Don McCullin on the telly.

Thanks, must set the recorder :)
 
Thanks will also record
 
Thanks for the heads up, one of my icons.

GC
 
Enjoyed that. Think he prints a bit too dark though, and while some subjects suited Monochrome, some seemed to scream out for colour.
Thanks for the heads up.
 
Excellent program with fantastic personal insights into why photographs were taken. I see he has an exhibition at the tate Britain opening today - at £18 for non-members it might just be worth the trip :)
 
On the monochrome subject. Do you guys shoot in mono. or shoot colour and convert in PP?
 
Really enjoyed that...what an absolute legend the man is. His film work is just so beautiful. I like his digital B&W processing too mind!
 
Cockney said:
On the monochrome subject. Do you guys shoot in mono. or shoot colour and convert in PP?
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It makes sense to shoot in colour and then convert, since you have more choices regarding processing.
I have often used NIK Silver EFX for monochrome conversion, but recent versions of On1 and Topaz have some pretty good conversion software.
Recently I have made two or three conversions and then chosen my preference.
 
Brian G said:
It makes sense to shoot in colour and then convert, since you have more choices regarding processing.
I have often used NIK Silver EFX for monochrome conversion, but recent versions of On1 and Topaz have some pretty good conversion software.
Recently I have made two or three conversions and then chosen my preference.
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Yeah thats my logic but some people say that switching to mono before shooting makes you approach the shot differently.
 
Cockney said:
On the monochrome subject. Do you guys shoot in mono. or shoot colour and convert in PP?
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These days, I shoot in colour then convert if I think an image will work in mono. Having said that, I sometimes shoot with the intention of doing the conversion rather than just giving an image a different look.

Cockney said:
Yeah thats my logic but some people say that switching to mono before shooting makes you approach the shot differently.
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Used to shoot in mono but back then, I had to make the choice when I put the film in... ;)
 
I often shoot in monochrome at weddings, obviously it actually takes the picture in colour and I convert it later but I can see it in monochrome as I shoot. I think it can help see how the lights falls etc. Personal preference though and obviously only available with an EVF and digital. Great programme though, really enjoyed it.
 
Many digicams allow you to shoot raw and jpeg at the same time. You can set the jpegs to record as mono, but the raw files will always have the colour info contained in them. Possibly not a big deal compared with conversion, but it allows you to chimp the mono version at the time in case you want to make adjustments.
 
Peter B said:
Many digicams allow you to shoot raw and jpeg at the same time. You can set the jpegs to record as mono, but the raw files will always have the colour info contained in them. Possibly not a big deal compared with conversion, but it allows you to chimp the mono version at the time in case you want to make adjustments.
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With the Nikons and Fujis I've used you don't have to shoot raw and jpeg, just raw so long as the camera is set to B&W. The reviews are monochrome, the raws are raw.
 
Peter B said:
Many digicams allow you to shoot raw and jpeg at the same time. You can set the jpegs to record as mono, but the raw files will always have the colour info contained in them. Possibly not a big deal compared with conversion, but it allows you to chimp the mono version at the time in case you want to make adjustments.
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The problem is you are stuck with the cameras interpretation of the monochrome image, and how the built-in software handles the image conversion.
By converting later, you can experiment with the effects of filters and colour balance, but the "in camera" conversion will only allow a limited range of adjustment if it's applied to a jpeg.
I've usually preferred colour for everything, since that is how we normally view the world.
However, just recently I find myself increasingly processing for monochrome.
I take quite a few architectural images and I find this is one area where mono can be useful.
We are usually told to think in terms of shape and texture when shooting or processing mono, which holds true of architecture.
However, there is another benefit to mono processing.
I recently had an image that was shot directly into the sun, which rendered quite a large area of sky "clipped."
I could not make anything of it in colour, but converting to mono rendered the sky a lot less objectionable, to the degree that it was awarded third place in a recent club competition.
So I found that converting to mono was a way of rescuing an otherwise spoiled (colour) image.
 
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Thanks to Graham W for the heads up on this.
Just finished watching it and loved every minute. Shame it's just a one off.

Like a number of people here, loved the way he processed the black and white images. An amazing look.
 
Thanks for the link , Out of interest what is the camera Don was using at the end of the film , I can't recognise it ?
 
Yes that does look like the one , Thanks
 
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Like2Snap said:
Thanks to Graham W for the heads up on this.
Just finished watching it and loved every minute. Shame it's just a one off.

Like a number of people here, loved the way he processed the black and white images. An amazing look.
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I loved watching this as well; completely absorbed by it. I wondered what lens he paired with his Canon. It looked like one of the super fast primes . 50 or 85. Does anybody know?
 
Thanks for mentioning this. I watched it last night.

It did strike me that at no point was he talking about the gear except for when obviously prompted to explain something by the crew. I'm sure he has had to make decisions on gear many times, but he doesn't strike me as the type who would obsess over minute corner sharpness differences wide open or dxo marks for sensors. It's all about the moment and the composition.

It would do a lot of people good to remember this.
 
It's a bit of tangent from here, I know, but judging by Don McCullin's work what is important to him is the composition and the subject matter (and then the processing). So I just wonder how true it is that you need to be able to "see" in b&w to shoot successfully in b&w?
 
Craigus said:
Thanks for mentioning this. I watched it last night.

It did strike me that at no point was he talking about the gear except for when obviously prompted to explain something by the crew. I'm sure he has had to make decisions on gear many times, but he doesn't strike me as the type who would obsess over minute corner sharpness differences wide open or dxo marks for sensors. It's all about the moment and the composition.

It would do a lot of people good to remember this.
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I don’t obsess about gear; I was curious as it seemed to be the same lens on his Canon whenever he used it. It was also very interesting to note his use of film cameras in certain contexts.
 
Chipper said:
I don’t obsess about gear; I was curious as it seemed to be the same lens on his Canon whenever he used it. It was also very interesting to note his use of film cameras in certain contexts.
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Just for clarity my post wasn't aimed at anyone in particular. FWIW it seemed like a wide angle prime on the Canon? 24 or 35?
 
Ok. Well, the lenses you mention are quite long .. anyway, it doesn’t matter, just curious.
 
Missed it first time, but caught it on catch up.
Informative and cultural. A full range of emotions from tragedy in Brick Lane, to Hysterical weather in Eastbourne.
Crikey, even the wife sat and watched it.
 
I went to the Tate exhibition yesterday. It does make my photography feel a bit trivial! Tip - don't book a ticket for mid-day; I went straight in but the queue was horrendous when I left at 12.

It's de rigueur these days for people to be taking the occasional phone photos of favourite works (interestingly the sign on the way in didn't say 'no photography' but 'photography only for personal use' despite everything still being in copyright) but I did get a chuckle out of the guy who took a few snaps using a film Leica. I wonder if the end result feels like he was really in 60's Vietnam....
 
It’s all kicking off on Twitter about Mccullin. A photography lecturer from Brighton Uni - who appears to have a massive chip on his shoulder, but is entitled to his opinion nonetheless - has amongst other things derided McCullin as boring. He seems to be in the minority it has to be said.....
 
viewfromthenorth said:
It’s all kicking off on Twitter about Mccullin. A photography lecturer from Brighton Uni - who appears to have a massive chip on his shoulder, but is entitled to his opinion nonetheless - has amongst other things derided McCullin as boring. He seems to be in the minority it has to be said.....
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I'm sure his work could be described as classic documentary. It's just the quality of his work that I admired. I feel sorry for the dude if he finds that "boring".
 
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