Landscape Photography - Colour OR Black & White (not both) - Filmed Pre-Lockdown
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- Most of us like to shoot both colour and black and white but how do you feel about mixing them together, can both work well in a set of images taken on the same day?
In this video I discuss how I feel about combining colour and mono images and use a recent trip to illustrate the perils of not being clear what you want before you set out.
Prints from this trip are available in 3 sizes from my Etsy shop:
steveonionspho...
Still images can be viewed on my Instagram page I no longer post to my Flickr account.
Equipment Used
Nikon FE and FE2
Velbon Luxi tripod
Preview App
Mark II Artists Viewfinder (App Store)
Vlogging Equipment
GoPro Hero 7 Black
iPhone Xs
Etsy Shop
steveonionspho...
Contact Details
Email: steveonions1@gmail.com Twitter: Steve_ONions / steve_onions Instagram: steveonions1 / steveonions1
A good point, as a wise man once said, 'I tried middle of the road once - got hit by traffic going in both directions'.
Excellent 🙂
Well said, and I could not agree more. In today's digital photography world, black and white seems to be more of an afterthought than an intention.
It has definitely become the poor cousin to colour Rene.
I've actually been much happier with my colour shots than my black & white shots and this video makes me realise that I probably don't make enough of a distinction of the two when shooting. It makes sense that I should be looking more for shapes & contrasts with black and white -- seems obvious but this really made it clear for me, great video as always Steve!
Glad you liked it Martin, I always start by asking myself if the shot relies on colour to work and if not then it’s automatically mono.
Coming home on a friday evening, one of your videos is always a special treat.
Thanks, Steve. What you say about choosing one or the other, B&W or color, makes such good sense. I continue to like your honesty, showing the mistakes and duds, as well as the prizes. There were some nice keepers again. Well, as usual, really. Looking forward to your next video.
Thanks James 👍
Very nice pictures. I’m surprised how good 35mm can be.
Steve, every time I look at your photos I am amazed! Indeed, a real photographer can shoot with a tin can. And you still get a masterpiece!
Health and good luck to you.
Thanks Yury, that’s very kind of you 😊
Breath of fresh air as usual Steve.
Great video and advice, the blessing and curse with photography seems to be the myriad of choices available, especially in the digital age. Like many I probably spend too long thinking about this rather than actually thinking about the subject I am going to photograph. The biggest gain from setting yourself one approach has to be the free space to think about the subject rather than the medium! Thanks for continuing to produce inspirational and useful videos!
Thanks Simon. I also need less lenses to pick from, having one lens is initially limiting but then it starts to get a lot easier.
@@SteveONions Very true. I had one lens in Vietnam on a trip the 40mm 1.4 Nokton Classic , and I worked that lens hard getting some amazing images ...and losing others. I only took one camera body that trip too , A7S2 ...
Good move, I used a 50mm 1.8 in California a few years ago after my zoom died - never missed a shot and loved the simplicity.
I just got 6 TIFFEN 82mm circular filters for Film and Digital in Monochrome or Black and White shooting.
This was a 600.00 investment but am glad I did it. Only got out one day to shoot test images, all at same shutter and F stop to compare the effects o the filters, I have a long ways to go to learn these filters.
The day was very bright , and the next day were slate grey and showers. Not hauling filters into the rain. NO.
Thank you Steve for this video. You are one of my favorite channels as I do not have to be in the " Gear Weapons Race " to learn from you.
Thank you 😊
This was absolutely an Incredible video and it really really helped me. I had been struggling with the separation of colors and Black and Whites. Again thank you for this video.
Glad you liked it Scott.
Thanks Steve. Most appropriate comments. I one read colour photographs the clothes bw photographs the soul. You gave great food for thought.
4:03 - very beautiful, great job!
Another very intelligent and clear video Steve. It is definitely best to decide in advance whether you are going to do colour or mono. However, light changes quickly sometimes and it is nice to have the option to change the medium on the fly. This is where digital helps of course but I do agree that once you have decided which is the best option for the conditions it is best to alter your viewfinder and screen appropriately and stick to chosen option for that day. Keep these wonderful videos coming!
