Picture Black and White: Texture

After the first two themes (Graphic Elements and Light), we moved on to Texture, and it’s no accident that texture follows light because to capture texture in your images you need to use the light for almost everything you are doing.  If you play with angle and perspective, you can bring something unique and maybe even surprising to your images.

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Smooth Things Over: Let’s take a good look at all of the objects with a smooth surface today. Observe how the light plays on (or reflects off of) your subject. Explore ways to accentuate the smooth, whatever it means to you.

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Rough and Tumble: For this prompt, consider the many synonyms for the word rough; uneven, bumpy, irregular, and course.  In black and white photography, intense texture can be the key to creating an interesting image. Seek out all of the magic and mystery that uber-textures can provide.

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The Texture of Textiles: From fleece to knit, denim to fur, textiles offer all kinds of visual interest.  Today, seek out the tangible textures of textiles!

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Cracked Open: Cracks in any surface can offer so much visual interest to your photography.  Once you find what you want to shoot, pay careful attention to how well—in black and white images—the variation in darks and lights that the crack produces.

“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” ~ Leonard Cohen

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Watered Down: When it comes to interesting and often unexpected textures, nothing beats rain slicked streets and reflective puddles.Today, study liquid—rain, water, tea, anything—and see what kinds of textures you can capture. Like with so much of photography, observation is key.

My favorite kind of shot – macro raindrops on flowers and leaves