Shooting black & white will help you 'see' lighting more readily than shooting color. Without having to worry about color casts (or correcting white balance when shooting indoors) black & white emphasizes light, shadows, contrast and shapes. So not only do you improve your composition, you improve your photography overall. I've been shooting black & white for over 50 years and I still love it! I do enjoy shooting color film in the right situations, but black & white is my go-to film. Also, I would recommend shooting slower ISO black & white as a way to help you learn how to shoot slower shutter speeds by hand. When I was shooting regularly, I would handhold exposures of 1/8 sec. @ f/2.8 all of the time. Not all of my exposures were tack sharp, but more often than not they were. The main thing with film is to shoot a lot of it. Yes...it's much more expensive than shooting digital, but it's ultimately more rewarding too.
I've always had a spot for b&w. I just recently started shooting film and with b&w I get the sense of really translating the things I see in my mind and cannot express with words, into a tangible medium. It feels as if I'm always seeing and thinking in b&w and now I just got to feel it for real. The atmosphere that can be created on b&w is just unique
I don’t know if anyone else has had this take, but black and white also makes you focus on TEXTURE. Instead of the green color of a tree or bush, you focus on the texture, the structure, the patterns of a tree or bush. Interesting textures, alongside either the sharpness and fine grain of something like a TMAX film or the grain porn of pushed HP5, it can make for some really intricate shots out of simple subjects.
I came across a photographer who wrote, "Imagine photos as your own memories... how many times do you refer to a memory or describe a scene to another person by the colours you saw".
You are 100% correct. Black and white photography really makes you think about the story because there is no distraction of color. Not to mention, film makes you slow down and look more.
Ilford Ortho 80 and Pan-F are also really fun to shoot if you have the light. They're pretty contrasty and a lot of fun when you get that sort of harsh mid-afternoon winter light in a city or area with a lot of intense light and shadow.
I started shooting b&w back while serving in the army in 1959 in Munich. Later I worked for a weekly newspaper where I shot Tri-x 400, and Ilford 400. I also started rolling my own film, but moved to buying 50 rolls of 36 exposure roll film. I have shot color for magazines and wedding photography but I really see in b&w. Good video.
I recently went back to school to finish my degree. Writing Major and Photography Minor. Currently in Analog Photography (B&W). I completely agree. Shooting B&W forces you to change your eye. Great experience!
I shoot films like Kentmere and Fomapan. As I don't have the space to develop I send it to the labs and it's £1 extra for black and white compared to colour, the good thing is it's the same price for 24 exposure and 36 exposure development. I scan on my own though.
I totally agree with you. I shoot digital (waiting to get an SLR soon) with my settings set to monochrome so that whether I shoot RAW+JPEG, I get to see the world in black and white, and truly helps to see the world clearly and get a better composition.
Enjoyed your video! I've been into film photography since may'21. I started with color film and enjoyed the result. But then i bought a second-hand lens and decided to test it with a roll bnw film. And the experience was fantastic. I got the result which i even couldn't expect.
I started my photography journey back in the mid 80s. Even back then I started to really like B&W film. Once I went digital in around 2009 I shot mostly color. I recently decided to get back to film and got myself a medium format film camera. So far I have shot mostly B&W film on it. I love that I can develop the film at home same day and also scan same day. It's all a process but I love it. B&W has gotten my creative juices flowing again. And some things just scream for B&W. And while I can appreciate it I am not a street photographer. You made some good points in the video. Thanks !
I've only been into photography for a couple of years now, at least as an aspiring photographer. I started with a point and shoot and moved my way up to a modest DSLR and primarily I've only shot nature and wildlife. With this said, I have always romanticized black and white images in cityscapes and recently have found myself longing to photograph them. For a lack of a better explanation on my part I find that it takes away from the imagery and adds its equivalent to the soul. The photograph all of a sudden is more appealing to something within us and not so much it's aesthetics.
