Black+White Photography Magazine Assignment

I read Black+White Photography Magazine's assignment and thought I would have a go. The assignment was to create a series of low contrast black and white images of nature during the Autumn season. As this assignment is out of my comfort zone (I prefer to do figurative images with a slightly raised contrast) I felt that it would be perfect for me to experiment with alternative looks and processes. So I went for a walk in my local area and took many photos of natural forms such as: leaves, berries, conkers, apples, flowers etc and in a few I tried to depict how the seasons affect them visually. The magazine also gave a hint that weather shouldn't be an issue when taking the images; any weather is suitable.

I took this into consideration and took an image of a leaf after it rained, showing water droplets on its surface. I like the detail in the water droplets and am fairly happy with the composition. This image didn't translate as well with a low contrast because I took the image when it was quite sunny, so the contrast was quite high. When I edited the image, I found that lowering the contrast too much made the image looked very washed out and the detail wasn't as clear, which I think made the image stand out.

This image is one of my favourites because I think the black and white conversion and low contrast really compliment the subject matter. I took the image without looking in the viewfinder because I couldn't get close enough so took a risk and shot it without looking. Considering this, I think the composition is okay but could be improved.

This is another candid shot, but again I feel it works well, although I could do with a little more room between the bottom of the image and the conker. Like the leaf image, this was taken when the sun was shining so there was a higher contrast before I edited it, making it more difficult to create a low contrast effect without washing the image out and losing detail. On the other hand, I think the contrast in textures in this image work well together.

My final favourite image is of the berries. This was taken on an overcast day so the light was quite dull, which made an easier and more effective contrast alteration. I think out of all of the images, this one works best because of the fact that the image was already quite dull. I also think theres more interest in this image because of the numerous berries, giving the viewer more elements to look that, where as the other images don't have many focal points.

Doing this assignment has benefited me because I have tried something different and out of my comfort zone. Although some people may not agree with me doing this, because I have to develop my own distinct style, I think it is important to explore other ideas and processes in order to come up with an individual loo. I didn't feel entirely comfortable with this style of photography as my main inspiration is from figurative and conceptual photographers, but I have learnt new processes that may benefit me in future work.