BLACKDOGEYES
“We’re not dogs; the world isn’t grey.”
Unless we make it so.
As frameworks go this one is cliché, almost shamefully simple: for the next 90 days I'm shooting exclusively in black and white. I'm also confining myself to a single setup:
- X-H2.
- Raw-only, set to Acros-Y. (NOTE: not anymore. See next post.)
- 35mm f/2 R WR.
No in-camera settings beyond the film simulation—which, obviously, is only acting as a preview. Yes, shooting in JPEG would make even the hint of temptation impossible, but I want the full range of the X-H2 to be available for post-production. And since Lightroom applies Fujifilm simulations as profiles on import, I'd only see colour versions if I broke my oath. Which I don't intend to do.
This self-imposed project definitely follows a discussion triggered by the last Parallels post: I processed a couple of Leica Monochrom M11 files from member Michael Rawcliffe, and along the way I re-iterated my doubts about the real-world benefits of a monochrome sensor. Ouch.
That said, I'm not trying to prove anything here: that resulting discussion just made me crave an exclusively black and white workflow. That's it. If I really wanted to prove a point about resolving power and dynamic range I'd pick the GFX ;)
The challenge here won't be shooting or processing in monochrome—I'm perfectly comfortable with it. Dismissing colour entirely for three whole months, however...that I've never attempted.
First pics below.
Liftoff.
