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Editor’s Note

Hello, and welcome to a brand-new month at Digital Camera Warehouse! We're swapping colour for contrast as we dive into Black and White this month, and we're kicking things off with High Contrast & Deep Shadows,  a theme all about bold tones and dramatic light.

Our Pets competition wraps up this week, so get your last-minute pics in now. We can’t wait to sort through the entries and announce the winners in next week's Community Spotlight.

In the meantime, grab your camera and start shooting for this month's Black and White comp. We can't wait to see what you create!

Monthly photo competition

Week 1: High Contrast & Deep Shadows

In black and white photography, light and shadow do all the heavy lifting. Without colour to guide the viewer’s eye, success comes down to mastering high contrast, the bold dynamic between pure white highlights and deep, rich blacks. Hard light sources like direct sunlight, harsh shadows through window blinds, or striking backlit silhouettes suddenly become powerful tools rather than lighting hazards.

Converting your perspective to monochrome teaches you to spot raw tonal contrast in everyday scenes, turning lighting conditions that often ruin colour photos into breathtaking black and white compositions.

⚠️ Weekly prompts are just a guide — interpret them your way, as long as your shot captures the spirit of the month's theme.⁠

How to enter:

To participate, simply complete the submission form on our portal on our website. Make sure your entries align with this month's theme. For additional guidance, check the photographic tips below.

Prizes:

1st Prize: Pentax 17 HF 35mm Film Camera Valued at $699 RRP

2nd Prize: Ilford XP2 B&W Single Use 35mm Camera Valued at $34.95 RRP

Deadline:

All entries must be submitted by 31st August, 2026.

Make sure to read the FAQ on the competition page at the link below to understand all the details and rules of the competition.

We look forward to receiving your photos and celebrating your creativity

An interesting fact about the
Pentax 17 HF 35mm Film Camera

The Pentax 17 brings the simple joy back to film, with a clever half-frame design that gives you double the shots on a standard 35mm roll. Holding the camera naturally shoots vertical photos, perfect if you're used to smartphone framing. It’s built for hands-on shooting with manual zone focus, film advance, and dedicated dials for ISO and exposure control. Paired with a sharp, fixed 25mm lens (a versatile 37mm equivalent), it’s an effortless walkaround camera for capturing everyday moments in style.

DJI Osmo Pocket 4P Announced

DJI has just confirmed the global launch of the Osmo Pocket 4P, landing this week, including here in Australia. It's the first Pocket camera to feature a dual-lens system -  a 1-inch main sensor paired with a 60mm-equivalent telephoto offering 3x optical zoom - plus 4K video up to 240fps and an impressive 17 stops of dynamic range. A genuinely exciting upgrade for anyone shooting on the go!

Find out more at Digital Camera Warehouse!

High-contrast black-and-white photography is all about extremes — the interplay between brilliant highlights and inky shadows creates images with real visual punch. Nailing the technique takes a bit of practice, but these fundamentals will get you shooting dramatic, deep-shadow shots in no time.

Meter for the highlights:

Expose so your brightest areas retain detail, then let the shadows fall to near-black; this creates that punchy, graphic look without blowing out your whites.

Shoot in harsh midday light:

Unlike colour photography, strong overhead sun (usually avoided) creates the hard-edged shadows perfect for this style.

Use side lighting to reveal texture:
Light hitting your subject from the side rather than straight on exaggerates contrast and brings out surface detail beautifully.

Underexpose slightly in-camera:
Dialling down exposure by a stop or so before you shoot gives you deeper blacks to work with before you even open your editing software.

Ready to chase those deep shadows this month? A fast prime lens is a great place to start, letting in plenty of light while still delivering crisp detail in high-contrast scenes. Pair it with a polarising filter to cut glare and boost tonal separation, plus a sturdy tripod for pin-sharp results in trickier lighting. A reflector or small LED panel gives you control over fill light when shadows get too extreme, while a lens hood helps prevent stray flare. Don't forget a spare battery — chasing dramatic light often means longer sessions than planned!

NEED HELP? TALK TO AN EXPERT 1300 365 220

"Black and white are the colours of photography. To me they symbolise the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected."  
- Robert Frank

Your photo question of the week:

When shooting a high-contrast black and white scene with deep shadows, which metering mode gives you the most control over retaining highlight detail?

A) Matrix/Evaluative metering

B) Centre-weighted metering

C) Spot metering

D) Average metering

Last Week's Answer:

Last week we posed a tricky one, and the answer is in! B) Shutter Speed: 1/1000 second, Aperture: f/2.8, ISO: 100 — nice work to everyone who got it right.

That fast shutter speed is the key here: it's what freezes motion sharply, while the wide aperture lets in enough light to keep ISO nice and low for clean, noise-free results.

Let's face it. Not all of us are professionals, and even still, pros still need to learn a thing or two about photography or cinematography. That's why we've put together this section. We want to highlight some of the common and not-so-common questions people face when attempting a particular genre.

I love the look of high-contrast black and white shots, but mine always come out looking flat and grey. What am I doing wrong?

Flat results usually come down to exposure and post-processing. In-camera, try slightly underexposing to protect your highlights and let shadows sit darker. In editing, don't be afraid to push your black point and pull back your shadows curve - true high-contrast black and white often needs a firmer hand than colour work. Also check your lighting: soft, even light rarely produces deep shadows, so look for harsher, directional light sources, even if that means shooting at less "ideal" times like midday sun.

Reader’s gallery

Navigate to our reader’s gallery to see a selection of entries to help inspire your vision. You can also see the past winners there. Thank you to everyone who sent in their images. We love seeing them!

Sometimes, all we need is some visual motivation, like these images, to spark our creative thoughts. What will you create with your camera this week? Enter your images via our online portal, and we look forward to showcasing them.