I’m switching to only shooting b&w for street. Personally for my work, I feel like its more powerful than color. trying to figure out which film stock will be my go to. I like the control hp5 provides, but i may he okay going with a film thats already more contrasty
shot bnw with digital for my first year of photography and started with street photography and it helped me so much i am no 4 years into photography and mainly shoot film now and it really has opened my eyes to composition in any setting
My first roll of b&w came out so good, I was surprised actually. Shot it on my AE1, left it on program. And whoa, I managed to get some great close up portraits (off an FD 50mm f1.4 lens) of my kiddo, the dog, even a few flowers. Love the grain off of the ilford hp stock. I also have a triX 100 roll I haven’t used yet.
shot my first roll of ilford a few weeks ago and i absolutely loved how those photos came out! still have 4 rolls left. going to LA and Dallas next week for the next two weeks so i'm definitely gonna use some up on that trip! great video!
@@Xenonic2 I'm new to film and wanting to do this aswell. I bought the canon ae1 program and to overexpose can i put the iso to 800 leave the rest on auto for the start and then just let it develop or do i have to push it +1 at developing?
Great video dude! I personally love color film the most but I have been shooting some black and white recently and it really does make you think and see in a totally different way
I can also recommend AGFA APX100. I bought it because it was the only one available at that drugstore, but I love the grain! - Will try APX400, too. Ilford HP5 is a film I buy quite often, too.
I've only shot 2-4 rolls of Ilford HP5 & a shot from my second roll got featured on there IG page, which is a big deal for me so I definitely stand behind Ilford's awesome supplies
I started out my film photography with b/w film because it was the only way I could afford to my love for film. I could shoot b/w for the rest of my life and be happy because of the purity that it holds.
So cool that you have discovered B&W film. When I started shooting, most young photogs started by shooting bw film if only because it was affordable. But it is also very powerful. Take a look at W Eugene Smith's work, especially his essay on Minimata. Jim Marshall produced work on rock stars. And Robert Frank, a Swiss photog, produced a seminal work called "Americans." Japanese and East Indian photogs also produced some stunning work in B&W. The list goes on and on. Just as Japanese artists and artisans say--to work inside the limitations, one discovers creativity. B&W by its nature confines the photog to a limited set of tools so that images must rely upon design (composition), light, and story (emotion goes along with story) to create impact. Most important, I think, is the feeling B&W creates. The memorable B&W images are at once both tied to a moment in time and are timeless. Nuff said.
I took an older Nikon D5600 with a couple of lenses and set it up to shoot black and white only. (that's my B&W rig) Of course I can do the same with any of the Z cameras. Before that, I was using a Nikon FM with black and white film. Digital allows me to see results right away, and you can also do some minor in camera adjustments to your image. (And re-shoot it if you want to) The film and developing was starting to get expensive. Thanks for posting your video.
bouncing between digital & film still trying to get images that satisfy me completely, almost there now , but I have abandon digital for a while to tweak the results more . And shout out to the darkroom photo labs they are slammin !
Hej Ernest ! Are u readin' my mind ? Totally agree ! Same here. Best to you ! I guess I'm the first subcriber to your channel. Chapeau bas in the front of u, Ernest !
I actually shot black & white for the first time 2 weeks ago and it was a great experience. Im glad that I have a good account of film stocks left because I do agree that bnw is definitely fun
i shoot several b&w film stocks such as ilford pan 100 and agfa 400 but i didn't use color filter so it didn't open the opportunities the b&w can offer.Ilford is superior and sharp,good contrast,agfa is pretty noise even with good light condition.
What's the best C-41 black and white film? I'm trying to get into developing my own film and the cinestill C-41 chemistry would probably make things easier for me
@@heinerl.beisert5508 Yeah, Kodak BW400CN used to be my go to back in the day, but it’s been gone for a while now - probably some expired BW400CN floating around still
I know it costs more to get involved, but b&w development is a tad easier because all the chemicals need to be kept near room temp. Easier to get up and going than c-41 chemistry
Got my digital stolen from me, was a very sad day. The positive, losing the digital camera forced me to start working with my film camera, just finished my first film roll last night, cant wait to get it processed!!!
Can we get a video on what to look for in point & shoot cameras? The well known cameras are so expensive online but there's so many point and shoot cameras going for soooo cheap. I'm wondering if any of them are even worth purchasing. I'm a complete camera noob. Theres so much info out there its hard for me to decide what to get that isn't going to break the bank while I explore this new hobby.
I shoot black and white in 95% of my photography. I find that it has so much more feeling than color. I still love color, adore portra and Fuji color film stocks.. but there's just something about monochrome that makes me feel attached to the image like color never does.
