It’s a wrap. Another decade is in the books. Hard to believe 10 years… 120 months or 3,650 days… is firmly in the rear view mirror.
Over this period, there have been several trends, fads, products and flavors of the month. Some will stay and others will disappear as quickly as they arrived.
If we weren’t ‘Pre’Occupied with Wall Street, we were Flossing, Planking or busting a move to Gangnam Style. Angry Birds was App of the Year and Pokemon Go allowed us to wander aimlessly in the streets. When we got tired, the Mannequin Challenge came to the rescue and we stopped the madness. Let’s face it… the decade was exhausting! And lest we forget, Kim Kardashian became Instagram famous & Insta-annoying at the same time.
Take heart though, some things remain classic… or timeless. They aren’t defined by time or date, but have a visual or emotional element that bridges decades. Enter black & white photography. I’ll admit to not being very advanced in this genre (work in progress), but do acknowledge it’s a fascinating medium for a host of reasons. For starters, the removal of color is a game changer. It forces you to focus on the creative & design components of an image… light, shadows, shape, lines, texture, etc.
Personally, I tend to see things better in color and don’t have the ‘eye’ for seeing shades of grey (hence; I still look at the work of Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sebastiao Salgado and other legends to learn a thing or two).
Over the years though, I have found it rewarding and incredibly challenging to shoot in b&w and/or convert color images in Lightroom or Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 (formerly owned by Google and now a product of Dxo). The free software does a great job in rendering beautiful black & white renditions.
Army/Navy 2019 - Original
Army/Navy 2019 - Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 - Pinhole
A few short weeks ago, I had the privilege of photographing the Army/Navy football game in Philadelphia for Cadet Magazine. In the course of conversation with Editor Chris Pestel, he planted a seed. “Shoot the game not so much from a football angle, but a timeless point-of-view.” Hmmm… was my first thought. I always think of the pageantry and action on the field. He opened my eyes to a different perspective.
Army/Navy 2019 - Original
Beat Navy Tunnel - West Point, NY - Original
Army/Navy 2019 - Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 - Push Process
Beat Navy Tunnel - West Point, NY - Lightroom
Army football has been around for over 100 years. Players will come & go and certain elements remain constant… canons, long grey line, formations, chants, etc. Capturing a timeless moment is challenging at best, but certainly a bit easier via black & white film or digital images.
So, without further commentary, here are a few more images trying to capture a timeless moment or two.
Michie Stadium - West Point, NY - Lightroom
Army Navy Game - Philadelphia, PA 2017 - Nik Silfer Efex Pro 2
West Point, NY - WWII Fly Over - Lightroom
Army Navy Game - Philadelphia, PA 2017 - Lightroom