Thanks David. I’m finding in general that the fewer options I have the better the photos. This extends to lenses too where I gradually realising that less is more.
I always carry both, just in case. At the beginning, I shot the same things in B&W and color, but I ended up with mediocre shots. Now, I set my mind to one type, but if I see an opportunity (which happens rarely) , I have the option to take the other camera. I won't say that now my shots are way better, but they're is improvement.
Really good points Steve - I made the very same mistake earlier in the week. Going out with one film and one look in mind makes me much more intentional and selective, which in turn increases my success rate.
I totally agree with the general sentiments of this video and I love the ability to set my camera to monochrome and have the viewfinder and rear LCD show me the image in B&W ...in the old days I had (and still have) a Kodak Wratten filter which (sort of) rendered the image in B&W for visualising what the final image might loook like but modern digital cameras really help in this regard.
I used to use a deep red filter to visualise B&W but nothing beats the likes of the iPhone for visualising a scene. It’s saved me a lot of film and wasted time 👍
No shame here Steve. It’s all part of it. You’re still one heck of a photographer! I do agree with everything you’ve stated. I for one am happy that at least you’ve proven Nikon F bodies are perfectly fine for landscape photography.
I think Nikon film bodies will be around for a very long time indeed 👍
Another great share, Steve, thanks. Spot on message!
I would go as far to say when shooting either we need to commit for a period of time to get into the swing of things, I started shooting black and white rollfim after ten years of colour digital this spring, im fully committed and loving it, going back to colour is distracting from a way of thinking.
Just discovered your channel, love the content, so much practical information and presented with field application. Thank you! I will binge watch to catch all of them :)
Glad you liked it Janet 😊
Color images are stunning! Awesome! 👍
I found this a really interesting video Steve. In the film era I really upped my walking game and to record my adventures I typically used two cameras, A Nikon F90x with Velvia and a Pentax ME Super with mono ( FP4, Delta 400, Tmax 400). I found that I recorded different scenes with the two cameras and they complemented each other, on some days only the colour images worked but on others it was the mono. On some days both worked but with different subjects.
Nowa-digital-days I make the image and usually note the ones that might work best in mono but reserve the right to post judge that choice.
One thing I do believe in is that if you have ever extensively shot mono you develop an eye for those compositions that will work best in that format when you take the picture.
Great video - thanks.
I know what you mean Keith, I spent a few years where I only ever shot B&W film which helped train my eye for particular images. Mixing in colour weakens that ability but if I stick to one film type per outing I can generally start seeing shots that will work together as a coherent group.
Sometimes less is more! I often go out with just my Rolleiflex and one roll of film. Maybe a extra roll just in case. I look for contrast and ‘see’ in black and white. Some days I’ll go with just the digital. Great video as always Steve!
Absolutely - totally agree.
Very interesting thoughts, Steve. When shooting film, I don't see a problem in taking two cameras out, since you either come across b/w scenes or color scenes. You want to be prepared! Carrying only a single camera body I often crinch at having decided e.g. to go for b/w and then seeing more color shots during the photo walk (or the other way round). But what becomes very clear is that photographic subjects are mostly "either or" and usually do not work equally well in color and monochrome.
Thanks Carsten. I hate it when I have an image that works in both colour and B&W. I think this is a failure as it is unclear what I intended to show when I pressed the shutter.
I also find it much easier to use just one film on the shorter excursions, say an hour or two. For all day shooting the light changes so much it encompasses scenes that need a totally different approach.
It's interesting you still make a print of something you don't like. I wouldn't waste papers. The colour photos are very nice.
I find that your photographs very inspirational.
That’s very kind of you Guy 😊
It's funny that you have this video out today. I am getting ready to go out to do some shooting and I had 2 sheets of B&W and 4 sheets of Color loaded already loaded so off I go. I agree though that it can be a bit difficult to switch your eye. I normally shoot B&W so I am used to looking at things with that "eye". Color is difficult for me but I have had some Provia in the fridge for a while so time to give it a go.
Good luck with the outing Thomas, I also find it tempting to take multiple films when shooting 4x5, it’s so simple compared to roll films.
