Looking Through Grey Tinted Glasses

Portraits
Written By Mark Moran

Shooting black and white forces me to see in black and white. By stripping away colours, I am compelled to see and appreciate the various shades of grey in the scene before me. It encourages me to use my imagination to predict how colours will translate into grayscale tones when captured on black and white film.

The choice of film can affect how colours are converted to black and white. This not only allows me to immerse myself in the simplicity of monochrome but also demands a deeper understanding of light, contrast, and composition.

Tony’s bright red Harrington jacket appears muted on the HP5 film, giving it a mid-grey appearance and it lacks the desired contrast against the wall behind him. If the jacket was darker, the image would have been significantly stronger. The stark contrast between Tony’s presence and the background would have added intensity to the scene.

One way to achieve this effect would be to use an Orthochromatic film which is uniquely sensitive to blue light, rendering reds as deep blacks. The jacket would have appeared almost black, adding contrast to the overall composition. I regret not using the roll of Ilford Ortho I had in my bag for these shots.

Mark Moran https://www.markmoran.co.uk
Previous

Print More, Scan Less.
Next

Framed Prints, Ready to Hang.