I think parts of what you mentioned in the video are reasons why when they teach photography in HS and college they start with black and white. That and development is arguably easier
Living in an area I wouldn't call colorful by any stretch, I find B&W easier to shoot, as you get rid of what would make a colorful picture bland, and the eye has to focus more on the details, what actually makes the picture interesting !
Good stuff. I loved ACROS and have yet to try ACROS II. HP5 is my current GoTo. I also like shooting my X100V in ACROS mode. Nothing like seeing the world through a black and white viewfinder sometimes 🤓
Have you ever tried ilford xp2? Its black&white but gets developed as color. I have it in my Mju 1 now, looking forward to it. Regular b&w is so damn expensive to get developed in labs.. At least here in sweden. So it seems like a good thing, but maybe not the same nice looking grain and stuff, dont know!
Where I live, you can get colour processed, at a big store,they send it to someone. But I asked about b &W and said they don't do it.Qu what is the processing difference.
[From France] So true man, black and white forces you to see the world differently. I recently went on vacation on color film and was shooting everything because of colors without thinking of composition. Result : a lot of my photos were disapointing. By seeing your videos, i went back to see my b&w photos and... man, I was unconsciously thinking of composition and all of them photos were bangers
It’s a dangerous path you’re taking my friend first black and white film photography ,then making prints in the darkroom , it’s the path I am slowly but surely taking . By the way have you ever shot medium format? If not you should give it a try with a TLR.
The only sentiment i agree with is that shooting in bnw helps you be more deliberate with subject matter. That said, the notion that bnw is more pure is nonsense and all the best images imo have color. If you can shoot candids and nail everything in an image AND make the colors pop? Thats how people get jobs at national geographic. Sure its fun, but bnw is more overrated than underrated in my experience. Ive had more arguments with film street shooters about its perceived superiority than id like.
@@tripunk They are still making film. But they have sold of considerable parts of their business. Apart from that, they have priced themselves out of the market by raising film prices over 100% in the last 4 years alone (anyone with reasonable logic wouldn't believe their excuse of raising the prices by an obscene amount). Ilford saved the industry when the entire market collapsed. I'm putting my money on Ilford films and Foma papers. Kodak will probably screw everybody, like they did in 2011.
so your idea of a quick word about your sponsor was to drone on about them for 2 full minutes out of a 12 minute video.... Also, street photography is the lowest form of photography as it's basically about having the subject know you are photographing them, it's intrusive and confrontational you are not capturing life or spontaneous moments you're mostly capturing people being pissed off at you
Shooting black & white will help you 'see' lighting more readily than shooting color. Without having to worry about color casts (or correcting white balance when shooting indoors) black & white emphasizes light, shadows, contrast and shapes. So not only do you improve your composition, you improve your photography overall. I've been shooting black & white for over 50 years and I still love it! I do enjoy shooting color film in the right situations, but black & white is my go-to film. Also, I would recommend shooting slower ISO black & white as a way to help you learn how to shoot slower shutter speeds by hand. When I was shooting regularly, I would handhold exposures of 1/8 sec. @ f/2.8 all of the time. Not all of my exposures were tack sharp, but more often than not they were. The main thing with film is to shoot a lot of it. Yes...it's much more expensive than shooting digital, but it's ultimately more rewarding too.
I've always had a spot for b&w. I just recently started shooting film and with b&w I get the sense of really translating the things I see in my mind and cannot express with words, into a tangible medium. It feels as if I'm always seeing and thinking in b&w and now I just got to feel it for real. The atmosphere that can be created on b&w is just unique
I don’t know if anyone else has had this take, but black and white also makes you focus on TEXTURE. Instead of the green color of a tree or bush, you focus on the texture, the structure, the patterns of a tree or bush. Interesting textures, alongside either the sharpness and fine grain of something like a TMAX film or the grain porn of pushed HP5, it can make for some really intricate shots out of simple subjects.
Black and White is still the best because it makes you focus on the image, not distracted by colors.
I came across a photographer who wrote, "Imagine photos as your own memories... how many times do you refer to a memory or describe a scene to another person by the colours you saw".
You are 100% correct. Black and white photography really makes you think about the story because there is no distraction of color. Not to mention, film makes you slow down and look more.