I agree! I have a color brain and a black and white brain and they don't together at the same time. I had a long streak of black and white over summer then switched to color for Autumn. It is too much a struggle to chop and change as you say.
Me too, I can feel a mono spell coming this Winter.
Good insight.
hello terrific photos you are to critical on yourself this is part of the journey of photographers wishing I had done that or this.i have been taking photos for 65 years we must not so critical of are own good work leave that to the so called critic .
I am never totally satisfied, this keeps me coming back and wanting to improve 😊
The shot at 7:00 in black and white I actually really like, the contrast of the little birch (?) trees works very well against the background. A very moody and desolate image.
But I do agree with you, taking all the options feels like a good idea at first, since you can take more creative approaches, but in the end you will have such a huge possible space of options to explore that it just muddies the waters and doesnt allow you to fully explore or focus on a single thing, whilst that is usually where the best shots happen.
I still did enjoy the images and the video though. Looking forward to the ektar autumn video!
Thank you 😊. I also have the added complication that whilst out I’m trying to make a video which is very time consuming. By sticking to a single film I have enough time to make decent stills alongside the video.
Funny, I have never shot colour & B&W together and I have no clue why. I'm glad I never have now :) Also, I think it's really important to take the right film for your environment - both weather, light & location. I've just sold my Ektar because it's too saturated for my liking, but you could almost change my mind with those images. Important too (as you said) to have an idea what you want from the outing. As a friend of mine once said - if you don't know where you're going, you stand a poor chance of getting there. Lovely work as usual Steve.
Thanks Ian, the Ektar didn’t come out too garish, I think the lighting conditions helped tame it.
I used a Pentax 67 with a 55mm F4 lens with Kodak Tri x for years.
I developed the film in Xtol.
I enlarged some dawn shots from the coast of Cornwall to 20x16 on my 1950s Gnome Condenser enlarger through a 100mm Schneider Componon S lens. I used my hand to dodge the sky.
Great prints.
Colour, nah, I learned to see in Black and white when I was 9.
I have never looked back. However I
I enjoyed using Kodachrome and Ektachrome films loved printing on on to Cibachrome paper when it was available.
Now it's too expensive so I don't bother with colour anymore.
I use a Kiev 6c 6x6 slr now with a 90mm 2.8 Vega lens with Tri x and Rodinal 1 to 50 now and Foma paper which I Lith print with. I have a 1957 Yashica Mat and a Lubitel 2 which I enjoy working with. I am 75 now and have a permanent bathroom darkroom which has no window which suits me fine. I live on my own now, my wife is in a home with alziemers, so sad.
I still collect cameras.
Mostly 35mm, toy cameras I call them not like 6x6 cameras which are serious work tools
Latest finds have been a £20 Yashica fx-d quartz with a 50mm f2 lens and an immaculate and beautiful all black Nikkormat ft2 with a 50mm f2 Nikkor lens from a friend for £100. I don't use them. I just like having them around. History I suppose. Comfort objects.
Life is good.
Seems like you’ve found a happy place with your equipment and photography Neil 👍
Overall, I agree with you -- you need your vision tuned to what you're shooting, whether that's color or black and white. The one exception I've found for this is when the two are in very different formats -- not a pair of 35mm Nikons, same frame, same camera operation, you wind up stuck in the middle as you said -- but, say, my Reflex II with Fomapan, and my RB67 with 35mm Superia 400 (doing its Xpan imitation) does work. Switching mental gears between color and black and white at the same time as switching formats seems to avoid the "partial conversion" problems.
Well, at least it works well for me...
Good point, the bigger the difference in the two options the easier it is to work with both successfully.
Nice discussion and beautiful work. I wonder if infrared black and white would have worked for the mixed green and brown vegetation.
It would have been good Mark, infrared works well all year round in my experience.
Thank you for another inspirational video. Thinking about tho, I find that I agree with what you are saying here. The styles and situations where you use colour and black and white are too different to just switch. I also agree to the view of black and white as the “simple solution” for saving a badly composed or thought through colour image. Thank you for posting this.
Thanks Espen, I’m glad you liked it.
