Trying to Capture that Vibe
So, I got this idea stuck in my head the other day – trying to capture that Frank Ocean feel, you know? But visually. Specifically, using just black and white. Seemed simple enough at first.
I dusted off my old camera, nothing fancy, just a basic digital one I hadn’t touched in ages. Figured I’d just walk around, shoot stuff that felt… I don’t know, moody? Put on Blonde, then switched to Channel Orange, trying to get in the zone. Snapped pictures of shadows, empty streets, maybe some reflections in puddles after it rained. Typical stuff, really.
Got back home, dumped the photos onto my computer. Started messing with them in a simple editing program, just cranking the contrast, pulling out all the color. And honestly? It was kinda disappointing. The pictures were just… black and white photos. They didn’t really scream ‘Frank Ocean’ to me. They felt flat, missing that sort of layered, complex feeling his music has. It felt like trying to explain a dream using only yes or no answers.
Hitting a Wall
It got frustrating pretty quick. I tried different things:
- Shooting textures up close – peeling paint, rough concrete.
- Focusing on solitary figures, trying to get that lonely vibe.
- Even tried some long exposures at night, hoping for something ghostly.
But it mostly ended up looking generic. Like stock photos for ‘sadness’ or ‘urban decay’. It made me think, maybe trying to directly translate the sound into a look like this is just a fool’s errand. Music hits you in a different way, right? It’s got time, lyrics, melody – visuals are instant, static.
It’s harder than just stripping the color out. That black and white aesthetic people associate with certain moods, maybe even with artists like Frank, it’s not just the absence of color. It’s about the light, the composition, the subject itself carrying the weight. My random shots of benches and brick walls weren’t cutting it.
Shifting Gears (Sort Of)
I stopped trying to force it so much. Instead of thinking “make this look like Frank Ocean sounds”, I just focused on taking photos I liked, still sticking to black and white. Paid more attention to the light, less about finding ‘moody’ subjects. Some pictures started to feel a bit better, maybe captured a sliver of something interesting, but not necessarily that specific vibe I started with.
Ended up with a folder of decent black and white shots, I guess. Some are okay. But that initial goal? Capturing the Frank Ocean essence in black and white? Didn’t really nail it. It was more an exercise in realizing the limits of trying to directly copy the feel of one art form onto another. Maybe the connection is more personal, less something you can just create on demand with a camera setting. It was a decent way to spend an afternoon, anyway, even if it didn’t quite get there.
