed your visit in Helsinki. That staue is actually in front of the Contemporary Art Museum Kiasma. The Oodi Library is around the corner.
25 дней назад
love it. I shoot with black&white neagtive + redfilter simulation.
Great fun images. A professional photographer friend of mine uses her father's 1950s half frame PEN film camera. That would be ideal for some of the vertical compositions you are creating plus you get 72 frames on a film.
Thanks for an interesting photo session. The photo inside the railway station is my favorite. Other decent photos too in this video. I think your photography has definitely improved after you ditched gear topics and set yourself free😀
Many thanks, Matti! I appreciate your opinion. My aim has been to improve my photography by not going out to make videos but rather photographing and, if possible, making a video as I go.
Hi Peter....Liverpool Kev here again from UK....Thank you for another thought provoking video to learn from...Here's a thought...English expression 'Tongue in cheek'...it means loosely not that serious...Do you ever wonder if photography is genuinely a relaxing pastime?...I wasted perhaps several minutes I will never get back...wondering if you should have moved the white tissue to a black stripe????...I often think things like this...Obviously all the best...Liverpool Kev
I think photograohy can be a very relaxing thing, but it can also be very stressful. It is all about the attitude and the ability to enjoy the process of making the images.
Perhaps the abstract and vertical aspects you are currently embracing are due to you having looked at some of Saul Leiter's work (one of my favorites).
@@ForsgardPeter It's not "landscape vs vertical." It is landscape vs portrait or horizontal vs vertical. Looking out at vs looking into or With vs Versus... ;-)
The image of the "heel and shadows" in the station at about 11.20. i like the image but would that not work better as a square composition? I used to have a Rolleicord TLR 6x6 and loved shooting B&W in that format.
I tend to take most of my photographs in the vertical format as well. I've never thought about why, but thinking on it now, maybe it's because a vertical image narrows the focus onto the subject more than a landscape format does. With the wider, horizontal format, the photograph is busier and the subject struggles to be the focus of the image.
I like them very much. Is something that I like to do, shooting in B&W with high contrast. I live in a sunny city, so this option gives me a longer photography journey, because the worst hours for colour photography are the best for high contrast B&W. Isn´t it?
You took lots of vertical photos where my (amateur) eye would’ve instead opted for landscape. Was there a deliberate attempt to shoot this way or was it just whatever felt right in the moment?
I am not sure why I took more vertical images. That is something I need to analyze and think about. Possible some of the scenes would have been better in horizontal.
I was able to find a GR III Diary Edition on eBay in like new condition. The former owner, never bothered to do a factory reset, but I’m glad. They had a very good custom mode, they made to look like Kodak Tri-X. It is very close, perfect for some high contrast black & white images.
@@ForsgardPeterI think the GR IIIx will be my next camera. I really enjoy 28mm but would like to have the option to shoot 40mm when 28 isn’t working. Shooting more abstract shapes & textures, or trying to layer subjects. I don’t mind cropping but prefer not to if I can help it.
Ricoh GR3 has a crop mode that use diffenrent "focal lenghts". It will crop out some pixels, but in my opinion the images are totally usable. If more pixels is needed then software like Toaz photo AI can upscale the image. I know some that has both the GR3 and GR3x.
Haven't tried B & W since my film days. Time to try again. Almost all of my photos are vacation/riverboat cruises in Europe every August. Camera gets a real workout! My goal is "Quality image not Image Quality " as per another YT photographer. One statement that has really stuck with me when I got into digital ,was by Henri Cartier-Bresson he said (para-phrased here) to shoot at least 10 keepers a year. I like that challenge & as i review my days outing of photos, I ask myself that question. Up to 3 so far that I would hang on my wall. many people do a 1 to 5 star rating prior to culling the herd.
I totally agree that we should aim for quality image rather than image quality. Well said. It is quite astonishing fact that the amount of portfolio images is about one per month. I have heard that being said by many masters of photography.
