Minimalism by bear bonnell and JTContinental

Anybody who has been on the Team knows that Jeremy [ JTContinental ] gets miserable each time the Minimalism / Simplicity challenge runs. Sometimes the moaning is quite loud and while I haven't seen his portrait, I think he pulls out a fair bit of his hair too. We keep telling him to do a session to alleviate the pain. To no avail until one day we heard that Danuta [ bear.bonnell ] and he were collaborating on the session.

Now you may think a session on minimalism / simplicity should be simple enough. Let us assure you that it isn't. But enough of talk - let's hand you over to Jeremy and Danuta.

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Teacher:
Try to answer this:
Define minimalism
In 10 words or less.

Student:
buddhadog help me!
Minimalism haiku
Is needed quickly!

Since neither Jeremy (JTContinental) nor Danuta (bear.bonnell) could provide the short answer demanded by Teacher, they have provided this "lengthy" session on minimalism and simplicity instead!

Unlike a minimalist work of art itself, any discussion or description of minimalism usually involves lots of details that usually take up plenty of space and time... and passion. Classic definitions of minimalism usually run along these lines: The art form stripped down to its bare essentials. Simple enough, you say. But just what *are* the bare essentials?

Interestingly enough, humans were already "doing" minimalism some 27,000 years ago, when they were minimally human ;-). The cave paintings in France and Spain are wonderful examples of early minimalist art:





Skipping over a millennium or two, let's jump to examples of minimalism and simplicity in pop culture. Stuff you wouldn't even dream of acknowledging is pure "mini" or "simpi." Stuff that uses the least color, the least material, the fewest shapes, the smallest whatever, to evoke the most from us, in terms of reactions, attention, puzzlement or pure enjoyment. For example, cartoons :

Who doesn't recognize these few lines and shapes?
see this reference

Even tattoos:

Proudly worn by A2L

Perhaps the biggest political marketing strategy of all time is based in minimalist sketching. The political campaign poster below was created by street artist Shepard Fairey, who is known for his rudimentary line drawings in his graffiti stickers (see also Andre the Giant Has a Posse and Fairey's omnipresent Obey campaign).




NOW, THE ESSENTIALS
In the session, we're going by the principle that a photograph is worth about 40-60 words. But the words here are worth their font size in gold! Each photo has been carefully chosen to highlight principles and techniques of minimalist photography.

Let's start off with a subject that JT suggests every budding minimalist should experiment with: Columns.

by claude05

In Klaus' shot, the viewer gets lost in the pure photographic elements--shape, light, color gradation, and that's a good thing. In fact, it's the essence of minimalism: When the focus of the photo becomes those few items, plus the composition and camera angle, instead the actual subject matter. In this photo, the layout of the columns provides some fantastic contrasts between the light and shadow. The photo also highlights the fact that equipment plays a far lesser role in creating good minimalist images than in other types of photography. Post-processing may be very useful, but it's training the eye that's far more important.

EXAMPLES OF MINIMALIST TECHNIQUE
The shot below by nespyxel is a great example of pure minimalism, as it is all about photographic technique while the subject matter is incidental. See how Stefano uses both his camera and the composition to create cool lines and an appealing abstract.

by Nespyxel

The photo below is all about technique--line, line, line = graphic, graphic, graphic. Elizabeth's photo showcases the best part of a building that's probably pretty ugly in real life, and transforms it into something beautiful.

by Abizeleth

Below are some variations on the theme. Note that Danuta would call these photos abstract, but not minimalist, because of the amount of detail. Well, we wonder what Pinnacle judges would say if these photos were posted in the "minimalist/simplicity" thread?

But, sez JT!!!! "All four of these shots are abstracts or details, but Abizeleth's and dmalewski's shots in particular say "minimalism" to me because of simplistic repeating elements in the composition--the same combination of line and shape is being represented throughout the shot, and the subject matter is really line and not repetition or architecture."

