Allow me to begin this post with an admission. As I write this, I toy with two black plastic cylinders, each housing a roll of undeveloped film: one Ilford HP5 black & white, and one Kodak Portra 400 color. This past couple of weeks has been such a whirlwind of deadlines that I haven't found the time to travel to The Color House to have them processed and scanned.
I will note, though, that the transition to color film was one I found very liberating. I struggled to find interesting compositions I knew would work in black and white because I'd taught myself photography by only imagining the world in color. When I traveled and shot with a digital camera, I reserved the option to convert an image to black & white in post-processing if the colors present didn't add anything to the picture, so consciously shooting in pure black and white proved to be a challenge for me.
Admission aside, I'd like to tell you about a compositional tool I've found quite useful and attractive lately for street photography: silhouettes. Shooting a shaded figure in front of a bright background means that if the background is to be correctly exposed, the figure will be rendered in black, as a shape suggestive of a person, but lacking visible qualities that'd enable a viewer to learn too much about the person or identify who they are. This creates a sense of mystery and darkness that can make an image stand out if used correctly, particularly in black and white.
So, because I have no new, developed film work, I humbly offer you a few images featuring silhouettes that I shot on digital and converted to black and white in post.
The first image was captured almost accidentally. That night, I'd lugged my digital camera to a small backyard concert a friend of mine was performing at. Disappointingly, though, light was sparse and uneven at the event, with the only available light coming from a string of fairy lights placed behind the band. I noticed some guys sitting at the edge of the roof above, though, and despite the fact that they were obviously there to watch the band perform, I saw them looking at me, watching as I snapped the photograph. This made me feel uneasy for some reason, as being watched has always brought me anxiety. This image, I feel, conveys or evokes the feeling of being watched from afar by distant, faceless figures.
I took the second photograph on the gorgeous University of Amsterdam campus after a day of classes. Since the start of my trip there, I'd been drawn to the little bridge that connected the bike lot to one of the class buildings, but hadn't found a way to capture it in a way that I liked until I took this shot. I love the way the man's body is framed by the buildings and trees in the background, and how this makes him stand out against the white, clouded sky. When I see this picture, I want to know more about who the figure is, where he's headed, and what's in his briefcase. It isn't the best picture I've taken, but it still provokes curiosity and creates the feeling of mystery I absolutely love in street photography.