Travertine Wall

Travertine Wall. Fuji X100. 23mm. ISO 200. 1/100 sec at f/5.6. Copyright Joanne Mason 2012.

This wall is from the Getty Center in Los Angeles and is (as most of the Getty Center) of travertine marble. The image represents several distinct (and distinctive) textures. This image has already been posted (in color) as part of the Getty series, but while working on a portfolio, and working on my black and white processing, I thought it would work better in black and white. I like the way this came out. The image has been enhanced to heighten the detail, a blue filter and selenium toning applied.

Working on black and white processing, I’ve come across a great book on black and white photography by Michael Freeman, who is rapidly becoming one of my “go to” guys among photography book writers. The Complete Guide to Black and White Digital Photography was published in the UK by ILEX Press in 2010, in the US by Lark Books. Like most of Fredeman’s books, the book is exceedingly comprehensive and covers the subject in great depth while still being eminently readable. I suppose this qualifies for a What I’m Reading post – I’ll try to do a complete review of the book. I’m finding it very stimulating and instructive.