I know exactly what you mean Steve. I went out the other day at dawn, a respectable time of 8am ish. I saw the mist and fog with the sun hazing it’s way through the dense fog. I shot digital for this shoot, but all B&W. To be honest the scenes looked pretty monochrome anyway in the fog. I got a few good ones and one particular image I printed up and framed, but in sepia. Just a hint, nothing too over the top. I used to shoot XP1 and then XP2 a lot back in the early 1990’s. Although I squelched back to the car as the ground was waterlogged and so my shoes, I realised I just wasn’t having so much fun as I do with my Nikon FE2. As a man in my 50’s now I had gotten up to use the toilet early and saw the light so it was no time for thinking, just grab my camera bag and off I went. I wished I’d brought my film camera. So this time I’m ready. Stunning photographs you took Steve. You’re like me. I print my work a great deal. It’s what photography is all about, the printed image.
I totally agree Simon and for me the fun is being outdoors and experiencing nature, preferably with a film camera as it doesn’t distract me the way digital does.
I pressed 'like' as soon as I read the title because I knew I would be agreeing with it. Put your B&W head on when leaving the house, or your colour head, but two heads just argue.
Totally agree Steve.
Good advice. Well done.
Just a couple of weeks ago I was out on a city streets shoot. Have a Hasselblad and brought one film back with Color and one with B&W. But wait there's more, I also brought my digital camera. The weather was fine for all 3 modes, but I agree that switching back and forth was a distraction. I missed some "decisive moments" fiddling around. Anyway, hope to see another video from you soon.
Thanks Jim. I even struggled on the recent wall round Liverpool with the Nikon and Konica, I soon put the later camera away and just shot with the 35mm and HP5+.
Another awesome video, thank you for sharing your wisdom. I made a decision to only shoot B&W with my 35mm. So when I go out I decide what’s the weather like?, what do I want or hope to shoot? then I make my decision to go Digital or 35mm.
Then I go out with the mindset of today I am shooting B&W or today I am shooting in colour, my muscle memory reverts to thinking in B&W or Colour and as you say the feel of the photos and the quality is far better.
It definitely works better for me when I decide at the outset what I’m trying to say.
Hello Steve, I am always out and about with 2 cameras. One with color film and the other with BW film.
With color film I also discovered the ectar for myself. But I also like to shoot with the Color Plus, it has a bit of a vintage look to me. When I photograph old furniture in a thrift store, it gives it an authentic look.
I can't really get used to the Acros. This is praised by many but is not mine. In the near future I'll try the XP2, let's see what's going on.
Greetings from Switzerland to England.
Thanks Rolf. Truth be told I can’t really get on with Acros either and the rolls I have are over ten years old as I never really like using it. XP2 is much more my style and far more flexible in the varied weather we get here in the UK.
Great color shots. I had a somehow comparable experience when I shot black and white film, but took the sames images with instax wide. The instax shots were all less interesting.
Good advice, thanks.
Thanks Suzanne.
That's correct, I always take one roll of b&w film, or, colour film, I won't take them both, 'cause it could help me to concentrate. Thank you Steve.
Thanks Dongwei.
We are travelling to Scotland next Oct (late Oct) & I'll shoot color b/c I don't want to deal with film at the airport & all that but you're right, don't mix color & b/w on the same trip. I would love to take my 4x5 over there but that's not going to happen. It'll have to be digital (unless I buy a cheap Ilford cam with b/w film. :)
I know where you’re coming from Paul. I used to take film abroad but I’m not prepared to risk it now. I’d have to buy it on arrival and get it developed before coming home, far too much hassle so it’s digital for me too.
I've committed to shooting only black and white for the foreseeable future and already in the first few months I've improved leaps and bounds. The mindset is completely different.
Absolutely Matt. I shot with a Hasselblad for 3 years and not a single roll of colour ever went through it.
Actually that darkroom print I thought looked rather nice :) Scans not as much and yeah the color was definitely better. I think you're spot on with the approach. To be that's one benefit of film with forcing me into a thought paradigm and sticking with it. It's real hard to do in large format though where it's just so easy to switch films. I try to be specific (at least between BW and Color) but sometimes I can't help myself.
