Facebook Black and White Photography Challenge | Solway to Saltburn

As a north east professional photographer I like to keep my work fresh and I belong to many groups and forums to keep up to date and challenge myself. A York-based press photographer Mike Tipping recently challenged me to join in a Facebook five-day black and white challenge. The idea was to post a black and white photo every day for five days, and nominate other photographers to do the same.

I used a mix of photos I had on file and new ones. It was great fun to take part in and a good reminder of how powerful black and white photos can be. When you remove colour, you’re distilling images down to shape, form and contrast to tell the story and it was interesting to see such a wide variation of shots and what other photographers had done.

Day 1 – this was a photo I took in Portling, on the Solway coast during the worst snow in Scotland for 30 years.  I love the moody feel and the way the rock face is silhouetted against the sky, and how the black and white format really makes the dripping icicles stand out. 

Day 2 – I spotted a huge flock of Starlings feeding in a field between Marske and Recar, and when they flew off I jumped in my car and followed them until they landed at The Stray, a 2-mile long strip of grassland bordering the beach at Redcar. Shot against the light, you can see the amazing detail on the birds’ feathers, which I thought made up a visually very pleasing shot.

Day 3 – for my third day I chose a photo of a chap jumping in the air on Saltburn Pier. He is comedian Victoria Wood’s brother and a very colourful character who was in the town that day to promote the region, and was easy to work with. His straw bowler and pinstripes gave him a great ‘going yachting’ look, and the shot of him with his arms outstretched and mirroring the shape of the pier meant that several photos from this shoot appeared in the Middlesbrough Gazette. 

Day 4 – this was taken at the Stockton Light and Sound Festival in Thornaby, next to the University campus. I used a remote flash to photograph the performer using the firesticks, which also perfectly framed the couple snatching a kiss behind him. Black and white made for a very atmospheric feel to this night shoot.

Day 5 was one of my favourite shots, a picture taken in Preston Park showing Britains Got Talent motorbike and rider flying through the air. Shooting upwards gave me a plain white background and a perfect contrast between the rider and his disconnected bike. The two were reunited at ground level without any injuries, you will be pleased to hear.

I found the five-day black and white challenge very useful, and in turn I challenged my cousin Kevin Henderson in Scotland, Stu Bolton and Tom Banks from the Darlington-based Northern Echo, and Katie Lynn from the Middlesbrough Gazette. All of them produced some impressive shots, and contributed to a great challenge for professional photographers.

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