Hah! Let the viewer beware. Let the photographer be on guard. Let the one with questions run away! LOL.

by mamie007

by roberta zouain

by dmalewski

OTHER ELEMENTS IMPORTANT IN MINIMALISM: LINES AND SHAPES

This following shot by Merdichesky is the best photo JT has seen on Flickr in a long time. While it does make use of some digital manipulation, that processing is used to enhance the strong lines and shapes formed by the windows. The contrast of the blue against the almost blinding white also gives it fantastic visual appeal. This is the way that negative space should be used in a true minimalist photo--to create tension with the subject matter, rather than just serve as a backdrop.

by Merdichesky

Now, the following photo would be more minimalist without the moon, but the sky juxtaposes well with the uneven line of the architecture, and the contrasting colors are neat.

by crazykanga

USING LIGHT IN MINIMALISM

by clay.wells

Here, Clay has stripped out the meaning of the subject matter entirely; the shot is about the concept of photography as an art form rather than just a pretty photo. JT thinks that a slight crop across the top would enhance the minimalism, but it is a good example of how to use light in minimalist photography. Not only does it accent the linear composition of Clay's photo, but it also gives it a bleak, austere quality that is quintessential minimalism.

Next, a wonderful use of light and shadow: The light on the human figure juxtaposes with the ledge to make a cross pattern that is very biblical to JT, or at least represents meditation and penitence. There is also an element of disembodiment and floating in this composition that is very cool, and works in this shot.

by chichicuilote

Danuta's not sure she sees any penitence here, as she thinks it would look great on the wall next to this one...

by margiebean

...which, given a little more contrast to blot out the line of the back, would be ultimate minimalism for her!

Now, JT's a little jealous of the next photo....

by nik10ur

Very mysterious simplicity at work here, he says. A strong line trails into the monochromatic mist, creating a sense of travel, melancholy, and yearning. So evocative--.

Next is a neat image from Maria. A sharper contrast and a little more tonal variation would really enhance the jagged shapes, but this is definite minimalism. Nice lines and a soothing light source that seems to be coming from the core. A mix of Weston and Caravaggio!

by mmoborg

Now, Danuta loves the photo below because it has very few elements, but the canvas, so to speak, is full. And she love the angle of the camera that takes the viewer on a journey :-)



On the other hand, JT - his own best critic - isn't so happy with it. He says, "This one is all about line and light; without either, this would be a pretty crappy photo." But for the next photo, he is lavish in his praise, "C'est fantastique! Anderson's shot is textbook minimalism. Love all the tonal variations and how the light and shadow keep bumping up against each other in a cool zig zag pattern that runs perpendicular with the same zig zag in the curtain."

by andersonfang

USING COLOR AND SHAPES

You can find a ton of great minimal photos in Robin's photo stream. This one is cool because the blue color field is so ordered, and the tile so chaotic and random, yet they come together nicely to make something that makes sense.

Same with the red one--a bunch of random pieces come together in the red negative space to make a cohesive and complete photo.



by Robem

As for the following one, JT thinks it's a modern day AbEx (Abstract Expressionism), of a sort. "It's not entirely focused on technique which makes it not true minimalism, but the crop makes good use of the undulation in the lines. I'm not sure if this is a detail or if it's been digitally altered to create this pattern, but either way, I dig it." Note that Read2Me has let us know that it is a detail, unaltered!

by Read2Me

And here is one of JT's personal favorites:



"The negative space blends with the orange bits, and I'm in love with the strong, almost conical, line. This is one of my true minimalist shots as it is all about technique--without composition, light, and line, there is nothing here; photography has been stripped down to its bare essentials."

However, one of Danuta's faves does pull interesting comments from JT: he's intrigued by this one because he says that this type of photograph usually doesn't work for minimalism.

by ullischa

He sez: Minimalism in nature. Hmmm. Normally, I don't think DoF works in minimal or simplistic photos because it automatically complicates it with photography tricks, but in this case, it's subtle enough to work. In fact, the DoF is almost incidental to the beautiful curves that go well with the frosty pink color.

As far as the next photo, Danuta says: I love this! I see it as solitude, not loneliness. I love the fact that there are essentially two fields of color, and the border between the two is the whole story: a moment of solitude in a chaotic and noisy world.



JT replies: "Danuta the optimist, JT the pessimist! I definitely see this as not just loneliness, but utter despair, as if the figure is stuck in their own blackness, with no end in sight."

On the other hand, Danuta's hands are thrown up in despair about this one:



She says, Dude. What were you thinking? In my not so humble opinion, the title is the best part of this photo: Area 51. That makes the photo interesting. I then associate the photo with spy satellite images of weird formations on Planet Earth, color contrasted to show the evidence better..... but honestly, my eye goes immediately to your next photo because for one, it's intriguing. Is it the eye of a penguin? Is it the bellybutton of an alien? Is it a mint candy pressed into smooth butter cream? I want to turn it upside down and see if I can figure it out! And on top of that, the shading contrasts so nicely with the sharp lines of the circles. So interesting!

