I've been thinking more about black and white photography, and even wrote a post about it last week. It was the one where I said if you don't like the colors in your image, just turn it to black and white and it's almost instantly better? (I still don't really know why that works, but it does.) Well, I stumbled onto something that takes that whole idea a little further.
I was listening to the PhotoWorks podcast - (I'm trying to get into more photo podcasts, so if you have any recommendations, please let me know!) - and the guest was photographer Sage Sohier. She mentioned doing this exercise where she really limited her artistic choices in camera, and it just focused her on her subject and composition. The whole point was to slow down photography techniques, and it got me thinking. Could I do this, too, with a digital camera?
Here's what she did:
- Used an older 6:9 film camera, only 8 shots
- Zone focusing system
- f/22 for maximum depth of field
And here's what I did:
- 50mm lens photography only
- Used an SD card with limited space
- Mimicked Ilford B&W film by using a monochromatic camera setting with increased contrast
My Photo Safari Experiment
We were doing one of our Photo Safari sessions, exploring local murals around Chapel Hill, so this was a perfect opportunity to test this out!
I set my camera to monochrome mode (which felt weird at first), locked in that 50mm lens, cranked it down to f/22, and started using zone focusing instead of using a focus point.
Looking at very colorful murals in monochrome was really interesting. Instead of my usual approach - click, check the back, adjust, click again - I found myself looking for more textures, or symbolism, or juxtaposition. It made me shoot in a whole different way, which was interesting and exciting! It was like what I wrote before about stripping away color - the image settles down into what it's actually about. But this time I wasn't waiting until post-processing to figure that out. I was seeing in black and white photography from the start.
The Images
That spider hanging in mid-air? This delicate and silvery-green spider became even more delicate in black and white, and the tiny drops of water on its web implied a web more than anything. It was just light and shadow.
The crab murals on that old building weren't just colorful art anymore - they became texture and contrast. The painted crabs against the weathered wall, those vines growing around everything. Without all the color competing for my attention, I could see the mood and the light and shadow sides of the building I might have otherwise missed.
Those butterfly murals with the fancy decorative frames became night and daylight shots, and I can't decide which I like more :)
Even the perspective shot along the brick wall became more intentional. I was thinking about leading lines in photography, about depth, about what the texture was doing. All the stuff that shows up when color isn't there to distract you.
The Weird Thing About Limits
Having fewer options made me more creative. I don't know why it is, but if you give me a wide-open freedom, I get completely overwhelmed. This photography exercise felt instead like a neat brain trick - expanding my 'sight' by limiting what I could see.
With just one focal length, I had to move my feet. I couldn't zoom in or out - I had to get closer or step back. It made me way more aware of what was around me (and I had to watch for cars, obviously).
Zone focusing techniques meant I wasn't composing for what I wanted to focus on, I was composing the whole scene. I had to understand what my camera could actually do.
Shooting in monochrome mode from the start forced me to see differently. Without color, composition and contrast became everything.
And f/22? I almost never shoot at that high an aperture, but it meant everything in my frame would be in focus. I could stop worrying about focus points and just concentrate on photography composition.
Why I'm Sharing This
I love photography. It's versatile, there is always something to learn, and it helps me 'see' my world a bit more clearly. And this creative photography exercise helped me see things in a different way - not necessarily better, but different.
Should You Try It?
Yes, sure, why not? The point isn't to pretend it's 1975. This is just a different way to shoot. I'm definitely going to use this approach again. Not for everything - some situations need speed and flexibility. But when I want to look at a scene differently, whether it's street art photography or nature or even personal family portraits, these constraints help.
Have you ever tried limiting your photography gear? I'd be curious to hear about it!
Want to try this kind of photography? Come join one of my Photo Safari sessions in Chapel Hill or sign up for a photography class at the ArtsCenter, and let's see what we get up to.
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