Big Bend in Black and White

On my winter/spring 2024 trip to Big Bend I decided to keep one camera dedicated to black and white.  Normally for me that would mean toting the 4x5 large format camera and using a box of film.  However, with a forecast of clear skies and already having all of my astrophotography gear going, I didn't really have room for a big backpack of large format equipment.

So I dedicated my oldest digital camera to a single lens and set it up to shoot black and white jpeg images.  The lens I took was the cheapest lens you can buy.  A $55 TTArtisan 25mm f/2 manual focus lens.  Being a big fan of manual focus, I knew that wouldn't be a problem.  I had seen a couple of interesting reviews on this lens and knew it might be a good choice for black and white photos.  Then if there were times I thought monochrome might work, I could grab a few photos with that camera.

I normally think in color.  Big sunset, twilight colors, autumn leaves, etc.  Monochrome would be a good exercise, especially in the middle of the day. Ansel Adams may have had that natural knack for black and white but it can be a struggle to see and anticipate it for me.

That is where the digital camera really helps.  By setting the camera to black and white, I could look at the back or through the eyepiece and see if anything looked promising.  One of those really neat yet often unheralded features.  

BTW (for the camera geeks) I set the camera to do a RAW +JPEG capture.  The JPEG would be black and white.  The RAW would still have all the color info and I could use it as color or convert to monochrome in Lightroom.  My old Sony NEX6 did so well with the JPEG files I never used the RAW files.

In my week in the park I toted it around on various hikes and had it tucked in my pack just in case.  I actually ended up making a few hundred images with it.  After getting home I found many that worked so I thought they might make a good post.  

The desert is amazing in color at twilight but in the middle of the day the bright, harsh light can actually make some great lighting for black and white. There the play of light and shadow and texture can really work.  Even in the shadowy depths of Santa Elena Canyon the right and canyon walls worked well (top image).  Or the light on the river with the Sierra Ponce Wall in shadow (image 2).  

Luckily, I kept finding photos that could work.  While, I normally think in straight landscape and avoid signs of people, in monochrome I even found a few possibilities that would work with a vaquero riding along the river or a curve in the road.

This was a fun little exercise over the week I was there. I got some images I really liked and was impressed with how even my 12 year old camera with the cheapest lens you can buy really did great.