StevenBrisson {Busy}'s photostream  

~James D. Finley

Monochromatic Month is now over! To all of you who chose to spend a portion of your April with me, thank you so much. I know it wasn't easy to set aside the vibrant colors of Spring, especially when Mother Nature was putting on her most colorful best throughout the month. But you all willingly accepted the challenge to convey the same warmth, expressiveness and appeal using only monochromatic tones—and not only did you succeed, but in the process you produced some of the most timeless, artistic and dramatic shots on Flickr. Congrats and thank you! :)

Press "L" for large
Press "F" for fav (but only if you want to)

Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 85mm f/1.2L II
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 85mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lighting: Ambient
Polarizer/Filter: B+W MRC
Exposure: 1/8000
RAW File Processing: Lightroom 3

Ask away

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© Steven Brisson. Do not use without permission.
twitter | facebook | tumblr | stevenbrisson.com

~Ansel Adams

Monochromatic Month is almost over! Only 1 more day left! There's still time to join the colorless fun! :)

Tip: Seeing a shot in monochrome doesn’t negate the fact that we know the scene has color. And being as we tend to visually "impute" color into a B&W photo means that even though you're shooting/processing for monochrome, it's safe to always assume that the shot will be "seen" as colored to some extent. Which is fantastic—because now capturing and balancing colors isn't you're primary focus—allowing you to take advantage of what monochrome does best: present the underlying forms, contrasts, shapes and composition that are sometimes difficult to discern in color photography.

Happy Fence Friday! Thank you all for your continued feedback & support!

Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 70mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lighting: Ambient
Polarizer/Filter: None
Exposure: 1/250
RAW File Processing: Lightroom 3

Ask away

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© Steven Brisson. Do not use without permission.
twitter | facebook | tumblr | stevenbrisson.com

~Patrick Summerfield

Monochromatic Month is almost over! Only 2 more days left! There's still time to join the colorless fun! :)

Tip: Though I always have a pretty good idea when I'm shooting specifically for B&W (and plan accordingly with settings, light, etc), every now and then I'll begin processing a shot in Lightroom for black & white only to be surprised that it also has strong potential for working well in color (as mentioned in previous MM tips--you should always shoot in color and RAW format, then convert to monochrome). With that in mind, I found these shots appealing in both formats, so I've included the color version below for discussion and comparison. :)

Happy Thursday! Thank you all for your continued feedback & support!

Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L
Aperture: f/21.0
Focal Length: 24mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lighting: Ambient
Polarizer/Filter: B+W MRC
Exposure: 1/200
RAW File Processing: Lightroom 3

Go ahead, ask.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© Steven Brisson. Do not use without permission.
twitter | facebook | tumblr | stevenbrisson.com

~Arthur Schopenhauer

Monochromatic Month is almost over! Only 2 more days left! There's still time to join the colorless fun! :)

Tip: Black & White photography is an ideal format for portraiture of any kind, but street candids in particular—it clarifies the intent of the image and avoids the plethora of random colors that can compete for your eyes' attention, causing unnecessary distractions in the flow and mood of the shot. The end result is a more simple, uncluttered appearance that focuses on the inner spirit of both subject & the photographer.

PS: I always get permission before shooting a street candid, but still love the slightly startled expression on people's faces (like with this construction worker) when they suddenly see their reflection in my lens. :)

Happy Thursday! Thank you all for your continued feedback & support!

Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 85mm f/1.2L II
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 85mm
ISO Speed: 400
Lighting: Ambient
Polarizer/Filter: None
Exposure: 1/100
RAW File Processing: Lightroom 3

Go ahead, ask.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© Steven Brisson. Do not use without permission.
twitter | facebook | tumblr | stevenbrisson.com

~Anthony J. D'Angelo

Monochromatic Month is almost over! Only 3 days left! There's still time to join the colorless fun! :)

Tip: Black & White photography can save you. How's that you say? Here's how: B&W can take a blah photo of an everyday object or a commonplace scene and create a shot full of expressive mood and visual interest. Suddenly, what seemed boring in color has become fascinating when captured in black and white. This is particularly true where there is minimal difference in colors, like the above shot. An even better example is my previous Pop Tart shot shown below: in color, we had vanilla icing over a pale pastry sitting on a white napkin. Zzzzzzzzz. But in rich, monochromatic detail?--we found a feast for the eyes (and the stomach). :)

Happy Bokeh Wednesday Thank you all for your continued feedback & support!

Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO Speed: 400
Lighting: Ambient
Polarizer/Filter: None
Exposure: 1/60
RAW File Processing: Lightroom 3

Go ahead, ask.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© Steven Brisson. Do not use without permission.
twitter | facebook | tumblr | stevenbrisson.com