Duomo di Alba

Black And White Photography, Marcus, Photography

When touring a city and its sights with a camera in hand, I’m always on the lookout for those scenes that would work great in black & white. In fact, most of the time I have set my camera to a monochrome mode so I see the composition already in the viewfinder or the display. My Nikon Zf is perfect for that because it has a dedicated switch on the top plate to easily switch between color and B&W.

This image I took the other week in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Alba, Italy. The Duomo di Alba was built in the first half of the 12th century and later reshaped various times. Behind the cross you can see the shapes of the wood-carved chorus stalls built in 1512. Shooting with a Nikkor 40mm f/2 prime lens, I selected the f/2 aperture to bring out the main object in the image, framing the altar and the chorus stalls. The dynamic range of the full frame mirrorless Nikon Zf continues to amaze me.

More of my photography can be seen on my blog “Streets of Nuremberg

Shenzhen Streets

Black And White Photography, Ian, Photography

Street photography in Shenzhen, China, X100F

Street photography in Shenzhen with the X100F — the city’s vertical density making every street-level frame a composition of layers. The fixed focal length disciplines you into working with what’s in front of you. Monochrome collapses the commercial signage — the dominant visual language of Shenzhen’s streets — into neutral tones, letting the human figures carry the image. See the full article: China — Shenzhen Day 3 on IJM Photography.