Category Archives: B&W Photography

A Different Perspective

130315_DV_S-curveAbstract

This is a different perspective of the curved road in my prior two posts.  Once I see something that catches my eye, I tend to focus on that element from different perspectives.  This image is a horizontal pan of the bending curve.  I tried “S”-swipes, “C”-swipes. and horizontal pans.  A gentle horizontal pan gave me the balance between blur and detail that I was looking for.  The image was processed in NIK Silver Efex Pro.  I focused on highlighting the shadows and the shape of the curve.  I chose sepia toning with a soft blurred white vignette to represent the feeling of the image in its natural tone. It is no longer an image of the landscape, but an abstract of shadows and curves.

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Let the Image Come to You

130313_20 MuleTeamCanyon_BWIt was mid-morning following a great shoot at Zabriskie Point.  The landscape was filled with harsh shadows, bright surfaces, and subdued colors.  Nothing caught my eye.  I was about ready to walk around and look for some interesting view.  Then right in front of me was this graceful “S-curve”.  Two of our workshop leaders (Chuck Kimmerle and John Barclay) had previously emphasized the point not to force an image … but let the image come to you.  In this case, a little patience payed off as this image engulfed my focus.  Once seen, several other opportunities arose … to be continued in future blogs.

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Zabriskie Point

130310_ZabriskiePt_BW by Karl G. Graf.

Zabriskie Point radiated brilliantly as the sun hit the point.  It lasted for just seconds before the rock features became washed out and the point became flat against the background.  The basin below in shadows is Death Valley.

In the B&W conversion, I focused on separating the different tonalities in the face of Zabriskie while keeping it’s brightness separated from the valley and mountains in the background.

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