Ilford Ortho 80 and Pan-F are also really fun to shoot if you have the light. They're pretty contrasty and a lot of fun when you get that sort of harsh mid-afternoon winter light in a city or area with a lot of intense light and shadow.
I started shooting b&w back while serving in the army in 1959 in Munich. Later I worked for a weekly newspaper where I shot Tri-x 400, and Ilford 400. I also started rolling my own film, but moved to buying 50 rolls of 36 exposure roll film. I have shot color for magazines and wedding photography but I really see in b&w. Good video.
I recently went back to school to finish my degree. Writing Major and Photography Minor. Currently in Analog Photography (B&W). I completely agree. Shooting B&W forces you to change your eye. Great experience!
ngl i switched to black and white not because it made my street photography look better but because is was cheaper for me to self develop lol.
Hard to disagree. Color films are expensive.
I shoot films like Kentmere and Fomapan. As I don't have the space to develop I send it to the labs and it's £1 extra for black and white compared to colour, the good thing is it's the same price for 24 exposure and 36 exposure development.
I scan on my own though.
I totally agree with you. I shoot digital (waiting to get an SLR soon) with my settings set to monochrome so that whether I shoot RAW+JPEG, I get to see the world in black and white, and truly helps to see the world clearly and get a better composition.
Enjoyed your video! I've been into film photography since may'21. I started with color film and enjoyed the result. But then i bought a second-hand lens and decided to test it with a roll bnw film. And the experience was fantastic. I got the result which i even couldn't expect.
I started my photography journey back in the mid 80s. Even back then I started to really like B&W film. Once I went digital in around 2009 I shot mostly color. I recently decided to get back to film and got myself a medium format film camera. So far I have shot mostly B&W film on it. I love that I can develop the film at home same day and also scan same day. It's all a process but I love it. B&W has gotten my creative juices flowing again. And some things just scream for B&W. And while I can appreciate it I am not a street photographer. You made some good points in the video. Thanks !
I've only been into photography for a couple of years now, at least as an aspiring photographer. I started with a point and shoot and moved my way up to a modest DSLR and primarily I've only shot nature and wildlife. With this said, I have always romanticized black and white images in cityscapes and recently have found myself longing to photograph them. For a lack of a better explanation on my part I find that it takes away from the imagery and adds its equivalent to the soul. The photograph all of a sudden is more appealing to something within us and not so much it's aesthetics.
I've been really into FP4 recently, beautiful in both 35mm and 120.
Yep, love FP4, it's cheap too !
vivian maier is my favorite photographer. she’s the whole reason i got into photography
Vivian Maier inspired me, too.
I’m switching to only shooting b&w for street. Personally for my work, I feel like its more powerful than color. trying to figure out which film stock will be my go to. I like the control hp5 provides, but i may he okay going with a film thats already more contrasty
shot bnw with digital for my first year of photography and started with street photography and it helped me so much i am no 4 years into photography and mainly shoot film now and it really has opened my eyes to composition in any setting
B&W forever
My first roll of b&w came out so good, I was surprised actually. Shot it on my AE1, left it on program. And whoa, I managed to get some great close up portraits (off an FD 50mm f1.4 lens) of my kiddo, the dog, even a few flowers. Love the grain off of the ilford hp stock. I also have a triX 100 roll I haven’t used yet.
Great shots as always. Acros is my favorite splurge BW stock - so good. HP5 is my workhorse.
shot my first roll of ilford a few weeks ago and i absolutely loved how those photos came out! still have 4 rolls left. going to LA and Dallas next week for the next two weeks so i'm definitely gonna use some up on that trip! great video!
Push that film! Shoot it at 800/1600/3200! The results are amazing!
I live in Dallas and Shoot Film 🎞
@@Xenonic2 I'm new to film and wanting to do this aswell. I bought the canon ae1 program and to overexpose can i put the iso to 800 leave the rest on auto for the start and then just let it develop or do i have to push it +1 at developing?
I am more Ansel than Vivian but I am with you.
King is back!
Digging it man. I like shooting B&W when I can... and the CineStill BWXX is some great stock, but I do love Ilford too!
Great video dude! I personally love color film the most but I have been shooting some black and white recently and it really does make you think and see in a totally different way
i might only shoot BW, graff shots, rollers, skate pics, all of it
I can also recommend AGFA APX100. I bought it because it was the only one available at that drugstore, but I love the grain! - Will try APX400, too. Ilford HP5 is a film I buy quite often, too.
