BLACK & WHITE: THE NEW COLORED II

If you ask me, no two subjects should ever be perceived the same way in photography. In simple terms, all subjects are unique and while it is good to shoot in color some scenarios are best illustrated in black and white. After a whole day of covering the wedding, my colleagues (Martin, Laurence, Safi') and I, decided to give the bride and her groom an exclusive bonus shoot. The plan was simple; return to the photo-shoot venue before sunset. This was not to be, as we arrived at the place too late; we were literally chasing light but our main light-source (the sun) had just disappeared! the beautifully lit garden that we had earlier used for a midday shoot was no more, the area was shadowy and wasn't looking anything like a shoot location. It is such situations that make one appreciate light as the basic ingredient of photography. We however were not about to back down from this challenge. We turned a security light into our key-light and some lowly placed ambient lights into back-lights. As a ritual, I took a few 'test shots' to determine my settings but the color temperature of the light was a bit too artificial for my liking and as a result, I opted to use the monochrome (B/W) setting and shoot in black and white over the recommended post-processing, while retaining other settings. With the widest aperture, relatively low shutter speeds and highest possible ISO, I was able to get some decent black and white images. 

The bench made a great prop..

   Camera - CANON EOS 7D

    Focal Length - 21mm
    Shutter Speed - 1/40 sec
    Aperture - f/3.5 

    ISO/Film - 6400
    Category - Wedding 
    Uploaded - June 22nd 2013  
    Taken - June 1st 2013

    Location - Jacaranda Hotel, Nairobi
    Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi

..but so did the ground

    Camera - CANON EOS 7D    

    Focal Length - 20mm
    Shutter Speed - 1/40 sec
    Aperture - f/3.5 

    ISO/Film - 6400
    Category - Wedding 
    Uploaded - June 22nd 2013  
    Taken - June 1st 2013

    Location - Jacaranda Hotel, Nairobi
    Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi

Who said the bench is solely for sitting?

    Camera - CANON EOS 7D

    Focal Length - 18mm
    Shutter Speed - 1/40 sec
    Aperture - f/3.5 

    ISO/Film - 6400
    Category - Wedding 
    Uploaded - June 22nd 2013  
    Taken - June 1st 2013

    Location - Jacaranda Hotel, Nairobi
    Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi
 

Someone forgot I was shooting this.

     Camera - CANON EOS 7D
     Focal Length - 21mm
     Shutter Speed - 1/40 sec
     Aperture - f/3.5 

     ISO/Film - 5000
     Category - Wedding 
     Uploaded - June 22nd 2013  
     Taken - June 1st 2013

     Location -  Jacaranda Hotel, Nairobi
     Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi


                       

                                                                               (continued)

BLACK & WHITE: THE NEW COLORED

At the age of about ten, one of my hobbies was going through the family photo album; the thing fascinated me to say the least. On one occasion I remember coming across my mom’s portrait (a much younger version of her) the image was simply striking, and it was in black and white! I know we’ve all seen such monochromatic images, others we even can’t help but make fun of the ‘weird’ poses people made back then. Much of history and early human experiences have been recorded this way. In all these images color ceases to be the only main yardstick with which to judge a photo, other elements come to play; contrast, tone, texture, shape, form, even the shadows we so love to ‘kill’ make part of the story. Lou Jones rightly said it; black and white images force the viewer to concentrate on content, composition, or abstraction. One can achieve black and white images by using monochromatic films if SLRs are the camera choice. With DSLRs you can get B/W function in latest camera brands, the second option and which is recommended is to shoot your images in full color then post-process for black and white later using photo-editing software. To date, I still find black and white images remarkable just like I did when I was ten. My ultimate desire however, is to shoot a whole event in black and white! This wish came to pass... well, almost. In a wedding I covered, the bride and groom were daring enough to go with the idea of shooting some images in monochrome.    

After waiting for ‘ages’ we were finally allowed to go in and photograph the bridal party, who were having refreshments in readiness for the day.

            Camera - CANON EOS 7D
            Focal Length - 31mm
            Shutter Speed - 1/40 sec
            Aperture - f/4.6 

            ISO/Film - 2000
            Category - Wedding 
            Uploaded - June 20th 2013  
            Taken - June 1st 2013

            Location - Ruiru Town, Kenya
            Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi

Coffee was the number one choice for some

   Camera - CANON EOS 7D
   Focal Length - 72mm
   Shutter Speed - 1/60 sec
   Aperture - f/5.7 

   ISO/Film - 3200
   Category - Wedding 
   Uploaded - June 20th 2013  
   Taken - June 1st 2013

   Location - Ruiru Town, Kenya
   Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi
    

Not even my preying lens was going to stop a flower girl from downing her drink

The bride was not to be left out

            
            Camera - CANON EOS 7D
            Focal Length - 92mm
            Shutter Speed - 1/30 sec
            Aperture - f/5.7 

            ISO/Film - 3200
            Category - Wedding 
            Uploaded - June 20th 2013  
            Taken - June 1st 2013

            Location - Ruiru Town, Kenya
            Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi


 