Peter, you prefer vertical because you dont like wide angle compositions. Just like me. We re both, 40 to 50mm focal length photographers. I love the 50mm more than anything else. Great video of yours. That kind of videos re real photographer;s ones!
Since you asked, the worst distractions for me are crooked, angled, falling over buildings in architectural ( or street) images. I see it all the time even from professional photogrpahers! Creator does not care or too lazy to fix it in editing ??? That said, I actually like "Quirky" images if done creatively.
5:00 Perhaps that prevalence of verticals is because you're consciously using landscapes to express yourself. So you are effectively shooting landscapes as self-portraits. This is a type of abstraction. And it is a kind of egotism which is potentially powerfully creative as long as you are self-aware. If not you get images with no satisfying subject like at 4:35 . This is fundamental dualism; yin and yang; the Receptive and Creative; the spread of Reality, the agency of the Personal. The windows on the front façade of my house, "facing" the street, are all vertical. The ones looking out on the back yard are all horizontal (cuz I designed it and I built it ;-). We look out the back and ask ourselves, "am I safe here?" We greet people out front and ask ourselves, "do I trust this person?" An interesting exception to all this is vertical Japanese landscape painting... and another is square format photography... but I digress ;-)
You use your phone's vertical screen too much for SM, which is why you see images vertically more often than horizontally. Even landscape YT photographers use vertical format more often than horizontal.
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When someone on RUclips states that it is not good to do something with photography and never do it if it is a limitation I think no. I want to be free the photograph the way I want and placing limitations on what I can do is not good. I can choose limitations myself on any day I photograph and that can be helpful, but I will give myself the freedom to experiment and come up with my own judgement. I learn from other photographers and have spent many years studying photography and doing it. I find your approach to photography perfect.
Thank you very much.
I completely agree. So many RUclips videos start with "Stop doing this" "This is ruining your photos" "The worst mistake" etc. etc. Peter's positive attitude and encouraging approach to trying things out is ideal. Matti Sulanto's channel is also full of positivity. There must be something in the photographic ether of Finland!
It is good to know I am not on my own with the concerns I expressed. Matti and Peter are among my most favourite photographers and I have learned so much from them both.
There is no perfection in photography sorry
@@vreeke777 for me Peter’s approach to photography is perfect. Sorry.
I love your work Peter. I’m mostly a Black and White photographer, and I love photographing in high contrast since it draws attention to the work. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you very much.
Slightly off balance is exactly what I prefer in most situations. Bit of distortion too is fine by me, as is high contrast b&w. Reflections are particularly good in high contrast b&w. I agree about the new library - a stunning building inside and out that's great to photograph. Thanks for this one Peter.
Thank you.
I love abstract photography. I love looking at geometric equivalent shapes and the way light creates shapes, the way colours combine and also high contrast black and white. I love high key photographs too. Thanks Peter.
Thanks Peter.. I enjoyed that very much and I really think you should call this photo walk a big win,, I saw a few very attractive shots. I hope to remember to try this out when I'm out next. I don't live where there is anything close to that type of incredible urban architecture,, but I should try to apply the same skill set to some our amazing nature scenes here in the Rocky Mountains... definitely something to shoot for!!
Thank you very much. Give the style a try.
Love contrasty b&w images, yours are great and although you say it’s not your best work or portfolio worthy the key thing here is that you went out and took some shots, made a video and shared it with us👍🏼
Thank you very much. I am glad that you enjoyed the video.
The right monochrome can look amazing. For me, I love very old buildings (ones that are almost falling down). The B&W adds to the sense of ‘ancient’ if you will. This was another great video! Expanded my horizons!
Thank you. Yes, old buildings in decay are great subject for photographs.
I like vertical images as it allows me to show sense of size and scale
Good point.
anything different can be good - so yes, I like high contrast and abstract - as well as lots of other styles
Yes, it is a style among many others.
Interesting style for consideration Peter your compositions in this format are very fascinating.
Thank you.
Unless there is a lot of texture in the image, high contrast B&W works well, especially in the middle of the day. It simplifies the scene, in my opinion. I don’t do much B&W photography, but I enjoy looking at it. Thanks for the film!
thank you very much for your work...
please make more videos about abstract photos...
Thank you, I will.
Love the high contrast black and white. As an exercise it helps the image maker to really understand light and shadow. I noticed how often you included just legs and feet. I am happy to see this - it is my favorite thing to focus on!
Thank you. Yes I tend to make that type of images. I find them more interesting in many ways. There is a slight mystery of anynomous people.
The overall dark sombre lighting of the video footage, including in your studio, was a nice touch. Btw, I really liked the white shoes too.
Thank you.
That composition with a small object in a large area is a classic composition idea, and having lots of big areas of black with feet in the distance uses the blank black shape to make the shoes stand out and be noticeable. I have enjoyed looking at your photographs and it motivates me to get out more and do street photography. I love it that this more about photography and less about gear.😊
Thank you very much. I have used negative space quite a bit. It works the way you described. On that particular image I am not sure if it works as it best. Part of a series it goes well, but as a stand alone image I am not sure.
@@ForsgardPeter I like it as it is and respect your judgement as to how good it is as you are so knowledgable.
you did a good job on your lights with your face cam image
Thanks.
Amazing video! The video inspire me to take more monochrome street images!
Great to hear! I hope you have chance to go out and make some monochrome images!
Good video. I think the City Center sign photo is my fave. Made me smile because it’s not centered.
Really like the high contrast black and white images!😀 Also like Helsinki railway station, we were there off a cruise in June!😀
Cool! I hope you enjoyed your visit to Helsinki and the cruise!
@@ForsgardPeter yes we loved Helsinki, albeit a brief visit on a Baltic Cruise, who knows we may return one day!😀
Great to hear. If you ever come to helsinki again and need tips what to see just contact me.
I tend to more abstracts than traditional street photography where people are the main focus. I like the "citycenter" photograph, the story is there. It is a personal thing, but I would crop most of the highlight of the street grating. I like this new direction of your channel, thanks Peter.
I have been photographing quite tight compositions in the past and I am bit experimenting with looser compositions to show a bit more. I also like to use negative space. Thank you for the comment about the direction of my channel.
You say it is not your best work but for me it is one of your most inspiring videos. I like these pictures very much. While I first learned about yur channel when watching videos about Olympus M43 gear and found your content usefull I like your less gear related videos even more. While high contrast mono work will not be to everyone`s taste, I actually like it and think this kind of photography shows that you have good eye for composition as this style really needs good framing. Best wishes from Austria, Thomas
Thank you very much.
Great monochrome images, Peter! The high-contrast idea will also work with the Mono2 setting on the Pen-F and E-P7. Bravo for #SOOC!
Many thanks!
Peter - thank you .A very different approach to my usual monochrome images which as genre I like to work in .Something to think about and try out !
Thank you. Give it a try and see how the photographs come out. I know this high contrast approach is not for every one.
A video or 3 on vertical images would be wonderful. I often have problems finding the vertical shot compared to the horizontal photograph.
Love your HC B&W images in this video, also your music selection works very well.
Thank you very much. I have been thinking about why I make vertical shots more often nowadays. This is definitely a topic for a future video.
HC B&W Seems like a cheat code with my photography, It really can make average colour photos look incredible.
It can be, Yes. The results will be better if you plan the style before hand.
I'm doing this more and more. Great video Peter.
As usual I might add.
Cool, thanks!
The use of 'negative space' often unbalances a photo, I have recently used the high contrast B & W and really enjoyed the experience of finding and waiting for the right moment.
You are right about negative space.
Peter, you asked about image at 12:57, so here is my take on it. I would crop the image using the dark shadow at bottom left as base, then take the window at right out, but leave the negative space top of city center sign. That black space on top will force the view downwards. If the tiles nearest bottom are too bright, then chop more off the bottom, but it serves a purpose of odds, or a third element. Loren
Becoming more and more interested in B&W and monochrome photography.