JT sez: That green one of my color blocking photos is one that just went wrong. It's minimalist in composition, but the technique is definitely off--the lighting is too sickly, and in my attempts to correct in Photoshop, the image is a bit over processed. Ultimately, it's the poor lighting that I think makes this image fail.

The alien belly button, on the other hand, is more successful because of the lighting. It's still dramatic, but not overpowering, lending a cool mysterious mood to the blue one, and a quiet brooding in the green one that reminds me of the calm before a tornado or thunderstorm. These two shots stick to the essential photographic elements, resulting in successful minimalism.





FINAL CHAPTER
We're going to shift gears here, and provide some general commentary on photos that have very interesting minimalist tendencies, or fit in very well with the "Simplicity" part of the category, as described in The Pinnacle.

For example, the following shot relies on composition to make a scene as mundane as a man walking down the stairs into something graphic and interesting. It doesn't rely on some overused minimalist techniques, such as cropping objects in the corner, or objects that are out-of-scale with the negative space.

by Pedro Miguel Barreiros

However, all gloves are off with this one:

by beachwalker2008

JT sez: I think birds are dirty, evil, calculating things, and cropping them into the corner of the sky, lake or beach does not make it minimalism (or even simplicity). This photo is a rare exception; the bird has not been scaled to the point of being dwarfed by the backdrop, and it's presence is essential to the composition, whereas in a corner crop photo, any old object would do. The rock behind it keeps this bird grounded, and makes for a nice, simple shot.

Danuta is aghast. Birds are dirty? Evil? This one has its calculating eyes on your SONY, JT, and it thinks it can land a glob of guano just perfectly ----



Now, both of us love this next photo, although JT can describe "why" best:

by figurita

JT sez: Love the processing on this shot--it's very reminiscent of Edward Weston, who was a bit of a minimalist before the genre was actually defined. Here, the attention is drawn not to the fact that this is a human, but to the lines, curves, and lighting. It's weird to say that the viewer almost doesn't recognize this person's humanity in this shot, but it's exactly true--no matter what this subject matter is, these shapes and lighting technique would be very appealing.

Here is quintessential minimalism for Danuta....

by joiseyshowaa

While JT has a condition: Cut the ice house out of the corner and up the contrast to accent the line cutting through the snow, and then you have quintessential minimalism. As is, it makes for clear, simplistic imagery.

Now, read JT's thoughts on the next one.... Another variant of the snow trail theme--the wrinkle here is that the curve of the landscape adds another complementary shape to the composition in two separate places that I really like.

by sprengstoff72

While a simplistic composition requires all elements of the photo to work together to make a good image, below is a top-notch example of how sometimes lines compete and still make for good minimalism. The many color tones, seemingly directionless wandering lines and irregular pieces of these terracotta rooftops clash with one another, yet still come together in this composition to form an eye-pleasing photo.

fgc

And below is "digital impressionism"!

by williscreek

Scant suggestions of figures on a white background make for a pleasing simplicity, and makes one think of Hans Brinker. Here is what williscreek had to say about shooting his photo. "I was not thinking "minimal" when I conceived of and took that shot. My thought was to take an even more sparse shot of a single skater on a larger skating area (e.g., a lake) out of focus, without any sky (to maximize the ice surface) and convert it to B&W. But I ended up at a small outdoor rink that was quite busy with many people, so I took a different approach. As such, moving the camera during the exposure was an obvious technique for me to use here."

Now below, once again, the two heads butt: Danuta sees no contradiction with Steve's photo belonging to the simplicity camp, given the conversations above :-)

by stevensmith1

But JT sez: It's empty, but is it simplistic? I do like this shot quite a bit, but a lot of elements are competing here--the grooved sand, the austere, yet sharp sky, the sudden end to the sand dune, and the lens flare that cuts diagonally through the frame all say complicated to me.

And finally...

by Manny Flores

JT sez: Fantastic simplicity here...a single streak of light shooting through a dark landscape makes for a strong line that disturbs the surroundings just enough with out overdoing it. If you upped the contrast to create complete blackness, then you've got stellar minimalism, as well.

Next is a nice reminder that sometimes simplicity can emanate from the chaos. Though JT feels a little dizzy from the surroundings, amongst all that swirling is the same feeling of vast nothingness that he feels from some of the other simplicity examples.

by bryan olesen


And lookie here.... JT loves the "drab isolation" that Terry creates here. Talk about the pessimist!

