I continue to explore a new approach on some of my black-and-white photos, giving my pics a “hard,” even unnatural, appearance in processing. Here’s another example of that approach; and another; and another with some more discussion of the process.
While this process does produce some unusual and eye-catching affects, I do wonder if it’s sort of … I don’t know … cheating. I mean, who can’t just play around with the controls until it looks cool? Is that really what photography is about? Does it really matter what photography is about? Does the process really matter as long as the end result is effective? Nobody criticizes a painter because they just made up something entirely out of their head. Is there just something about the photos that feels inauthentic?
Anyway, below is my latest image to receive that treatment (Click on it for a larger view). This is a photo of Josie’s Corner Cafe & Bake Shop (among other things) in downtown Fargo. I took this photo during one of the ‘Cruisin on Broadway’ events in 2012. I was drawn to this guy who was outside smoking, but i was just never satisfied with it until I turned it black and a white and pushed the look of it. I really darkened the “blue” tones of the photo (you can do that even though it’s in black and white) which really darkened the sky and brought out its detail. That’s what seemed to finally make the photo really work. If you like this image, you can seem more of my stuff here.
