Grayscale Photography – Eric's Photography Blog

Clouds as a Subject

Eric Ahrendt February 27, 2026 No Comments

After a storm passes and the rain stops, I almost always head out to photograph clouds. Shooting black and white film with an orange or red filter on the camera produces dark skies and white clouds—an effect I like. In composing, I make the sky two-thirds or more of the picture because, to me, the clouds are the subject. These photos were all taken with my medium-format camera on Ilford FP4+ black-and-white film. This was taken in the late afternoon on the nearby campus of St. Mary’s College. The clouds aren’t the subject here—the statue of De La Salle is—but they add interest to the background. Clouds over Mt. Diablo. Taken from the Rim Trail above the Lafayette Reservoir. Many

Being Partly in Control

Eric Ahrendt February 15, 2026 No Comments

Professional portrait photographers control every aspect of a formal session, including location, background, light, pose, expression, clothes and more. I like the results they get, but I can’t do that when I photograph my granddaughters. It’s never an actual “portrait session” anyway; more of a half-minute opportunity to grab a shot before they move on. Still, I’ve learned to control at least a couple of important elements, which I think of as being partly in control. Even that helps get a better result. When I know I want to grab a photo of one or both of them, I quickly look for possible backgrounds and the best available light. I take an exposure reading and set aperture and shutter speed

Always Something on the Embarcadero

Eric Ahrendt December 1, 2025 No Comments

There are many areas in San Francisco that are always good for photography—the Mission, the Castro, Union Square, etc.—but for a combination of scenery and a range of activities, the Embarcadero is the best. I go there often and proceed to simply walk up and down, starting at the Ferry Building, and always find good subjects and compositions. When I went about a week ago, it was just after a rainstorm. The huge cumulus clouds that trailed the storm were over the Bay Bridge, making for a dramatic black-and-white subject. I stayed in the same spot for a while, watching as time and the breeze changed the cloud formations. Walking north from the Ferry Building, I came across this new

Film Likes Light

Eric Ahrendt October 23, 2025 No Comments

I read that piece of advice several times when I recently went back to shooting film. It’s true—when a subject is strongly lit, it’s easier to produce a black-and-white print with good contrast and details. So I’m attracted to subjects that are bright, especially if they’re surrounded by a darker background. Leaving Livermore last week, I passed by this Queen Anne Victorian , the Gordon House, that I liked to photograph when I lived in Livermore a decade ago. It’s a photogenic architectural subject because, unlike a lot of architecture, it stands alone, without other buildings around it to clutter the frame. Plus, that day, the sun was shining brightly and the house, which is a tan color, was almost

France on Film

Eric Ahrendt September 28, 2025 No Comments

On a recent trip to France, I took my film camera and two lenses, a 35mm and a 50mm. That’s it. I bought some slow-speed, high-resolution black and white film in Paris and used that on the trip. I did also use my phone for some snapshots in color, but photographed all the scenes I thought had promise with the film camera. I shot a total of eight rolls, or about 250 photos over the 16-day trip. That’s not a lot; if I’d been shooting digital, I’m sure the total would have been much higher. Here are some favorites. I’m including many more photos than I usually do in a post, but they were all taken on the same trip,

Rewards of Getting Out

Eric Ahrendt August 29, 2025 No Comments

I’ve gone to Lovers Point Park in Pacific Grove with my camera many times. It’s a photogenic spot with waves breaking on complex rock formations, a small swimming beach, surfers, and a lawn with twisted trees. Even if I don’t come across any unusual subjects, it’s worth a visit. This past visit, though, I did come across an unusual subject—a super-fit gymnast practicing handstands on an apparatus. I saw him from above a small walkway that overlooks the beach, and immediately saw the potential he and his shadow represented. As I got my camera out, he did a handstand and a split while maintaining perfect balance. I missed that moment, but quickly focused and took one shot, then another. I

Three “Portraits”

Eric Ahrendt August 16, 2025 No Comments

All three of these are portraits, more or less. The first is an environmental portrait of a fellow photographer at the seashore in Pacific Grove. Clearly a portrait, but he’s relatively small in the frame. This was taken with my medium-format film camera. This is a street portrait of two women selling cosmetics at an outdoor market in Jack London Square. Nice smiles—and I didn’t ask them not to smile, as I often do. Taken with my 35mm film camera. Here’s a portrait of, well, not a person, but a statue. The contrast between the white statue and the dark background was so good, I wanted to capture it on film. My personal preference is for environmental portraits; I’m not

R-Evolution Statue at Night

Eric Ahrendt July 28, 2025 No Comments

More than once, I’ve photographed the R-Evolution statue on the Embarcadero in front of the Ferry Building during the day. It’s a striking work of public art. I read that it’s illuminated at night, so I went into San Francisco on Saturday night well before nightfall to see what it looks like after dark. I took this photo just after 8 p.m (as you can see from the Ferry Building clock), which was about a half-hour before sunset. As the sky got darker, around 8:30, the colored lights shining on the statue became visible. The lights in the Ferry Building also came on. At 8:45, we were deeper into the blue hour, and the colors on the statue were more