Thanks Tim. I also find that with my 4x5 I’m very tempted to shoot both given the ease of carrying multiple film stocks. I do consider the post shoot effort too however and like to run all my films through just the one developer if possible, I hate ploughing through E6 and C-41 for just the odd roll or sheet.
@@SteveONions Very good point!
Well, I guess I did my trips to Thailand and other SE Asia countries wrong and I should shelve those great photos I took.
😋
Made exactly the same experience - I can recall only a handful instances where both color and B&W would have worked equally well. As you mentioned, lots has to do with the mindset: if I previsualize a scene in color, B&W is out of the game and vice-versa. I never convert color film photos to B&W.
Thanks Martin. I’ve also had a little success mixing the two but that’s been by luck only. By far the best results have come when I absolutely know what I want before I even get the camera out.
Steve I have very mixed feelings on the subject. On one hand, I find shooting black and white on digital to be almost impossible. It's too clean, doesn't produce the same feel, and I have a hard time thinking in black and white with it. With film camera in medium and small formats, I generally don't mix color and black and white either.... But on 4x5 it's an entirely different story. Unless I'm going to shoot fall colors and don't want to even consider black and white, I bring both. And at least for me it works. I just have to ask myself what the scene calls for and not think about cost, developing, or getting hung up on one or the other. I've made some of my favorite color and black and white shots on the same day.
But I can certainly see how putting pressure on yourself to shoot one or the other or both, is going hinder results.
I feel pretty much the same Bryce and I can’t recall the last time I used digital for B&W. 4x5 is also the most difficult to restrict yourself with, so easy to carry a few different films in the holders.
So true. Vision. Execute a plan and anything else is a bonus. Btw You use Paramo don't you? Would you recommend it?
Definitely like Paramo gear, even my 4x5 dark cloth is made by them and it acts as a waterproof cover for the camera.
Would like to see how XP2 does at 800 and 1600 processed normal!
Not so good Simone, ugly shadows, especially at 1600.
Good points. What do you think about mixing film and digital on the same shoot?
I have done it Roy and coincidentally the next video is about exactly that subject 👍
amazing video
Thanks Francisco.
Guilty Your 'Onour. I usually shoot B&W then finish off with a colour shot. Next time out I will just take one or 'tuther and see. The big bonus is a lot of weight saving :)
Cheers
Diz
I need to keep the weight down too Diz, it quickly adds up and just gets in the way.
I've converted digital colour to B&W. Sometimes it really improves things but I agree - I've never produced anything special by that means. And its surprising how often I feel the need to keep a colour version as well, which must be telling me something...
I've also set out with my camera set to B&W, got home and felt the need to revert to colour. I would say that's even less likely to succeed because it usually means, in my case, that there wasn't much in the way of composition to start with.
At least digital mistakes are cheap!
Very true David. I often used digital cameras set to JPEG only when working in B&W so I was fully committed to mono.
What are your thoughts on Ilford FP4 125 film? Have you done a video on it before, and if not would you?
It’s a nice film but I find it a little slow for the UK weather - lovely tonality though.
@@SteveONions I shot a roll of it last year and it ended up being proccessed incorrectly so it became mostly very blown out, trying to shoot more black and white from now on though so I'll have to use it again. It was a lot more starkly black and white than most black and white I've used
Bad luck with the processing, always best to do everything yourself.
How many times have I taken a shot in color only to find that it looks so much better when converted to black and white!
We all have Jason 👍
More words of wisdom !
Thanks Roy 🙂
Очень красиво! Если бы погода была солнечной, было бы еще лучше.
Он всегд предпочитает приглушенные тона.
Honestly I liked a lot of these monochrome shots. If it had been me I might have just pushed it hard and added contrast that way and/or added a red filter to separate the colours in the bracken.