I've only shot 2-4 rolls of Ilford HP5 & a shot from my second roll got featured on there IG page, which is a big deal for me so I definitely stand behind Ilford's awesome supplies
You rock I love your videos
Black and white film! It was what I started with Tmax 400 Kodak. Love it. I’m using a black and white from iford black and white.
I started out my film photography with b/w film because it was the only way I could afford to my love for film. I could shoot b/w for the rest of my life and be happy because of the purity that it holds.
First of all you take beautiful pictures.super.And yes I also like black and white photography.but I'm just a beginner.Thanks for the video
So cool that you have discovered B&W film. When I started shooting, most young photogs started by shooting bw film if only because it was affordable. But it is also very powerful. Take a look at W Eugene Smith's work, especially his essay on Minimata. Jim Marshall produced work on rock stars. And Robert Frank, a Swiss photog, produced a seminal work called "Americans." Japanese and East Indian photogs also produced some stunning work in B&W. The list goes on and on. Just as Japanese artists and artisans say--to work inside the limitations, one discovers creativity. B&W by its nature confines the photog to a limited set of tools so that images must rely upon design (composition), light, and story (emotion goes along with story) to create impact. Most important, I think, is the feeling B&W creates. The memorable B&W images are at once both tied to a moment in time and are timeless. Nuff said.
All I can say about the feeling B&W gives you is that it's like Fleetwood Mac says, "It's the feeling you get when you're hypnotized."
I took an older Nikon D5600 with a couple of lenses and set it up to shoot black and white only. (that's my B&W rig)
Of course I can do the same with any of the Z cameras. Before that, I was using a Nikon FM with black and white film.
Digital allows me to see results right away, and you can also do some minor in camera adjustments to your image.
(And re-shoot it if you want to) The film and developing was starting to get expensive.
Thanks for posting your video.
Black and white is superb, soon as I got into it was amazing. Especially when I picked up Acros 100II. Amazing film stock.
Great content as always Jonathan, thank you!
Always cop two rolls of tmax 400 but wanna get some lessons from you mayne those sample photos are incredible
Nice video, really helpful, thanks man!
Have you tried the film Rollei retro 400s ? Looks pretty interesting, and it can also be found in bulk
bouncing between digital & film still trying to get images that satisfy me completely, almost there now , but I have abandon digital for a while to tweak the results more . And shout out to the darkroom photo labs they are slammin !
Hej Ernest ! Are u readin' my mind ? Totally agree ! Same here. Best to you ! I guess I'm the first subcriber to your channel. Chapeau bas in the front of u, Ernest !
arista 100 and kentmere 100 are my fave 35 mm films and i highly recommend them.
My brother and i just got 10 rolls of HP5 to shoot while im home on vacation! Definitely looking forward to seeing them!
I prefer the digital workflow so I bought an M Monochrom, the original one with the CCD sensor - same feels?
I actually shot black & white for the first time 2 weeks ago and it was a great experience. Im glad that I have a good account of film stocks left because I do agree that bnw is definitely fun
i shoot several b&w film stocks such as ilford pan 100 and agfa 400 but i didn't use color filter so it didn't open the opportunities the b&w can offer.Ilford is superior and sharp,good contrast,agfa is pretty noise even with good light condition.
What's the best C-41 black and white film? I'm trying to get into developing my own film and the cinestill C-41 chemistry would probably make things easier for me
Ilford XP-2 Super is good stuff.
@@heinerl.beisert5508 Yeah, Kodak BW400CN used to be my go to back in the day, but it’s been gone for a while now - probably some expired BW400CN floating around still
For me that's Kodak tmax 400. I never even really have to edit it because it comes out so good right after conversion
I know it costs more to get involved, but b&w development is a tad easier because all the chemicals need to be kept near room temp. Easier to get up and going than c-41 chemistry
A Very Good & Interesting Video. I've used Ilford HP5+ but prefer Kodak Tri-X Pan.
My favorite bw film is hp5 hands down. However i love fomapan as well. It’s a great budget film.
Got my digital stolen from me, was a very sad day. The positive, losing the digital camera forced me to start working with my film camera, just finished my first film roll last night, cant wait to get it processed!!!
from Oregon with LOVE bro!
