One evening I received an email from my friend Stacey Kane, it was short and to the point:"These are the best black and white conversions I have ever seen" followed by a link to Bohemian Art Photography.
I knew these had to be good because Stacey does not hand out praise willy nilly, she has a critical eye, and she LOVES black and white photography.
So I followed the link and spent the next hour (or so) looking at beautiful black and white images.
Just to give you a bit of how Bohemian Secret came to be, here is Sonia in her own words:
"Bohemian Secret has been created to share my love and passion for Black and White Photography. I have been asked so many times how do I do it, how do I achieve my BW images?
So as I sat one evening, a thought came to me and suddenly I realized that The Bohemian Secret was born. It was important to me to take time and create the space within me for the Secret to reveal itself. So I dived into a world of shades of grey and beyond, thinking about each and every aspect of what I do, how I live, and even who I am. I spent a few nights putting things together, not realizing what for, just following the inner feeling and at times it felt like the Secret had a life of its own."
There are a bunch of things I like about Bohemian Secret, here are just a few:
1. It comes with a 35 page pdf, walking you through the process of coming up with your stunning black and white images. You aren't just given some actions and left to struggle through on your own, trying to figure things out.
2. It's not just 1 (or a couple actions). Though you do have the option of creating a "click and done" black and white, but if you buy these secrets it's because you want the depth that is possible, and you want the details that is available in the shadows AND in the light.
3. Sonia challenges you to think, to think about the process and to think about what it is you are trying to achieve.
4. The accompanying pdf not only walks you through the possibilities of each of these actions, for every action, every step there are also sample before and after images to show you the possibilities. It is like Sonia is sitting next to you walking you step by step from beginning to end.
Here is a screen shot of just the Basic B&W actions:
While reading the pdf you also get a sense of her passion for photography, and it comes through that she cares about yours as well. She wants you to get the absolute most you can from using her actions.If you want to be challenged to think about light, if you want to paint with light and dark, if detail is important to you, then Bohemian Secret is for you.
And know that much of what you learn will carry over to all of your images, making you a better over all photographer.
It is not only the best thing you can do for your black and white photography, it is likely the least expensive as well, selling for only $55 I challenge anyone to show me this much quality for such an affordable price.
Two thumbs way up for Bohemian Secret.