By TPorter2006

He sez: Everything about Terry's photo is perfect; it has all the elements of a simplistic photo--a singular color scheme, layers that blend harmoniously with one another and don't compete for attention, a focal point that doesn't overwhelm the backdrop, and an aura of almost drab isolation. Instant fave.

Danuta sayz: This next one....if this was in high contrast, then it'd be a perfect minimalist for me, as there would be less details. As it stands, I really like the creamy tones and the cropping which focuses on so few elements, yet gives the idea of a huge building. And the way in which the dark arches plunk down on those corinthian/ionic whosie whatsit architectural doohickies make the photo a wonderful study of light and shadow.

by historygradguy

JT sez: I agree...with a bit more of a high contrast, this would be a fantastic minimalist photo. The cropping is just right, and upping the contrast would really show a nice range of lighting tones--the light creaminess of the doohickies on the columns to the mysterious shadow in the ceiling pattern that darken as you recess. The effect would be a presentation of something massive that overwhelms the viewer and separates them from the work. Even the artist feels like they are on the outside looking in, a major concept of minimalist art.

And coming close to the end....
by Leslie Vernon

Another good photo for simplicity, relying on detail and perspective over lighting and fancy tricks to create a quiet and powerful impression. Also, the various gradations of white are pretty sweet.


Finally, the last shot in our series quite simply says "goodbye". The last lines left in the sand by the high tide, a memory of summer.



We've enjoyed putting together this session, and hope it provides you with some perspective and insights about minimalist photography. And in keeping with the theme, we say simply

THE END.

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Copyright of all the photographs used in this session belong to the respective owners of the photographs.

Copyright of this session belong to the session authors. The Pinnacle group has right to use for non-commercial purposes.

Photoshop Manipulation Thank you Andy.

Hey peeps we cornered our very own andyathlon (with the help of a few Storm Troopers) and talked him into a Photoshop Session. He did a fantastic job and fingers crossed, we may be able to talk him into another session later! Thanks for sharing your talent Andrew!

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andyathlon Just wanted to say thanks for this chance to write something. It's nice that people like my work enough to think I can explain how I do it.

In this session my aim is to show you some of my methods and ways of thinking when I approach editing an image.

You do not need the newest Photoshop to do the things I am going to show you. You can actually do them in Photoshop Elements and previous versions of Photoshop right back to version 6!

I am going to cover:
- Layer Masks (Using a brush)
- Layer Masks (Using the gradient tool)
- Spot Healing brush
- Black and white conversion

Here are few applications for these techniques:
- Removing someone or something from the shot.
- Creating an image that is impossible to take.
- Merging two focus points.
- Blending exposures.
- Blending random images.
- To gain additional tonal ranges in colour and black and white images.
- Removing lens flare, dirty, dust, hair from your shots.


Ok, step one requires some music; without music I cannot concentrate long enough to finish things.

Photoshop

What is Adobe Photoshop? If you have never heard of Photoshop it could be because you have been living in a cave or perhaps you use an alternative like Adobe Lightroom.

Photoshop is a graphics / image editing program Photoshop used by millions of people. In most cases, people edit their work. I personally have only uploaded 1 shot to Flickr with no editing! Some people say it's cheating and you should learn to do it on the camera. I say there are just some things you cannot do on the camera that Photoshop can do, so I will show you a few of my favourites.

Key Commands

Here are the only key commands that I use they will save you a lot of time.

UNDO!!! - CTRL+Z
Select all - CTRL +A
Deselect all - CTRL + D
Copy - CTRL+C
Paste - CTRL + V
ZOOMs in and out - ALT + Mouse wheel scroll
Moves Up and down - SHIFT + Mouse Wheel scroll
Moves Left and Right - CTRL + Mouse wheel scroll
Decreases brush size - [
Increases brush size - ]


Layer Masks

What is a layer mask?

A layer mask is a non destructive layer; it allows you to hide sections of an image. Two important points about a layer mask
1 - The colour black on the Layer mask hides the pixels in the linked layer.
2 - The colour white on the Layer mask leaves the linked layer intact.

I have two ways of doing layer masks, both are useful in different situations.

The first way I will show you is the way I was first taught from a tutorial back in the day. It involves using a mask and a brush to remove areas of a photo.

