Fuji X-Ploits; Black and White

Shiloh School, Northumberland County, VA (click to enlarge)
X-T1, 18-55mm lens @ 18mm; 1/320th sec. @ f/8; ISO 200; converted in Silver Efex Pro 2

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly. In fact, I've just added a gallery featuring all M4/3 images.  Thank you.

For the first 17 years of my photographic life, I almost always photographed using black and white film.  I bought it bulk, spooled it, shot it, developed it, printed it, then cut my own mats and bought metal frame pieces to hang my own work around the house.  The whole process and more importantly control of the process was total satisfaction for me. Black and white images were and continue to be my first photographic love.

With time, age and inclination, I found myself almost always using color film.  When digital arrived, color photography and printing had a much better quality than black and white.  I continued to do my work in color.  Again, with time, technological progress and some simplicity, black and white digital photography was said to equal of better film photography.  Not in my book.  Until now.

As I now primarily use the X-T1 and dive head on into its capabilities, I was out last week wandering around with a good friend in what is called The Northern Neck of eastern Virginia.  There are three peninsulas in southeastern Virginia that jut into the Chesapeake Bay from its west shoreline.  The northernmost of the three is called The Northern Neck, just south of it is The Middle Peninsula and the southernmost is just called The Peninsula, which is where I live.  The two peninsulas north of me are interesting places in which to wander as they are largely rural and filled with farms, small towns and interesting photographic subjects.  On The Peninsula, it is mostly urban and suburban and the photographic possibilities are relatively limited, with some national park and Colonial Williamsburg exceptions.

But I digress...

Wandering around The Northern Neck was very interesting as we encountered several subjects that I felt would render well in black and white.  The image at the top of this post is one.  But more importantly, I discovered that black and white renditions from the X-Trans II sensor are gorgeous!  I think I have finally found a digital camera that produces monotone imagery that equals what I did in my old film days with custom darkroom work.

I found my images to be highly detailed with full tonality, even in the harshest conditions. With the X-T1 I have the ability to adjust contrast over a wide range, with beautiful and delicate whites as well as excellent translations of the other colors.  Shadows are full of detail, if you like, or can be pitch black.  This camera gives you so many choices when it comes to how you like your black and white imagery rendered.  The most important aspect to me, however, is how it renders the various colors as gray tones.

I think Fujifilm engineers have hit upon something here with their black and white conversions of color digital images.  I look forward to continuing exploring black and white using this excellent tool.

If you haven't tried black and white photography, give it a try.  There are many reasons to like black and white and there are some reason not to.  But black and white imagery can be every bit as beautiful as color, even more emotionally striking than a color image of the same subject.

Thanks for looking.  Enjoy!

Dennis Mook

All content on this blog is © 2013-2015 Dennis A. Mook.  All Rights Reserved.  Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution.  Permission may be granted for commercial use.  Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.