Abandoned in Black & White

I’m still a learner when it comes to taking and processing photographs. Black and white is still a bit of mystery. Some photographs suit a monochromatic treatment better than others. Other photographs which are disappointing in colour develop a new life in black and white.

Abandoned Barn, Catlins, Southland, New Zealand

I love old buildings as subjects to photograph. The light on this one caught my eye as we rounded a corner on the gravel road between the Purakaunui Falls and Jack’s Blowhole. Long grass, bleached and warped weatherboards, lifting corrugated iron roof and leaning power pole bereft of power line added to the interest.

I was delighted to have discovered the building. However, when I got to see the resulting image I was disappointed. As an experiment I changed the image to black and white and adjusted it for the balance of tones. The resulting image scrubs up pretty nicely in my view, but that’s just my view. What do you think? Remember though, I’m just new at this stuff.