When I was taking pictures for myself in college, I normally shot black and white film. Partly because it was cheaper (*grin*), but mainly because I liked the results and the looks. I have two photos from back then framed and they have been on display pretty much since I got the back from the developers. I enjoyed the challenge of trying  to take a well defined and balanced black and white.

After college when I started shooting for the company I worked for, they did not want `artsy’ black and whites, they wanted event photos they could use for marketing, and I switched to shooting only color film, and then digital, and there I stayed.  I enjoy doing color a lot, and have tuned my eye to color, but I have found a few posts over the last few days which got me playing with black and white again, and I think I like it.  One site which had me spellbound for a while was the site of the famous portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh.  I think I will be playing with light and tones and shooting in black and white for a while.

Triumph

Snifter

As you may or may not know, I have been doing a Project 365 (take a look).  What is a Project 365?  It is a challenge to take a picture every day.  Some people have themes (self-portraits, flowers, street, etc).  Mine is pretty open format.  I have noticed and been told that my photos have been getting better as the year has moved on.

Today, I noticed this:

Scott's tweet

Which pointed me over to Tasara Dawson’s Project 365 blog. In her first post, she talks about three things to do to improve your photography skills:

1. Take a picture every day for a year
2. Read a page from your camera manual every day for a year
3. Look at other peoples photos every day

The thought is to do every day, and you will be come better.  I am going to pull the manuals (I am thinking about keeping the e510 as well as theXsi) and start reading every day.  Want to join me?

Sitting Pretty