I saw this image of Titus Canyon in two different ways.  Our workshop group was photographing details on the canyon granite walls.  I turned back around and saw the sun highlighting the colors on the mountain face above.  Cool shadows in the canyon provided a sharp contrast.  The color highlights are what caught my eye.  But this was a black and white photography workshop.  Throughout the workshop, Chuck Kimmerle had been emphasizing seeing and thinking in black and white as we take our shots.  I tried to put on a “B&W filter” over my eyes.  I started to see greater contrast between the sky, the highlighted mountain face, and two levels of shadow contrast along the canyon walls.  Exploring further, I began to see the subtle (and not so subtle) tonal contrasts in the canyon walls as well as the mountain face.  I locked the scene in my mind.

Reviewing my images back at home, I picked this image as one of my favorites.  I processed it in B&W and was able to capture the B&W image that I had previously set in my mind. The following is the B&W version.

These images are not creative.  However, for me they represent a step in the learning process of seeing and thinking in B&W.

Related Images: