Q&A: SQUARE MEALS by Eric Johnson

MEG member Eric Johnson shares some insights into his latest series, Square Meals, as well as some tips for producing outstanding black-and-white photographs. Square Meals is on view at Multiple Exposures Gallery through May 6, 2013.

Is it true that a photograph of a waffle shop led to your latest show, Square Meals? I had walked by the Waffle Shop on many occasions, and planned how I wanted to photograph it in my mind long before I actually took my camera there to make the exposure.  What I was hoping for was early morning twilight, with the lights inside the building balancing the light on the façade, and a sliver of dark sky at the top to balance the

(c) Eric Johnson

well-worn asphalt street.  But on the morning that I went to finally realize this vision, I found that the Waffle Shop was closed.  Permanently.  After over 50 years in that location, they had closed the week before to make way for a planned redevelopment of the block.

While I was still able to capture a different image of the now-closed Waffle Shop, the experience made me think how we sometimes assume that just because a place has been around for a long time, it will always be there in the future.   That is obviously not the case for buildings in a dynamic, urban environment and that realization led me to begin a project that documents similar restaurants and small markets in the various stages of their lifecycles.
 

(c) Eric Johnson

The images often evoke a feeling of nostalgia in individuals when they see them. Did you intend to make a statement about loss? The locations depicted in this body of work vary in their current uses – some have been in continuous daily use for years, some have been adapted to other purposes, and some have been demolished to make way for revitalized neighborhoods.  Despite this disparity, all have retained their unique character that sets them apart from the increasing homogenization of the contemporary landscape.  However, these images are not intended to be an indictment of the inevitable progression of the urban landscape, but rather an acknowledgment of the transitory nature of these everyday places.

The series is a beautiful example of the power of black-and-white photography.   Where did you learn your B&W skills? I started out in photography shooting and processing black and white film.  I did my own developing and darkroom work, and by doing so I developed my love of the medium and an appreciation for the challenges of creating strong images of a world rendered in shades of gray.  Now, when I’m out photographing I can look at a scene and visualize how I want it to look in black and white.  I look for compositions where the colors are not really an essential part of the image; instead I’m more focused on lines, form, light, and shadow to build the image.  

(c) Eric Johnson

What do you think differentiates a great B&W print from merely a good one?
Assuming a strong composition and interesting light, I think that one of the things that differentiates a great black and white print from an average print is that the tonal range and contrast must be appropriate to the subject.  It is particularly important to preserve detail at the extreme ends of the tonal range, particularly in the shadow areas, where it is easy to lose detail if the exposure is not optimized at capture.   I pay a lot of attention to the histograms on both the initial capture and while processing the image on the computer, so I can ensure that there is adequate detail in both the highlight and shadow areas.

Do you have any advice for someone interested in developing their digital black-and-white photography skills?  I think that someone who is new to black and white should first try to get a feel for what a great black and white image looks like.  Pick up a book with high quality reproductions of photographs by, for instance, George Tice, Brett Weston, or Ansel Adams.  Or look at a copy of Lenswork magazine, which publishes several portfolios of exquisite black and white photography each month.  Take note of how the photographers handle lighting, tone, and contrast, and also the types of subject matter that are amenable to rendering in black and white.
After you have an idea of what type of image you are aiming for in terms of tonal range and contrast, experiment with some of the many software applications of plug-ins that enable conversion of black and white images to color.  Entire books have been written on the topic of converting black and white digital images to color, but you don’t need to have that type of encyclopedic knowledge to begin.  Instead of trying every different conversion technique, I would recommend focusing on one method until you are proficient and feel comfortable with the results.