black and white photography | alan frost photography

Posts tagged ‘black and white photography’

People, light and shadows – inside the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern

Light worker

Occasionally I travel to London for a business meeting. It doesn’t happen very often but when it does, I like to make the most of the day and if time permits take a few shots before the train journey back home.

Earlier this week I found myself in the City, so I decided to visit Tate Modern. Not for the artworks but for the Turbine Hall, a truly massive space, which previously housed electricity generators and is now used as a social space for art installations. I had been inspired to do so by fellow blogger Andy Hooker of LensScaper when he wrote about his visit to this very same place.

Although I had been to Tate Modern before it was never with the intention of taking photographs. You may say I am strange but on this occassion I was more interested in the building itself, its architecture, the people it attracts, than I was in the works of art on display. The light to me was as wonderful as the varied art this gallery has on show.

By the time the business of the day was over, it was quite late when I arrived, but I was very fortunate with the light. The sun had moved round to the west and its light was pouring in through large vertical windows casting long stripes of light on the heavily textured concrete floor. As visitors moved towards the exit it was interesting to see how perhaps sub consciously they would walk along the ‘light stripes’ as if they were being guided to the door.

I enjoyed watching and waiting as visitors and city workers moved around, just hoping that I would be in the right position to take the shot that I could picture in my minds eye.

Light follower

Light stripes

Light crossing

I hope you enjoy these images and in the days to come I will be posting a further entry which will include more pictures of the Turbine Hall itself.

All the images in this post were taken with the Leica M Monochrom using a Leica 90mm f2.4 Summarit lens, processed in Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro. Do click on any of the photos to view a larger version.

I have written before on the subject of Museums and Art Galleries in London. Here are just two posts which you might like to read.

Rich photo opportunities in London’s museums and galleries.

The Natural History Museum – without any nature!

‘Paid’ work – a new gallery page

I have just added a new gallery page to this site. Although it is titled ‘Paid’ work, and whilst it was my first ever commission, I am not a professional photographer so after covering my material expenses I asked for a donation to be made to a worthwhile cause. The work was commissioned by Vail Williams, a firm of Commercial Property Consultants in Portsmouth and the ten images are now displayed in their offices at 1000 Lakeside in North Harbour. They requested photographs of both ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Portsmouth as well as more abstract work of the office building itself.

To see the images which were all taken in the early part of 2014 please click here.

…..or to read more about the background to this work click on the links below.

My first commission – agreeing the brief.

My first commission – taking the photographs.

My first commission – processing and selection.

My first commission – the finished result.

The Bishop’s Cathedral – worth throwing the camera bag in the car!

The Bishop’s Cathedral

I have to admit that I don’t always have a camera with me, assuming of course I exclude my iPhone from that statement. Just occasionally as I get ready for another days work, I will throw (not literally) a camera bag into my car, believing that I may find a little time to take a few photographs on my way home and before the dinner is burnt! Sometimes this is because I specifically want to try something out which has come into my mind. I guess these thought processes inspire me to make that little extra effort to take some shots.

This sequence of events happened earlier this week. I wanted to use my 28mm f.2.8 lens as it isn’t attached to the camera that often. My default choice of lens is the 50mm f1.4 Summilux. It was a lovely bright evening with some light cloud cover. Bright enough for some shadows but not so bright to give me exposure problems. I headed for the city of Chichester and specifically Bishop’s Palace Gardens, which offers fine views of the Cathedral.

I found a position which I thought would give me a good composition. Held in the vertical position the viewfinder of the Leica Monochrom is not that easy to use. I wear glasses and the frame lines for the 28mm are in the extreme corners, so I have to move my eye or the camera around to compose the shot. I have to say there is a little guesswork involved and I try and allow a margin for error so I can crop later if I wish to. A quick look at the screen on the back of the camera tells me whether or not I need to have another go!

The other slight issue that evening was the sky. It looked a little bland but I could see some blue patches so I attached an orange filter to darken these areas and add interest to the sky. Yes an orange filter on a digital camera – something that only works with the Monochrom. Its sensor only records luminance and not colour, so a colour filter works in exactly the same way as it would with black and white film. I like to get as much right in camera as I can and not rely on heavy post processing. Having to think about what I want the finished result to look like before pressing the shutter, is I believe a healthy discipline and will improve your photography.

I am pleased with the final result. The lighting on the cathedral and gardens could not have been better. The 28mm is only moderately wide so does not distort the view. The use of the orange filter provided more detail and interest in the sky which is an important part of the overall composition. I cropped the image from the native 3 x 2, to 5 x 4. I prefer this aspect ratio, it is more balanced to me. Its an image that I will almost certainly print, maybe quite large but that’s for another day.

Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy this photograph as much as I enjoyed making it.

Do click on the picture for a larger view.

The River Arun at South Stoke – one of my favourite locations

River Arun at South Stoke

The River Arun has its source in St Leonard’s Forest to the east of Horsham and flows down through the towns of Pulborough and Arundel, finally reaching the sea at Littlehampton. Its course cuts through the South Downs, creating the Arun Valley. This shot was taken at South Stoke which has to be one of my favourite locations in West Sussex. It has featured before on my blog and I am sure will do so again in the future.

Here are some links to other entries with images taken in and around this lovely location –

Using ‘blur’ down by the River Arun

Churches in the landscape – South Stoke

A week on and it’s back to South Stoke

Cow portraits taken near South Stoke

In loving memory of a Churchyard – St Thomas a’ Becket, Warblington

From an early age I have always been fascinated by churches and churchyards with their gravestones and crosses. I guess this interest was instilled in me by my parents when I was a small child. My father would want to stop and visit every church we came across, particularly when we were on holiday visiting a new area. If there was time he would want to do a quick pencil drawing of the church in a sketchbook, something which he always carried with him. He would note down the colours and when he returned home he would get out his brushes and water colours to paint the scene he had sketched, but also the one he remembered in his mind’s eye.

I am no different except I paint with light, using black and white photographs instead of some paper, pencil and paints. I will capture the scene and then in post processing apply the appropriate treatment to the image. It’s a creative but arguably selfish process, as first and foremost I want the result to please me but I always hope it may give some pleasure to the viewer as well, but primarily it’s my interpretation of a visit to a particular location.

The subject of this entry is the churchyard of St Thomas a’Beckett Church in Warblington, which dates back to Saxon times. It is situated in the Parish of Emsworth on the borders of West Sussex and Hamsphire, within just a few minutes walk of the sea,. As you might imagine the area is popular with walkers and those visiting this lovely church. The churchyard is about an acre in size and there is a much larger adjoining cemetery, so there is plenty to explore. Inevitably many of the inscriptions on the headstones have been worn away, now covered by lichen or ivy. Apparently the oldest memorial dates back to 1707. One of the most striking is the gravestone of William Palmer (above) which depicts the sinking of his ship, mast first, in Dublin Harbour in 1759.

I fully accept the subject of this entry will not be to everyones liking, but as I have already said these are fascinating places. They are a reminder of lives lost and the lives those people used to live many generations ago. Walk along the pathways and between the headstones and your mind starts to wander as you try and imagine what life must have been like for the people of Warblington in days gone by.

There are eight more images in this post ……… so do continue scrolling down.

All the photographs in this entry where taken with a Leica M Monochrom and 50mm Summilux lens, often shot wide open at f1.4 to give a very narrow depth of field. They were all processed in Lightroom and then imported into Silver Efex for some final treatment.

Please click on any of the images to view a larger version.