Black and White Challenge – Day 5
Day 5 came around very quickly. I don’t think I’ve ever posted every day like this. Quite a challenge in itself. I’d like to just thank Sue J from Words Visual once again for inviting me to join in. It’s been great, I’ve enjoyed it and learnt a lot from it. I think as photographers we’re constantly learning and hopefully evolving and this challenge, although I was already exploring black and white film, has made me really stop and think about how we approach black and white as a distinct medium.
I’ve wanted to present a diverse range of images. On sunday, I posted a high key photograph of daffodils. Today I’m posting a low key photograph of Edward, a good friend who’s been with me a long time..
50mm f/16 1 sec ISO-100
On my final day I’m going to invite Otto Von Munchow to take up the challenge. Otto writes a great deal about the art of photography, the creative process and how we should challenge ourselves in order to grow as photographers. Like me, I know Otto generally doesn’t get involved in these challenges and I also know that he’s a very busy man. However, we have talked about my interest in vintage cameras and film photography so although I don’t expect Otto to take up the 5 day challenge (although it’d be great if he did) I’d like to challenge him to dig out that darkroom stuff, buy the Rolleiflex he’s wanted for a long time, and to start taking pictures the old way again. I know that it’s doing my photography the world of good and bringing a nice breath of fresh air into the whole creative process.
Cornwall Photographic 
Well done.
February 18, 2015 at 11:47 pm
Thank you as always Lou! :-)
February 19, 2015 at 7:55 am
Wow Adrian – I really love this one. You’ve captured the detail on every single piece of his fuzzy fur!! Beautifully done.
February 19, 2015 at 12:40 am
Thank you very much Tina! By the way, for some reason your comment has been marked as spam by Akismet, not sure what to do about that but you might find you’ve been unfairly targeted. It happens to us all every now and then I think.. :-)
February 19, 2015 at 7:58 am
Hmmm. You’re the second this week to tell me that. Thx Adrian, will look into it.
February 20, 2015 at 1:02 pm
Wonderful portrait of Edward! The light is perfection!! I agree that it would be great if Otto found the time to take up this challenge. Come on, Otto, you can squeeze out one more photo a day for five days :)
February 19, 2015 at 2:45 am
Thank you very much Angeline and yes, Otto taking part would be cool! :-)
February 19, 2015 at 7:56 am
I should say Angeline, the lighting was a table lamp on the dining room table with a piece of black felt for the backdrop. It doesn’t have to be complicated! :-)
February 19, 2015 at 11:25 am
Thanks for the advice on keeping it simple :)
February 19, 2015 at 1:23 pm
This was certainly the cheap option! :-D
February 19, 2015 at 3:40 pm
Adrian, you really have a thing for B&W. Your colour work is fantastic, of course, I’m sure you already knew that. You ought to try B&W more often :-)
February 19, 2015 at 7:55 am
Thank you Johann! That’s very kind! :-)
February 19, 2015 at 7:56 am
I like this one best ;-)
February 19, 2015 at 11:10 am
Thank you Sonja! I had a sneaking feeling you might.. :-)
February 19, 2015 at 11:23 am
Who could resist Edward?! Great lighting and detail whilst still keeping a ‘warm, fuzzy’ feeling – maybe that’s his character shining through?!
Well done for completing the Challenge – how on earth do people manage 365 projects? :O
February 19, 2015 at 11:42 am
Thanks again Noeline. I have absolutely no idea how people keep posting day in day out. I found these five days really tough. It’s the reason I ended up posting so late. I’d take the pictures, develop/process them, then write the post.. to do this every day for a year? I couldn’t do it. :-)
February 19, 2015 at 3:42 pm
You’ve certainly looked after your bear a lot better than I looked after mine! Super lighting on his luxuriant fur
February 19, 2015 at 6:46 pm
Thank you Andy. A table lamp with a shade you can tip one way or the other to give the light direction and a bit of black felt can do very nicely! :-)
February 19, 2015 at 6:49 pm
I’ve come late to this post – for some reason, although WordPress says I’m following you, your posts don’t appear in the Reader….. Anyway, what a wonderful chiaroscuro bear! And his fur has been so well captured… My bear, which is a couple of months younger than me, is in a rather furless state! I’m very pleased you enjoyed this challenge as much as I did!
February 19, 2015 at 9:19 pm
Thank younSue, yes I did. It’s reminded me there is an awful lot you can do with black and white as distinct from colour. Lots more experimenting to do! I’m currently trialing a Hasselblad 500cm. It’s a super camera, built to last. This one is from 1972. :-)
February 19, 2015 at 10:08 pm
Oh my! A Hasselblad! Total envy……😃
February 20, 2015 at 7:40 am
I’ve just developed a roll I took this afternoon.. I’ll be looking at the negatives presently. I’m hoping the camera lives up to its reputation, or probably more to the point, I can do it justice. :-)
February 20, 2015 at 5:43 pm
Fantastic! I hope you are more than happy with this camera! Another e-bay acquisition??
February 20, 2015 at 7:01 pm
Potentially Sue! I’m testing it so we’ll see.. :-)
February 20, 2015 at 7:28 pm
Beautiful shot, so soft yet textured at the same time
February 20, 2015 at 2:23 am
Thank you Julz! :-)
February 20, 2015 at 5:40 pm
He’s wonderful! I feel like he is just about ready to talk to me.
February 20, 2015 at 12:57 pm
We’ve had our share of converstions Elena! Not particularly talkative but Edward is a great listener! :-D
February 20, 2015 at 5:45 pm
Beautiful b&w composition!
February 20, 2015 at 5:56 pm
Thank you Hans!
February 20, 2015 at 6:04 pm
What a beautiful still life, fabulous lighting and a great composition…….and how cute is Edward.
February 20, 2015 at 7:27 pm
Thank you Mark! He’s taken to modelling quite well! :-)
February 20, 2015 at 7:36 pm
Beautiful portrait of Edward! :) Love the light and fine details!
February 21, 2015 at 7:18 pm
Thank you Camilla! :-)
February 21, 2015 at 8:34 pm
Your versatility is impressive. The light on the ribbons is just right. Low key was a good choice for this old guy. My mother had a miniature bear she said she took everywhere with her, the size of your thumb, and I still have it. It’s VERY worn. I should try to photograph it sometime. Looking forward to seeing what’s next here.
February 22, 2015 at 5:47 pm
Thank you again Lynn. How nice that you still have your mother’s bear. It’d be cool to see some pictures! As for what’s next, I’m off to Iceland again on Tuesday. It’s a winter wonderland at the moment. An awful lot of snow. Lots of scope for both colour and black and white photography I think. :-)
February 22, 2015 at 6:35 pm