(What do I know though I don't shoot landscape :D)
Nice one 👍
I think the color ones came out better. I have found, much to my chagrin, that despite my personal high assessment of the wonderful thing that is me, and my personal self knowledge of my self-evaluated excessively high, IQ, because I am never one to be wrong and can never learn from others, that once in a while, I may stumble upon good information. I say stumble, because, being rather Einstein-like and without any moral turpitude, and with my personal humility being the one thing I am most proud of, stumbling upon a truth is my only option, for were it available through genius and perfection, I would already know it. Excepting run-on sentences, which I allow myself so I can display a touch of the common, thereby being humble, yet again. Still, I find your presentation thought provoking but it presents a dilemma, for genius and perfection being me, I wish always and everywhere the ability to completely satisfy my every whim which runs contrary to forcing myself to use a limited option when one could easily leave open many choices. Obviously this trait stems from my superior intellect which resists constraints of mere regular mortals, while some may speculate otherwise. Yet through it all, I am haunted by the possibility...can I be mistaken? Quickly I dismiss such thoughts as impossible because, well, I am perfect. I am, however, working on being less than perfect as I do not wish to challenge the Trinity, entirely, as that seems to result in bad outcomes. So, I am formulating a plan to deliberately be less than perfect, not only for the Trinity, but so as to increase my already fabulous humility. However, I have decided not to display my imperfections generally, but only within the realm of photography, since, being an art form, no matter what I do, there shall always remain a question... did he make an error there, or is it art? As you can see, the beauty of this approach is that I can have my cake and eat it too.
I shall now inform my wife of my plans and assessments. Or, perhaps on second thought, stealth may be a better option?
;)
Have a good day John 😀
I appreciate your thoughts
Thanks Larry.
Nice video and points, but I believe it’s really up to the photographer’s favorite process. Maybe you’re great at one or another but not both at once. Others are better at multiple films and processes at once. Only a question of one’s individual vibes.
Very true 👍
I tried hand coloring some black and white images once.....meh...lol!
all experienced photographers say the same thing, but I still like to convert some photos in bw after they are taken, not to rescue a bad photo but because I think it comes out well in bw and often I am happy with the result (I rarely do this...). Anyway, the photos of this video are great !
Thanks Paolo 🙂
Nothing wrong with taking two cameras with you, with two different films. However, experience should tell you, when you survey the scene, just what film/camera combo is going to be the one you use on the day. The other camera, you just leave behind, or carry with you just in case conditions do change to suit it more than your original choice. Though, if you have a specific look in mind for your trip, then just one camera/film combo will suffice. if the conditions change, then you go do something else until they change again, or call it a day.
I really should have left the other body in the car Carl, the conditions were ideal for colour negative and I’d have got more keepers if I’d been more focussed.
Yeah, the B&W's did turn out a bit flat and mushy.
10:14...... wasn't that a digital print?
No, that is a darkroom print.
@@SteveONions That's reallllly nice :-)
Once again another video that makes you stop and think. I have the same dilemma between film and digital cameras, I always carry both but lock one up in the trunk (boot) of the car.
I need to use the ‘lock it in the boot’ option more often Peter 😊
Ohhh, I see your point, especially with film, but I'm not sure it applies equally with digital. Curiously enough, I have today just put up a blog post comparing colour and mono variations of the same shot. I did purposely keep the colour shot quite plain, using Classic Chrome simulation on my Fuji. I hope you won't mind too much if I link it here? Just delete it if you do! www.chromagraph.org.uk/post/colour-or-black-and-white
i believe that the BW photos aren't bad, if they weren't meant to be shot for landscapes they would be amazing
Learning black and white is harder if using colour digital i find.
Thanks Steve, wonderful information imparted once more. Hope you don't mind my somewhat inane comments, years after the videos have been shot, but I'm lucky to have all these great goodies in hand. Cheers Mark
I’m glad you enjoy the videos Mark, even the old ones 🙂
Hello Steve! Very good video and interesting topic that no one has covered yet. But your reasoning is absolutely logical, I like that. Just out of curiosity, why do you often write "filmed pre-lockdown" in your video titles?
I’m putting the message on as I am not making phot trips while England is in lockdown. I know some people are still venturing out but a few of my videos are made a long way from home and we should t be travelling that far unless absolutely necessary.
@@SteveONions Oh I see, thank you.
I cannot! I hated pro work where BOTH wanted. It was always less than perfect. BW from colour is a total loss..
Less is more!
Definitely.
You look like Viggo Mortensen
😀