Thinking about our theme this month, Black and White I began to look into my archives, keeping an eye out for some good contrast. It only takes a few minutes to convert an image from color and then it occurred to me that I have never tried to actually shoot in black and white. Some cameras like my own have an option in the Menu section to switch to a “Monochrome” view. On the Canon 5D MarkII you can choose this option under Picture Style.

As long as I stayed in manual mode and shot RAW the preview came up monochromatic. You can see on the histogram information above the photo has all its color information, saved in sRGB. When you import the photos they appear in color. It may seem unnecessary to preview your photo in black and white but you may answer the question of whether the image has enough interest to pull off monochrome.

A few tips I have always found useful for monochromatic shots include, shoot in bright light, aware of your highs and lows, contrast is your friend. Look for active skies, clouds that are sweeping or billowing make for dramatic black and white landscapes.

Can you hear your soul?

Can you hear your soul? by Elina__

While doing some research I stumbled upon a wedding photographer in London, Jeff Ascough, check out his wedding photography, they are predominantly black and white and they are beautiful. The muses have been talking about all of the wonderful images being submitted to the Mortal Muse Flickr Pool lately. I have to agree the pool has been outstanding lately, here are a few of my personal favorites.

one rainy afternoon

one rainy afternoon by Suzi Marshall

*  *  *  ~

*  *  *  ~ by Teteel

web in the woods

web in the woods by Jill@Green Hill

2 november

2 november by urban.prairie.forest.

find me

 find me by tmosnaps

Disembodied Bloom

Disembodied Bloom by Redzenradish

Early morning at my desk with the light coming through the shutters

Early morning at my desk with the light coming through the shutters by Justine Gordon

How often do you shoot in black and white? I know for me the answer is not enough, after spending some quality time with your monochromatic work.  I remember now how much I enjoy pouring over every little detail, details that seem to jump out once the color has been stripped away.

See you in the Flickr Pool!

Lindsey aka modchik