The second is one I sort of worked out myself (Not in any way claiming I invented it LOL). This way uses a layer mask along with the gradient tool. This method is my sneaky way of keeping gradients of colour and tone without creating those harsh lines that usually make something stand out that has been cut and pasted in.

Layer Masks #1

My aim of using layer masks is to merge two images together to create one seamless image, which contains elements from both images. In my example, I will merge two images together to create one image containing the same car twice. Other examples of doing this could be to remove something from a shot like a person or an object.

First take 2 images that you want to blend together, copy the image of one onto the other. So CTRL + A then CTRL + C, select the document you want to copy it into and CTRL + V. You should end up with something like this.

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Next stage is nice and easy, click the top layer and then choose the add layer mask option from the bottom panel. A white square should appear next to top layer in panel indicating linked layer.

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Now we need to actually see what we are working on; by reducing the opacity on the top layer we can see the layer below without having to keep clicking on the hide layer option. Click the opacity option and drop it until you can see the subject matter behind that you are going to blend. I usually put it around the 50% mark.

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Get yourself a soft brush and choose a size that will be easy to use when you are painting in your image. Remember to use the [ ] keys once you have selected the brush, this will increase and decrease the brush size without having to click. (I really am lazy). The hardness determines how sharp/soft the brush will be. If you use a really hard brush you can generally see crisp lines. Unless the rest of your image is really crisp you do not want this.

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Now we need to zoom in (ALT+ Mousewheel) and get close to what you are going to blend through. With your paint brush tool selected and set to black, simply paint over the area you want to see. If a big black circle appears CTRL+Z!!!! and make sure you have the layer mask selected.

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Now all you have to do is zoom out (ALT + Mousewheel), change the opacity to 100% and bobs your uncle you have a layer masked image. It's easy when you know how!

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Layer Masks #2

Now for something a bit special!

If you like long exposure then you will know that sunlight can be your friend and your enemy. You need it to create shadows and texture in an image but too much and you lose detail in the sky or in my case the whole sky.

I am going to recreate a sunset shot I took in Mumbles Swansea UK.



Take 2 images; 1 under exposed and 1 over exposed. You are probably already thinking this is some kind of HDR thing, well sort of, but without all the faff of the scroll bars or random effects. This is having a dynamic range but you get to pick what areas you want to use.

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Like the first layer mask tutorial, we need to put the images into the same document so again CTRL + A, CTRL + C, select the document to put the image in and CTRL + V. Once you have done that add a layer mask again to the Top layer

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Then take the gradient tool, this is the magic tool that will allow you to keep a range of tones and reduce sharp edges where tones are completely different.

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Make sure the gradient tool is set to black to white using the colour setting in the top left of the screen. Then drag the gradient tool from the top to the bottom of the section you want to blend. The longer the line the more of a tonal range you will keep, the shorter the line the sharper and more blunt the gradient will be.

It usually takes me a few goes to get the blend of the layers how I like them. If you want to guarantee a straight line hold down the SHIFT key when drawing the line, this will lock it.

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Here's what happens if you draw a short line using the gradient tool.

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Here is what it looks like when you do not think about what you are going to blend using the gradient tool. You can see it creates a sharp line and the angle of the merged documents do not compliment each other.

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If you have created a nice smooth gradient you will be able to see it by holding ALT and clicking on the layer mask it will show you the gradient layer behind.

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Just click back on your image to get out of the layer mask. Looking at the layer mask from time to time will allow you to see if you have missed any areas when using the brush tool. They will show up as white areas within the black.

If you save the file as a PSD, you will be able to return to the image and any layer masks you have created will still be there. If you save the file as a Jpeg, then it will flatten all your layers and you will not be able to change it. Unless you are confident that your image is how you want it do not apply the layer mask or flatten the layers, as you will not be able to get back to them unless you have access to them in your history.


Spot Healing
I use spot healing to take out the mess that lives on my sensor and filters and lenses. Without this little tool I would have to get my camera equipment cleaned every week.

I also use spot healing to remove lens flare.

I find the key to using the spot healing brush is the direction and point where you start from.

Take an image you need to fix, I've found one with some lens flare from the moon.

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Next, choose the spot healing brush tool. For this example I will not use the content aware fill option which is available in photoshop CS5.

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I find the best way is to start away from the detail. In this case the detail is the tree. I will start from the top working down and across until I reach the area closest to the tree. The reason I do this is I think the program starts filling in pixels from where you started. As the spot healing brush is set to proximity match it will take the information from pixels around the brush. If you start by the tree you will be moving the tree up the image, instead of bringing the sky to the tree.