Have you shot cinestill b&w yet?
Hej King ! Many thanks 4 the fantastic presentation.
Can we get a video on what to look for in point & shoot cameras? The well known cameras are so expensive online but there's so many point and shoot cameras going for soooo cheap. I'm wondering if any of them are even worth purchasing. I'm a complete camera noob. Theres so much info out there its hard for me to decide what to get that isn't going to break the bank while I explore this new hobby.
stupid question that whats different between 'color film then turn in to black and white in software' and 'shoot black n white film directly'?
I would like to get the list of books he read on black and white photography.
I shoot black and white in 95% of my photography. I find that it has so much more feeling than color. I still love color, adore portra and Fuji color film stocks.. but there's just something about monochrome that makes me feel attached to the image like color never does.
Fomapan 100 is my drug of choice.
What the set up camera you recko for a 100 ISO BW film for a beginners?
I think parts of what you mentioned in the video are reasons why when they teach photography in HS and college they start with black and white. That and development is arguably easier
Living in an area I wouldn't call colorful by any stretch, I find B&W easier to shoot, as you get rid of what would make a colorful picture bland, and the eye has to focus more on the details, what actually makes the picture interesting !
“Gear doesn’t matter” *sits behind a 5,000 dollar setup*
Good stuff. I loved ACROS and have yet to try ACROS II. HP5 is my current GoTo.
I also like shooting my X100V in ACROS mode. Nothing like seeing the world through a black and white viewfinder sometimes 🤓
I love this channel
Have you ever tried ilford xp2? Its black&white but gets developed as color. I have it in my Mju 1 now, looking forward to it. Regular b&w is so damn expensive to get developed in labs.. At least here in sweden. So it seems like a good thing, but maybe not the same nice looking grain and stuff, dont know!
Also recommend this process on digital cameras too
Where I live, you can get colour processed, at a big store,they send it to someone. But I asked about b &W and said they don't do it.Qu what is the processing difference.
Great video keep doin what you doin
[From France] So true man, black and white forces you to see the world differently. I recently went on vacation on color film and was shooting everything because of colors without thinking of composition. Result : a lot of my photos were disapointing. By seeing your videos, i went back to see my b&w photos and... man, I was unconsciously thinking of composition and all of them photos were bangers
It’s a dangerous path you’re taking my friend first black and white film photography ,then making prints in the darkroom , it’s the path I am slowly but surely taking . By the way have you ever shot medium format? If not you should give it a try with a TLR.
Hiii, may I ask that what if you fav film roll?
Shooting in monochrome has been my preferred medium for 20+ years now, it is a completely different way of seeing.
Great video sir! thanks! may i ask sir how did you convert your film to jpeg? thanks!
Great video!
Try Kodak Vision3 again
Same about Vivian Maier bro
That eye to eye book
Do you develop your own film? I would love to see the process.
Just bought some bw film. I’ll def do your challenge
The only sentiment i agree with is that shooting in bnw helps you be more deliberate with subject matter. That said, the notion that bnw is more pure is nonsense and all the best images imo have color. If you can shoot candids and nail everything in an image AND make the colors pop? Thats how people get jobs at national geographic. Sure its fun, but bnw is more overrated than underrated in my experience. Ive had more arguments with film street shooters about its perceived superiority than id like.
Just buy a Leica Monochrom and save a ton of 💰
I prefer Thursday and Saturday lol
And remember kids, Buy Ilford, Kodak is not in it for long anymore...
Can you clarify? Is Kodak no longer making film???
@@tripunk They are still making film. But they have sold of considerable parts of their business. Apart from that, they have priced themselves out of the market by raising film prices over 100% in the last 4 years alone (anyone with reasonable logic wouldn't believe their excuse of raising the prices by an obscene amount). Ilford saved the industry when the entire market collapsed. I'm putting my money on Ilford films and Foma papers. Kodak will probably screw everybody, like they did in 2011.
so your idea of a quick word about your sponsor was to drone on about them for 2 full minutes out of a 12 minute video.... Also, street photography is the lowest form of photography as it's basically about having the subject know you are photographing them, it's intrusive and confrontational you are not capturing life or spontaneous moments you're mostly capturing people being pissed off at you
2 weeks you haven’t been on lol looks like you ran out of ideas hahaha
Yeahhh… no