DUSTIN DURHAM
PHOTOGRAPHY
Black & White

Reflection
I have always loved black and white photography. So much so, that I used the artform as the focal point of my senior project in high school. Be that as it may, what I learned during this weeks assignment is that I would rather look at black and white photos, as apposed to capturing them. I had a hard time envisioning what my images would look like in black and white as I composed my shots. By the end of the assignment, I found myself searching for more and more subjects to capture despite having over two hundred images to choose from. I had an abundance of quality images that I felt would look amazing in black and white. Yet, this wasn't the case at all, In fact, most of the images that I felt weren't good photo's in general, were the ones that turned out the best. In my experience this week, the most crucial aspect of composing a good black and white photo was the lighting. More specifically, I found under-exposed images to be the easiest to work with when altering the RGB levels in each photo to achieve the desired effect I was searching for. In conclusion, I was happy with the outcome of my photos this week in regard to my top 10, but I can't say I enjoyed the process.
Two Best Photos
I had to ask my sister-in-law for help this week in choosing my two best photos because I struggled with deciding on just two. Ultimately I decided on the two images above. The first one I composed using a sheet of scrapbooking paper, a calligraphy pen, and a small flashlight. I shot this composition from multiple angles using different exposures by just simply adjusting the aperture. In the end I thought the under-exposed, low-key adjusted image looked the best. The second image I chose was that of my dog, Arlo. He was asleep by the back door, so I laid down next to him, and right as he woke I took the shot. He didn't seem to mind the camera in his face at all. When I was done, apparently I had made a deal with him I didn't know about because he went and set directly by his cookie jars.
Two Not-So-Good Photos
The two not-so-good photos I chose this week are more so based on the fact that they didn't turn out the way I had envisioned they would. The pine needles drooping down in front of the decrepit architecture of the Seaside Sanitarium just didn't turn out as alluring as I thought it would. In regards to the fire hydrant, I just feel like the angle I chose wasn't as appealing to me as it was at the time of the shot. This could just be a reflection of two images that don't look as good in black and white as they do in color.