Back to Basics

I have heard, over and over again in the photography "world", go back to your roots, shoot a pentax k-1000 and black and white if you ever want to be a good photographer. Basically the logic behind this is, shoot completely manuel to know your camera inside and out and how it all affects the image, and black and white so as not to be confused with all the pretty colors and focus on light and composition.

Every once in a while, I do just that, well, not the pentax part, but the black and white part. I will take color photos (since I now shoot digital) and desaturate them to see if the image holds up and is still interesting. I strongly believe a photographer should shoot the image as it is meant to look as a final product. This means don't click away and think, "I'll fix that in photoshop" or "I'll crop it and work it over and see what I get" To me that's incredibly lazy thinking, learn how to do it right, then you can take that image and elevate it one step higher in post processing. (I realize it's not always possible, and post processing work is necessary sometimes, that's why I have a JOB! :) )

These are a couple of shots of my daughter out in the front yard last night. I am usually such a traditionalist in my photography, I am forcing myself these days to try new angles, and push my creativity. I've always shot straight forward, centered, rule of two thirds, the full meal deal, so now I am working on a more artistic approach, but still working to keep it acceptable, pleasing, and not just tipping the horizon on an angle and calling it art!

I desaturated these, and brought back just a hint of color, 'casue, well, I wanted to! (although it is very subtle and might not show on the blog, it shows very nicely in print) I think these images work very well in black and white and bring your focus to the subject. Which made me happy, and that's what counts right? What do you all think?