Welcome back to another week of photography!

While the calendar says we’ve made it to spring, the weather and the landscape haven’t really come around to the idea just yet. Here in South Dakota the birds have returned, (but I still haven’t managed my cardinal picture), the weather has teased a few days of warmer temperatures, (but we’re now expecting snow again by the middle of the week), and the trees are still frustratingly bare (but there are a few brave early buds out there).

This week while you wait for things to warm up and springtime color to catch up with the calendar, I want you to try your hand at black & white landscape photography.

By removing the “distraction” of color, black & white photography opens up a new way of looking at the landscape. Instead of seeing green trees, blue skies, and yellow flowers, when you shoot in black & white, (or for black & white, if you plan to convert color images to black & white later), you can focus on the contrast between light & dark, the shapes and contours in your subject

Your challenge this week, should you choose to accept it, is to get outside and create a landscape image in black & white. Broad & sweeping or close & intimate, either way is fine. Just get outside and try to see the landscape around you with your photographer’s eye.