This is what happens when I go from top to bottom.

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This is what happens when I go from bottom to top.

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As you can see one brings the sky, the other brings the tree. Give it a try yourself next time you are using it. Colour in different directions, it should give you different results.

Black and white Editing

I went through a long phase of using Silver Effects Pro www.niksoftware.com/silverefexpro/usa/entry.php
But ever since I got the CS5 I haven't felt the need to use it. This is mainly due to the improved black and white facilities in Photoshop CS5.

I am really one for trial and error with black and white conversion as there are so many variations you can create. So this will come down to personal preference more than anything I can tell or show you.

I am going to show you how I processed the following shot that was a HOF Winner in week 48.



For this shot I used two images, both taken using an ND10 filter for an uber long exposure, to create soft clouds and white sea. One shot is over exposed and the other is under exposed. This way I get the white sea but keep the dark contrast of the clouds.

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Now we need to merge the two shots together. I'm going to put the dark image on top. If you were to put the lighter image on top you would need to do the gradient fill the opposite direction.

So CTRL+A, CTRL+C, select the image you want to paste into and press CTRL+V. Once this is done, add a layer mask to the top layer, select the gradient tool from the left hand menu, and make sure it is set to black and white in the top menu section.

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Now we need to add the layer mask gradient, make sure you have the layer mask selected by clicking on it in the bottom right layer menu. In my example I want the white sea to show through so I will drag the gradient tool up. I want a sharp line so by holding down SHIFT and dragging a small line on the horizon I will get the desired effect.

In my previous example I dragged a longer line; this was to preserve tones. I do not need to keep tones. In this example I want bold crisp contrast between the sea and the sky so the sharpest edge possible without looking too sharp. (It's quite a fine line between what's good and bad, it took me about 10 attempts to get it how I wanted it)

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Now the fun part, adding the black and white adjustment layer. This is done by clicking the black and white option on the menu on the right. If done successfully a new layer will appear in the bottom right layer panel. And a new menu will appear replacing the adjustment layer. This menu contains sliders which adjust the colours in your image by moving these up and down you are able to get different effects.

Because my sky was made up of blues and pinks, if I move the red, cyan and blue sliders towards the darker end of the spectrum it will increase the contrast of image making the sky darker. By moving the yellow slider up I am able to make my water and lighter areas of the sky brighter. (Remember, this is all personal taste and trial and error)

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We are now going to make certain features stand out a bit more to create more depth and increase the contrast without affecting the whole image.

We are going to do this by using the dodge and burn tools. Burn, if you couldn't guess, is going to make things darker and dodge is going to make things brighter. They work by increasing the exposure of tonal ranges and are affected by the size of the exposure you set and how many times you go over an area.

Select the dodge tool from the left hand menu and pick the tonal range that you want to affect from the top menu. I want the sky to go darker; as it's already dark I want to affect the shadows. You also need to set the exposure to be a low figure, to start I usually try 10%. And make sure you have the correct layer selected from the layer menu.

Start drawing over areas that you want to go darker. I am going to accent the edges of a few of the darker clouds. If you find it isn't doing much increase, the exposure or you have picked the wrong tonal range to affect.

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Magic beans burning is done. I'm pretty happy with that! (BTW trying to replicate a previous image is near to impossible!). What I want now is the dodge tool again selected from the left menu, with the tonal range and exposure on the top section.

I want to make some of the grey clouds a little bit more white, and also get rid of the grey patch in the sea in the bottom right.

This time I choose mid-tones as the range and pick the layer with the sea, and just draw over the sea in the bottom right until it stops looking so grey. Next I want to again accent some of the clouds but this time the grey/white areas. I still need it set to mid-tones and the exposure is ok around 12% (you will get used to judging these and if you don't, CTRL+Z). By drawing over some of the grey clouds I can make them lighter and increase the contrast (Find me a camera that can do that!)

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Now we can see the final image, darker clouds lighter sea with accented clouds for depth. Every black and white image I do is different as it all depends on the original colours of the image.

Give it a try - find any image and play around with it. Sometimes the best images come by accident.

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Hopefully this session has helped a few people and maybe refreshed the skills of others. There is so much more I could go through and there's probably a lot others could show me.

The main aim for me was to pass on some knowledge and to get members of the group to give something new a go.

I am looking forward to seeing what people produce after reading this.

Thanks for reading

Andrew