day 18: making the best of it

making the best of it © Verena Fischer 2011

I was in a fairly monochrome mood yesterday when my camera drove me out of my warm and comfortable flat. It was a rainy day, even a bit stormy in the morning and I went out when the light was already fading. Monochrome days, i.e. days that are all grey in grey, are the best for black and white photography. Already before going out I changed the colour settings of my camera to monochrome and I was not intending to change it back. Obviously, when you’re shooting in RAW it doesn’t make a difference for the final file whether you’re shooting monochrome or in colour mode. However, at least you can see the pictures in black and white on the internal screen which can give you an idea whether your picture will look good in black and white or not, and keep you in the monochrome mood.

Keeping the mood is in my opinion one of the most important things, since it is what guides your eye. If you’re in a bad mood you’re not very likely to take pictures of smiling people. Similarly if you see colours everywhere then you’re definitely not in the monochrome mood that it needs to take great black and white pictures.

Yesterday I found it a bit difficult to stay in this mood, since I brought myself into a situation that could only make me laugh out loud. Following my new practice of seeing my camera as the best excuse to be in places where I’m not supposed to be I walked straight into an open building and took a couple of pictures. Then I realised that there was a fairly interesting patio. So, I went through the next door to go outside into this patio to take pictures there. What I didn’t realise was that the door had locked itself automatically when it shut behind me and a key was needed to get back into the house. However, I needed to go through the house to get back out onto the street. I checked the doors to the side and back buildings, but they were also locked. In the end I actually had to climb over a fence to get outside, how ridiculous! At least I didn’t shut myself into a patio that was all surrounded by buildings or my little mistake could have turned into a major wait.

In my monochrome mood from before this incident I had planned to take pictures of empty spaces that are normally crowded. I did that too, but I guess my little fence climbing adventure fits way better to the happy childhood moment I witnessed by chance. These kids were also making the best of the rainy weather.