       
      


      
      Camera - CANON EOS 7D
      Focal Length - 72mm
      Shutter Speed - 1/30 sec
      Aperture - f/5.7 

      ISO/Film - 3200
      Category - Wedding 
      Uploaded - June 20th 2013  
      Taken - June 1st 2013

      Location - Ruiru Town, Kenya
      Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi


 

 
 
 
                                                           (continued) 

                                                                                                                                    

SECOND NATURE

I photograph pretty much everything, but I will be lying if I say I love all my photography subjects equally. Truth be told, I favor some subjects over others; nature for instance is one subject area that gets the least amount of love from my cameras. Come to think of it, this is the main reason why my “critique” <whose views I always appreciate> keeps telling me to stick to my forte and let nature be! In my defense I would say photographing subjects like nature, wildlife and landscape is not a walk in the park. Though not impossible, they require some special form of attention, and Lord know patience is not one of my virtues though slowly but surely am working on it, since it is a prerequisite for taking good pictures. I believe the main ingredients of nature photography apart from having patience, is one to have a lot of interest and dedication as well as seizing travel opportunities. With these, shooting exotic locations or indigenous flora and fauna becomes second nature.                                                                                                        

I was trying to photograph a rather uncooperative subject (a bird) who flew all over the place, finally leading me to this nest only to find there was nobody home..

  
 Camera - NIKON D3100
 Focal Length - 55mm
 Shutter Speed - 1/80 sec
 Aperture - f/5.0 

 ISO/Film - 280
 Category - Nature 
 Uploaded - June 12th 2013  
 Taken - June 3rd 2013

 Location - USIU Nairobi, Kenya
 Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi

LET THERE BE LIGHT!

Light is the basic ingredient of photography; so I learn't in my fundamentals of photography class, and the term photography simply means writing or painting with light. It therefore goes without saying that in the absence of light, photography cannot exist. It is important for a photographer to understand and at times be able to manipulate the amount (quantity) and/or the type (quality) of light in order to capture great images. The size or type of camera gear in use does not matter; whether one decides to use film or go digital, light is key. Photographers work with mainly two light sources, natural and/or artificial. One may be favored over the other but at times the situation ordinarily will dictate the type of light source to be used. Example, nature photographers will have the sun and other natural sources as their only light sources, while for commercial photographers artificial lighting may well be preferred. Events photographers on the other hand, normally make due with whatever sources of light that is thrown their way, and more often than not it’s a cocktail of light sources.

Whatever the case, one needs to master the basics of lighting in order to capture it creatively. Direction of light is one of the basics that guide me to know from which direction to shoot my subject(s), color temperature of light is another and it helps me with my composition plus it has to do with the time of day. Am certain we’ve all experimented or at least are familiar with the dawn and dusk advice; that those two times provide the best light for photography and that we should avoid shooting at noon due to harsh and hard light emanating from direct sunlight. A photographer also needs to know the degree of diffusion of light where indirect (diffused) light is favored over direct light hence the common use of reflectors, umbrellas, soft boxes and the fascination of shooting under sheds or cloudy conditions. Learning these, plus other light factors will not only improve your photography skills but it will also allow you room to think through your images creatively resulting to even greater images. 

Corazon's half-lit face and her "crystal ball"

          Camera - NIKON D3100

          Focal Length - 18mm
          Shutter Speed - 1/30 sec
          Aperture - f/5.6 

          ISO/Film - 3200
          Category - Abstract 
          Uploaded - June 8th 2013  
          Taken - May 22nd 2013

          Location - USIU Nairobi, Kenya
          Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi

PROFILE-PICK

If a simple picture speaks a thousand words, then a profile picture speaks a lot more and other than just identifying the owner; such a photo can communicate different messages whether intended or otherwise. Example, a profile photo can communicate success, professionalism or even desperation. We all want to create an impression on our online friends and more so on strangers (our target audience) and therefore a lot of consideration should be placed when deciding on the type of profile picture to use. This photo should at all times communicate who you are, also remember the moment you put out content on the world wide web, it gets a life of its own; you no longer own that photo or its subsequent effects the instant you press the upload button. A profile photo should be a recent photo of you and not that of your ‘adorable’ baby or your ‘cute’ puppy, those ones go to your cover photo which ideally depict your likes and interests. When taking the photo be aware of the lighting and you can use ‘bokeh’ to evade destructive backgrounds, also refrain from over-exposing or being overly ‘sexy’ as you never know who will be going through your photos… it might be your would-be boss! For the business oriented, use a profile picture as a personal brand and make sure your look is relevant for the field you work in since you want to maintain professionalism. For a decent profile photo have someone photograph you; the photos come out much better.         

       

Idris looking sharp in one of the photos he selected to use as his profile pic

      


       Camera - NIKON D3100

       Focal Length - 32mm
       Shutter Speed - 1/40 sec
       Aperture - f/5.6 

       ISO/Film - 1600
       Category - Fashion
       Uploaded - June 4th 2013  
       Taken - April 18th 2013

       Location - USIU Nairobi, Kenya
       Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi