Alaska Old World Craftsmanship in Monochrome

[Chinook SSSF]

Having been to Ninilchik Village before I was excited to visit again with a much better camera than last time. The area is surrounded by the Old World Russian craftsmanship mostly made of wood. One thing I have learned in photography is that old worn wooden structures and boats shoot very well in Black & White. This is because the lighter wood tones often contrast with the darker peeling paint.





Alot of old boats in the area but this one is in good shape, a sort of iconic statue that has been there for many years. I am sure IM not the first...





Most notable is the Russian church that sits on the hill above the village. All white with dark trim, what more could you ask for in a monochrome. The first shot needs an evangelist sitting on the front steps with the good book in hand....





These old structures have stood the test of time with qaulity woodworking. Very nice large scale "dovetail" work. The environment here is nothing short of harsh on the older not so modern homes. Not much by todays standards but I could have called this a home back in the day. They must have been homes anyways because if these had been barns IM sure they would have been long gone by now. They are still here and they really add to the local old world feel. Some are loosing their grip to nature and soon they will be gone, remaining only photos by those travelers like me who took advantage of a great black & white photo opp.....

Tips for shooting worn structure monochrome

Shoot in color and then convert afterwords. Leave yourself the opp for a great color photo, but with the intent to convert. You always have 2 choices this way. You will also have more flexability in converting afterwords since most photo edit programs have B&W color filter options to apply. This can help make the photo by accenting the right highlight in the image so the conversion works and has a desirable effect to view.

Zoom in for a tight fit, keeping modern day objects such as cars or pavement from being seen in the edge of the photo. Example: photo 2 of old boat sepia conversion. Pavement can be seen in bg but the sepia conversion worked well to cover. This however does not work on trying to hide your fathers SUV from the background. A crop could also remove an eye sore but then you may have an odd-ball photo size.

Shoot in a higher contrasting mode. This will bring out alot of 3D depth, especialy in those with a light wood with dark peeling paint. Example: 1st photo of boat...

If you have a sky with broken clouds, try to play off the clouds but not directly into the light. This is one of those times when the rules of light come into focus. No shooting into the sun here. An over bleached skyline will drown out the object in the forground. This works in color photography but becomes a problem with B&W as it can turn the whole photo mostly shade of black.........killing all of the desirable light contrast. Example: 5th photo of old home...On this photo I usedthe corners, the clouds and the light.

With old barns and homes I like to bounce the shot off a corner, to catch 3 sides of the building. Play with your angles. Example: photos 5 & 6 of old homes....

Since you do not have color to bring out the life of the photo the photographer has to play of other rules such as angles, lines, diagonals, clouds, pathways or anything else that you can use as a composition to set the photo off. Example: Photos 1, 3, and 6. The lines matter, think about your shot before you take it.

[scudrunner]

Matt,

Your photo's remind me of my high school photography course. Of course, back then all we had was B&W (in the HS lab anyhow). Your shots truly expose your artisanship and technical expertiese with the shutter box (if you can still call them that).

Thanks for the lessons.