Digital Photography (WK4) - Black and White Photography


"Little Dragon"

"Fireling"

    This is Pikachu, our Uromastyx. He accidentally became my subject when I noticed him sprinting towards me in his enclosure every time he heard my camera shutter go off. Would you believe me when I told you that he started posing as soon as I started photographing him? He loves attention from a distance apparently (he is not a fan of being manhandled). I swear this little guy looks like a dragon that just happens to be fun-sized. The first photo, Little Dragon, you can almost feel the warmth and the quiet. He's just relaxing, soaking up the heat under his lamp, practically sleeping he's so still. 

Then in Fireling, the light hits his face just right and suddenly he looks alive again. He's alert, though maybe a little suspicious of me and my camera. I realized partway through shooting him that (I think) the sound of the camera was actually agitating him. He started "slithering" and was attempting to get to me through the glass, so I ended my project to give him some peace. 

I've always loved Black and White photography. It's just so elegant and timeless. Without color, you’re relying on texture, shape, and value to make something interesting happen. If the balance is off, it just looks flat. But when it works, it turns something simple into something dramatic and beautiful.

That’s what I love about it. You stop worrying about whether the colors are too bright or if the tones match. You just focus on the feeling. And sometimes, like here, that feeling ends up looking like a tiny dragon in the sun, somewhere between real and mythical.

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