The Life of Piers a study in black and white — carole poustie

Three piers I often frequent are the Queenscliff pier, the Point Lonsdale pier and the little pier at Barwon Heads at the mouth of the river. Over the years I've gathered significant memories on these piers. I wanted to create a collection of photographs that reflected the way piers can be like a character in a story. How they witness events and people, weather and seasons—how quickly their moods change in response.

To create affect—to pique interest—the final images in this series are presented in black and white.

But first, a touch of colour.

a moment

a boy in brown

baggy shorts

fishes

off the barnacle-clad pier

aglow

in crepuscular sun

Carole Poustie

My process

When studying some of the influential black and white photographers such as Lee Jeffries and Ansel Adams earlier this year, the idea of creating my own B&W series began to take hold. I have always been drawn to the selective use of colour in B&W photography to create a focal point. With that in mind, in keeping with the subjects in my photographs, I've edited the images to both utilise tonal range and selective use of colour.

I used this tutorial to give me some ideas for editing in the style of Ansel Adams.

Testing out ideas

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