Try it if have not yet. It is a lot of fun and at its best it gives you very powerful images.
One thing about high contrast black and white, is almost any camera can achieve good results from old point and shoots to the latest full frame models. Add grain in post and it's virtually indistinguishable from film.
Good point.
Thanks for the video, very informative and inspiring! The only question I have is: there is no saturation slider in the Ricoh GRIIIx high-contrast BW adjustment menu… how did you crank up saturation to +2? Thanks!
My mistake, it is the sharpeness... I need to fix that in my blog post.
That's excellent. I only do b&w and I find the higher contrast more interesting. I'm using a 6d with a 40mm pancake, would a smaller lighter camera be worth purchasing as the full frame is a little bit intrusive
If you get the results you like with your excisting gear I would not get a smaller camera. If you have a possibility to test one do it. then you find out.
I like the video. I took a similar picture of the "weeping" statutes outside the library when I was in Helsinki a couple of weeks ago. As with you I thought the image worked well in black and white.
I hope you enjoyed your visit in Helsinki. That staue is actually in front of the Contemporary Art Museum Kiasma. The Oodi Library is around the corner.
love it. I shoot with black&white neagtive + redfilter simulation.
Red filter is nice when photographing B&W.
Great fun images. A professional photographer friend of mine uses her father's 1950s half frame PEN film camera. That would be ideal for some of the vertical compositions you are creating plus you get 72 frames on a film.
I have an original Pen-F. Maybe I should take it for spin.
Thanks for an interesting photo session. The photo inside the railway station is my favorite. Other decent photos too in this video. I think your photography has definitely improved after you ditched gear topics and set yourself free😀
Many thanks, Matti! I appreciate your opinion. My aim has been to improve my photography by not going out to make videos but rather photographing and, if possible, making a video as I go.
Hi Peter....Liverpool Kev here again from UK....Thank you for another thought provoking video to learn from...Here's a thought...English expression 'Tongue in cheek'...it means loosely not that serious...Do you ever wonder if photography is genuinely a relaxing pastime?...I wasted perhaps several minutes I will never get back...wondering if you should have moved the white tissue to a black stripe????...I often think things like this...Obviously all the best...Liverpool Kev
I think photograohy can be a very relaxing thing, but it can also be very stressful. It is all about the attitude and the ability to enjoy the process of making the images.
Hi Peter, any plan to come to India in the MahaKumbh?
Not at the moment.
Perhaps the abstract and vertical aspects you are currently embracing are due to you having looked at some of Saul Leiter's work (one of my favorites).
Could be that. Saul Leiter was a magnificant photographer.
Quirky might be a good descriptor. Would really like to see a video on vertical versus horizontal. Thanks. Keep up the great work.
I will make that video about landscape and vertical images.
@@ForsgardPeter It's not "landscape vs vertical." It is landscape vs portrait or horizontal vs vertical. Looking out at vs looking into or With vs Versus... ;-)
The image of the "heel and shadows" in the station at about 11.20. i like the image but would that not work better as a square composition? I used to have a Rolleicord TLR 6x6 and loved shooting B&W in that format.
It propably would work better in square format. I would be able to get rid of the black area at the bottom.
Love the abstract not much High contrast!! But in this case a couple of them are nice those with people included!! Nice video
Thank you. Abstract photos can be made without using high contrast.
I tend to take most of my photographs in the vertical format as well. I've never thought about why, but thinking on it now, maybe it's because a vertical image narrows the focus onto the subject more than a landscape format does. With the wider, horizontal format, the photograph is busier and the subject struggles to be the focus of the image.
Very good explanation. I agree with you about vertical vs. landscape. Landscape can be a busier images.
Well said!
I like them very much. Is something that I like to do, shooting in B&W with high contrast. I live in a sunny city, so this option gives me a longer photography journey, because the worst hours for colour photography are the best for high contrast B&W. Isn´t it?
Well said.
You took lots of vertical photos where my (amateur) eye would’ve instead opted for landscape. Was there a deliberate attempt to shoot this way or was it just whatever felt right in the moment?
