M10 Black & White

[MikeMyers]

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I was thinking that the 'jpg' might give me a useful idea of what the scene might look like in B&W, as in whether colors blend together, but one of my goals is to just shoot, no "chimping".  

11 hours ago, Jeff S said:

The hard part is figuring out when, where and to what degree to apply those techniques, i.e.,vision,  judgment and decision making.

Accomplishing that last point takes time, and if it is constantly interrupted by using different films, different cameras, different lenses, etc., it's even more difficult.  My goal has always been to visualize what I want, and then to try to accomplish it with whatever camera gear I am using.  Doing this with a camera like an M3 is easier - there are three controls, plus where and how I aim the camera.  By comparison, my M10 has many times more controls, and my typical Nikon DSLR has many times more than the M10.  (Perhaps that is one of the reasons why I enjoy the M3 so much...?)

As I see it, none of this happens in a vacuum, or from reading books or web sites, or watching videos.  For me, it only really happens by DOING, and evaluating if whatever I did was effective, and if not, changing how I do things.  That's where those books and forums and videos are most useful to me, giving me an opportunity to think about things I might never have known about for years, if left on my own.  .....so in short, I agree with what you wrote, but I need to "do it" more, to learn and improve.

[Jeff S]

Nothing substitutes for experience, whether learning techniques or developing a visual style.  Looking at others’ work (including paintings) in galleries, museums, shows, workshops (with feedback), books, etc has also proved invaluable in developing my own ‘eye’. That process began for me in the 60’s, and continues. The tools (gear, software and display materials) are just the means to the end and can be learned relatively more easily through experience and assisted by instructional resources, which are readily available in many forms.  In the end, though, there is no substitute for having a good eye, whether shooting, editing or for display.

Jeff