black and white photography | alan frost photography

Posts tagged ‘black and white photography’

‘Drawing with light’ – church interiors

The word ‘photograph’ is derived from two words in Greek. ‘Phōtós’, genitive of ‘phōs’ meaning light and ‘graphé’ meaning representation by lines or drawing. In other words a photograph is ‘drawing with light’.

Piscina of light

This image is of a piscina, which is a small bowl used to dispose of water in services. It is often set in a wall, as it is here. In flat light I doubt I would have even considered taking a photograph, but lit by the sun coming through a window on the opposite side of the church, this simple architectural feature is transformed. The shape and texture are revealed and there is a depth to the picture which without the light would not be evident.

I am always looking for these brief moments when natural light is at play inside a place of worship. Here are a few more examples.

Shadows and the Cross

Hymn Books

Chancel Step

Three Windows and a Pulpit

Candlelight in The Priory

Light and Shadow in the Nave

I have quite a collection of this type of image, made over a number of years, so some you may have seen before. Whenever I revisit these photographs, which have been ‘drawn by light’ I am always inspired to make even more.

A walk over Apple Down

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It’s been a bright, dry and cold week and a couple of days ago I managed to find the time to take a stroll over Apple Down, which is north of the tiny hamlet of Up Marden in West Sussex. There are so many footpaths for me to explore and each one will hopefully yield some images to add to the portfolio for my latest project.

I realise that more and more I am drawn to simple subjects. Whether they be a gap in a line of trees, tracks in the field or farm equipment which has just been left on the ground by the farmer before he needs to use it again. They are not necessarily beautiful images but they are pictures which I believe capture the very essence of the landscape and for that reason alone are worth taking and recording.

This project is as much about documenting what I see in the area; it is not a search for ‘chocolate box’ pictures which have been taken countless times before.

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Other posts about this project can be found by clicking on the links below.

New Year, New Project

New Project – First shots and initial thoughts

New Project – It’s early days

‘Fallen’ in Wildhams Wood

In the location I have chosen to explore and photograph for my new project there are a good number of woodland areas, some of which are managed by the Forestry Commission. Open access to this land is not clear although I underdstand The Forestry Commssion has started the process (in June 2017) whereby it will designate its land for public access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act.

When I visited this wood recently I stayed on one of the public footpaths. I did though venture into the wood itself having noticed a single fallen pine tree which I thought might be an interesting subject to photograph. This tree had not been felled by a forester. From the angle of its trunk it was clear nature had been the cause of its downfall. I took a number of frames from different positions using either a 90mm short telephoto lens to compress the detail or an 18mm super wideangle to get up close and personal.

New Project – It’s early days

It’s very early days as far as my new photographic project is concerned. For a variety of reasons I have only ventured out on a few occasions with my camera since the turn of the year, however this will change as the daylight hours start to get a little longer.

Each trip has been very worthwhile as I start to familiarise myself with the area I have chosen to photograph. Even if the conditions aren’t perfect, the shutter is always released. Sometimes the purpose is to simply record a place and a composition I would like to revisit when the light is more favourable.

For the time being I thought I would share with you a small selection of images which only make me want to get out and about even more!

Thinking outside the standard box!

There are of course many standard aspect ratios which photographers use on a regular basis to crop an image. The obvious ones that immediately spring to mind are 3 x 2, 5 x 4, 1 x 1 and 16 x 9. There are very good reasons why these are widely used but there are also images which require a ‘non standard’ approach. This picture is a perfect example.