I am not sure why I took more vertical images. That is something I need to analyze and think about. Possible some of the scenes would have been better in horizontal.
I was able to find a GR III Diary Edition on eBay in like new condition.
The former owner, never bothered to do a factory reset, but I’m glad. They had a very good custom mode, they made to look like Kodak Tri-X. It is very close, perfect for some high contrast black & white images.
Sounds great! I ove my Ricoh GR3x so much. It is the best camera for me right now.
@@ForsgardPeterI think the GR IIIx will be my next camera. I really enjoy 28mm but would like to have the option to shoot 40mm when 28 isn’t working.
Shooting more abstract shapes & textures, or trying to layer subjects. I don’t mind cropping but prefer not to if I can help it.
Ricoh GR3 has a crop mode that use diffenrent "focal lenghts". It will crop out some pixels, but in my opinion the images are totally usable. If more pixels is needed then software like Toaz photo AI can upscale the image. I know some that has both the GR3 and GR3x.
Long ago, I learned that vertical compositions create more tension in the photo, so they work well with high-contrast images.
You might be right.
Haven't tried B & W since my film days. Time to try again. Almost all of my photos are vacation/riverboat cruises in Europe every August. Camera gets a real workout! My goal is "Quality image not Image Quality " as per another YT photographer. One statement that has really stuck with me when I got into digital ,was by Henri Cartier-Bresson he said (para-phrased here) to shoot at least 10 keepers a year. I like that challenge & as i review my days outing of photos, I ask myself that question. Up to 3 so far that I would hang on my wall. many people do a 1 to 5 star rating prior to culling the herd.
I totally agree that we should aim for quality image rather than image quality. Well said.
It is quite astonishing fact that the amount of portfolio images is about one per month. I have heard that being said by many masters of photography.
I think some of the images you didn't think were that good should be looked at in a few weeks & you might change your mind.
Yes, you are right about that. Getting some distance to the images does good. Sometimes we do not see the best ones right after the photo walk.
Peter, you prefer vertical because you dont like wide angle compositions. Just like me. We re both, 40 to 50mm focal length photographers. I love the 50mm more than anything else. Great video of yours. That kind of videos re real photographer;s ones!
Good point! It could be just that. Thank you very much.
Hi Peter! You do a lot of vertical because you like half frame, I guess!
Could be that.
Since you asked, the worst distractions for me are crooked, angled, falling over buildings in architectural ( or street) images. I see it all the time even from professional photogrpahers! Creator does not care or too lazy to fix it in editing ??? That said, I actually like "Quirky" images if done creatively.
My thoughts... White shoes are a "gift" to black and white photographs, because the add "movement" to the theme of the image.
I totally agree.
I like to work with High Contrast B/W.
5:00 Perhaps that prevalence of verticals is because you're consciously using landscapes to express yourself. So you are effectively shooting landscapes as self-portraits. This is a type of abstraction. And it is a kind of egotism which is potentially powerfully creative as long as you are self-aware. If not you get images with no satisfying subject like at 4:35 .
This is fundamental dualism; yin and yang; the Receptive and Creative; the spread of Reality, the agency of the Personal.
The windows on the front façade of my house, "facing" the street, are all vertical. The ones looking out on the back yard are all horizontal (cuz I designed it and I built it ;-).
We look out the back and ask ourselves, "am I safe here?" We greet people out front and ask ourselves, "do I trust this person?"
An interesting exception to all this is vertical Japanese landscape painting... and another is square format photography... but I digress ;-)
For me the image at 12:25 would not have worked if the words were in the middle.
Nice. But I prefer 'solarization' in black and white. (I will send you at Instagram)
Thanks. Please do. I will take a look.
@@ForsgardPeter done it. See you in Athens.
You use your phone's vertical screen too much for SM, which is why you see images vertically more often than horizontally. Even landscape YT photographers use vertical format more often than horizontal.
That is an interesting thought. It could well be the reason.