Howzit, howzit to everyone! Hope you're having a great weekend

The Main Frame:

I've been thinking a lot lately about contrast—not just the technical kind we adjust with sliders in Lightroom, but the emotional kind that makes you stop and stare at a photograph.
​
You know that feeling when an image just grabs hold of you? That's what I want to talk about today.
​
About 10 years ago, I started to get back into black and white photography. Looking back on this work, I can see my shadows were gentle, my highlights were restrained, and everything felt... safe. It was technically competent, but emotionally flat. I mean, look... A lovely photo, but it doesn't have any 'weight'.
​
(also I'm not using enough ambient light so their pupils are super big...)

Recently, someone commented on my current work 'Oh, look, someone has discovered the contrast slider.
​
I wasn't sure how to respond to this (so I didn't, one never wins any arguments on the internet). However it did get me thinking about my current use of hard core contrast.
​
As often happens, I was chatting with another photographer and happened to mention Bill Brandt.
​
I pulled up some of Brandt's work on my screen—his nudes, his landscapes, those haunting portraits from the London Underground during the Blitz. What struck me wasn't just the dramatic contrast, but how purposeful it felt. Every deep shadow served the story. Every blown highlight drew your eye exactly where he wanted it.
​

The result in his work is that he uses shadow, negative space, and inky blacks to do two things.
​
Suggest the 'idea' of things. That silhouette is St. Paul's in London, but because it's only the outline, it can represent the city itself.
​
​

What would be more effective in the photo above - all the trees and detail of the hills across the loch, or a broody, mysterious, unexplored land?
​
The second is to provide not just visual contrast, but also emotional contrast.
​
The first photo of Brandt's that I saw was this portrait of Francis Bacon.

Aside from the cool ass composition (what do you mean you can have people almost falling out of the frame???!!!), I love the gritty contrast of the image.
​
​
I know very little about Mr Bacon, but this photo reveals a lot about what his personality could be like. There is an emotional contrast and a matching visual contrast that catches my eye.
​
Try it yourself, play with contrast, use inky shadows, be bold. And if someone tells you that you've discovered the contrast slider, say 'yes, I have, and it's made my work awesome :) '
​
​

Inspiring Me This Week:

Bill Brandt is a natural fit here, and if you've not seen his work, start here
​https://www.billbrandt.com/​
​
I've also been looking at some very cheap books I picked up on Amazon
​
​

I hadn't heard of Phillip Keel, but I bought this on a whim, as I said, it was six quid, so why not? There are copies still available​
​
Love the images, they are very painterly and indistinct, which is an awesome counterpoint to very sharp, crystal clear photos. It's nice to jump into these and let them wash over me.
​
​

​https://www.philippkeel.com/​

Over to You:

I'd love to hear from you about your experiences with contrast.
Have you ever 'dared' to go to extremes with your shadows?
​
Are there photographers you know of, like Brandt or Keel, who pull you into their images, not by being explicit, but by leaving details out?

Inside the Tribe:

Talking about thinking outside the box and exploring ideas, we recently tried something within the TPE Tribe as part of a June challenge. Experimenting with colour balance, using one of the great gifts of a camera — its ability to see light differently from us — and how that can completely change an image.
​
Here's a recap of the submissions
​

​

​
Some results from the challenge

Until next week, thanks so much for reading, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with when you explore ideas in your photography
​
Alex
​
​P.S. - If this resonated with you, I'd be incredibly grateful if you could share it with a photographer friend who might benefit from incorporating a bit more drama into their work. Sometimes, we all need permission to push further than we feel comfortable.