Today’s post is for Project 52, a weekly blog project that I am working on with several other talented photographers whom I’ve come to know and adore over the past year.  In this project, we concentrate on light and spend several weeks exploring an overarching theme.  Today we begin a new theme: Playing with Light in Black and White.

Before I caught the photography bug, I hadn’t thought much about what makes a good black and white image – neither what is involved in the process of converting from color to black and white (it’s usually more than clicking a button!) nor how to decide which type of image will convert well in the first place.  Sometimes I will decide to change an image to black and white after the fact, for a variety of reasons, but this month we are looking for light that will suit a black and white image well, so that we make the determination before we even click the shutter.  At this time of year in the Pacific Northwest, ideal light for b&w is not always the easiest to find.  The light we typically have all winter – the light that is produced by cloudy, foggy, overcast skies – is generally very flat and that typically doesn’t make for a great black and white image.  Sigh.  Luckily, the first morning light that reaches into my bedroom has been just gorgeous – soft and directional, a photographer’s dream – and I was able to take advantage.

Please continue along our creative blog circle to see what my lovely friend – and fellow New Jersey native – Cheryl Sawyer has posted.  Click HERE for Cheryl’s first play on light in Black and White.