aren't they cute?
these are miniature houses, but they show a very typical scene here in Norway
those red sheds, cabins, houses… against the very green landscape
photography wise, that is awesome for color photographs
because of the contrast that those two colors together create
that is something that we lose in monochrome, though
ideally, in black and white photography, we'll find contrast elsewhere
but sometimes, playing with the colors of a scene can be very helpful
it can improve our images quite a lot
so in this video, we'll see how we can take advantage
of very colorful scenes for our black and white photography
just one second
all right, this will do just fine
this is what happens when you are on the road
you have no studio… or anywhere is your studio actually
that is going to happen a few times
anyway, the first example we'll see
today is one that is just a few hundred feet down the road that way
it's a beautiful red shed, sitting in green and yellowish grass
with beautiful peaks in the background
this scene is all about the contrast between that shed and… well, everything else in the frame
as you can see, this is easily done in color
because of the contrast between the tones of the red shed and the green landscape
it is the contrast between these two colors that makes this image work
in black and white, though, it doesn't work quite as well
it's still beautiful, but it's lacking something
we can try to make it better by increasing that contrast between the subject and the background
because this is a RAW file, we have all the original information there
including the color information
in editing software like Lightroom, we can adjust the luminosity of each color independently
that way, we can work only on those red and orange tones of the shed
and try to darken them to match the contrast that we had in the color photograph
so this is slightly better
the contrast between the subject and the background is slightly higher
and just by touching the colors
however, in my opinion, that background is still too detailed
to the point that it competes for the viewer's attention with the subject
instead of being the context that the background should provide
it is almost like a second subject to the image
luckily, I was able to revisit the same scene a couple of days
later and I got the right conditions
the conditions I needed to make the image I wanted to make here
I used the atmospheric conditions along with tweaking the colors of the shed
and even the luminosity of the grass
to create the contrast I needed
this is a technique, a tool, I don't always use
but it is important to know about it because it can come in very handy when you need it
for example, I used it extensively on my images from Madeira
to lighten the greens of the grass
to increase the contrast between the dark trees and the rest of the landscape
a more subtle example is this one from Lake Michigan
it was a beautiful image already
but the horizon line was kind of bothering me a little bit
I couldn't unsee it once I saw it
it just didn't fit right with the main line in the image that was that fence, that dock
so by playing with the blues
in post, I was able to blur it enough so it wasn't a distraction anymore
I don't have anything against the horizon, I like to have that there sometimes
as you can see in this other image from the very same Lake Michigan
but in this case, it fit much better with the vertical line of the dock
as opposed to the previous image
more about tweaking the blues
because of course, this is something we can do to manipulate the appearance of the sky
for example, in this image I made in Italy,
I didn't like the way the clouds were showing right out of the box
by making the blues lighter, they blended better with the light mood of the picture
making the whole thing a little bit dreamier
I think you are getting the point by now, but let me show you one last example
I took this photograph last year in Indiana
an American flag that was underwater in a lake
it was pretty good with just the basic adjustments
but by making the red tones of the flag darker,
I was able to bring back the contrast of the red stripes and the white stripes
so there you have it, the power of playing with colors in black and white photography
of course, this is one of the main advantages of shooting digital
because you have the RAW file with all of that information
but this is something that you can take advantage of if you shoot film as well
the main difference is that it's something
that you'll have to do at the time of taking the picture
it's a decision you have to make beforehand
I used to have a red and orange filter,
they are widely used to increase the overall contrast of the image
to do something like we saw in the first example today,
to make the reds darker and the blues lighter
we need the opposite, we need a blue filter
a filter that will let the blues through, but blocks those red and orange tones
or you could shoot a color film stock, and then convert it to black and white in the darkroom
that way, you will have the same information as a RAW file, kind of
anyway, this was just a quick overview of how I use color in my black and white photography
as I said, it's not something I use very often
and when I do, it's usually in a very subtle way
but I think it's very useful to know about this because
it's what can make your image go from good to great
before I let you go, I would like to thank all of my Patreons for their support
I've been updating my Patreon page with some behind the scenes
and some photographs that I've been taking on this road trip across Norway
there is a car coming…
in any case, if you want to support my work,
you'll find the link to the Patreon page in the description down below
and also links to my website where you can purchase prints and books
this is all for today, I hope you enjoyed the video
thank you so much for watching, and see you in the next one!