On my way back down a trail on Mount Monadnock this week, I spotted some small waterfalls. Since I consider myself a better nature photographer than a photojournalist, I stopped on the footbridge and looked up the tiny stream. Most nature photography is a no-brainer - it looks much more beautiful in color. But, these shaded falls, in the shade of the surrounding maple and oak trees screamed black and white!

Photo by Bob Hammerstrom

That dark green moss would have looked interesting if I had a longer lens and a roll of slide film with my former Nikon F4. But, now that I’m shooting all digital with a Canon EOS-1, Mark III, I just had to experiment with the monochrome setting (B&W). My preference would have been a 4×5 film camera with very slow b&w film and a long lens. All I had with me was a 16-35mm/ f2.8. Nice lens for wide angle, but those falls were further up the creek than my focal length.

Photo by Bob Hammerstrom

The results were better than what I had hoped for. The color version looks a little too green to me. Perhaps a fall photo with multiple colors would enhance that. Black and white is more artsy to me. I like the way the water blurs below the falls from movement during this 2 second time exposure. The longer the time exposure, the more blur you will get.

Seeing in color vs. seeing in black and white is about the same difference as night and day. When you haven’t shot in b&w for awhile, it’s easy to forget about the shades and contrast of colors when they are reduced to 10 zones in black and white. Those are the steps in between white, gray, and black in photo terms.

Most of us “old timers” started our careers shooting black and white film, and transitioned to color slide or negative film, and then digital photography. It’s a treat now-a-days to go back and experiment with it, even if it is on a digital camera.

-Bob Hammerstrom

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