Winter pics are almost B/W by default.

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I always loved B/W photography, but noticed that there's a certain art to it. It's not just turning whatever into B/W, but finding the right motive that would actually work without the colors, and just in grey-scales. Not every picture is meant for that. A lot of B/W do not appeal to me at all, but rather make me feel like they're a "BW makes me look so interesting and mysterious!" cry for attention.

Now, I have no clue yet about how to do it. So I thought I'd start with something incredibly easy - winter. Winter in Germany is almost B/W in and of itself, which makes it the perfect target to see what works. On top, my good friend @socraticmthd is publishing his novel "The Man with the Luminous Eyes" here on PeakD, and I'd love to provide some original pictures for that detective story taking place in a setting of omnipresent snow. And he uses B/W only, so yet another incentive for me.

Solar No-Power

I wanted to take a picture of the twilight, and I like the outcome. The camera agent does a great work automatically adjusting.

The BW version is curious. There's this clash between the modern solar panels, which stick out even more with their shiny surface and sharp shapes, in the middle of chaotic nature.

Edgy

The balcony at my mom's new flat with the view on the lake. I tried to position the tree in one, and the lights on the other side of the lake in another panel.

The lights in the distance become more ominous in the B/W version. For some reason, it reminds me of the first part of Monkey Island, the map of the first island. Though there was a lot of color involved in that game.

Tree of Life

My grandfather planted that tree in the middle, called it the tree of life. There was a story to it that I don't remember. When we were kids, it was still flat, and we'd climb up to the peak and laid on its thick needle bed. My grandpa always cut the upwards sprouts up, so it would be more like a bed.


The green disappeared, and that does make a difference in this picture. Though I think I like the colored version better.

Foggy

How does a little more light go? It was already foggy, and the zoom did it's part though it was only 3x optical zoom. This picture is not very interesting in color, but...

I really like it as B/W with higher contrast. I found that filter in my standard photo app and no, I don't have any photoshop skills. Most of what you see here is made with the simplest tools or not edited at all. Anyway, the fog makes all the difference in this one, blurring a lot of the trees, like a big grey stain on them.

So, that's it. My first trial playing with B/W on pictures that I took with B/W in mind (except the first one). I think that with time, I'll develop an eye for what might work nicely in B/W and what doesn't. @daveks said that structures work well, so I might give that a try next.

As always, any feedback and especially tips and tricks are very welcome! As long as it's not AI generated content or comment spamming... 😅

Thank you for stopping by!

All pictures are taken by myself with a Motorola Edge 60 Pro and I reserve the copyright - but you're welcome to ask if you'd like to use one of the pics!

photography blackandwhite photographylovers learning winter germany nature
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That's really interesting - seeing the before and after. I think I like the twilight better in blue (I know, odd for me). The final one is a toss-up; they're both great, but very, very different.

The key is to immerse yourself in movies and books from the thirties and forties for about a decade. After that? Everything starts looking black and white.

And thanks for the plug! :)

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