Why Black & White photgraphy: Recently there was a discussion of the value of black and white photography in a world of color. It does seem like an anachronism. I found these and felt...

WAL

Recently there was a discussion of the value of black and white photography in a world of color. It does seem like an anachronism. I found these and felt it answered the question.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Portraits-of-Animals/8336895

busted_shutter

Brings a dramatic element to the photo, that at times is simply not there with color. Alfred Hitchcock had the opportunity to produce "Psycho" in color, but refused to. Why? Dramatic effect. Considered to be of the best horror films out there.

Miriam

In other words, if you want horror choose black and white, eh?

PalePictures Loc: Traveling

Excellent Low key photos with a unique style.
I fear this thread will be moved to the links section.
That's usually what happens when you have a link in the opening comment.

busted_shutter

Miriam wrote:

In other words, if you want horror choose black and white, eh?

:thumbup: :-D

Giugly01 Loc: Woodstock, NY

WAL wrote:

Recently there was a discussion of the value of black and white photography in a world of color. It does seem like an anachronism. I found these and felt it answered the question.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Portraits-of-Animals/8336895

Value!? Either you like it or you don't. Either a client asks for it or they don't.

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

It was only a few years ago (to us older folk) that ALL newspaper photographs were in B&W.What is so fascinating about colour photographs.?

RichardQ Loc: Colorado

WAL wrote:

Recently there was a discussion of the value of black and white photography in a world of color. It does seem like an anachronism. I found these and felt it answered the question.

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Portraits-of-Animals/8336895

I'm out of the game now, but when I was actively shooting I preferred black/white because I felt I was in control of my subject, but with color I felt the subject was controlling me by virtue of interfering with composition and exposure. A small red object in the wrong place distracted from the main theme, for example. This was long before the advent of Photoshop and other digital wizardry, of course, and there are obvious subjects that cry out for color. I still treasure my b/w negative files, and the Ansel Adams Foundation seems to be doing fine marketing his 70-plus year old b/w prints for thousands of dollars.

RichardQ Loc: Colorado

My comments above pertaining to my preference for black/white over color were admittedly personal and emotional, but there are technical reasons as well for exercising caution in choosing color. The durability of b/w negatives is well established, with many still pristine after 100 years or more, and they can be printed with any of the current digital methods. Color negatives and transparencies, on the other hand, have not held up well even in their relatively short life on the market. Of course, digital technology eliminates the color negative in favor of electronic storage. We all know how reliable computers can be, so the danger of a hard drive crash should be considered by the digital photographer. Then there is the problem of rapidly changing programs which result in photo (actually data) files becoming inaccessible in future computers 20 or 40 years from now. I hope that doesn't happen, but it has happened with computer files compiled only 20 years ago.

Giugly01 Loc: Woodstock, NY

RichardQ wrote:

My comments above pertaining to my preference for ... (show quote)

When it comes to archival photos I think there will always be a way to convert the files of today to whatever format will be developed in the future. Think of the art of Weston and Adams. There are masters of this day as well and their work will have to be preserved.

RichardQ Loc: Colorado

Giugly01 wrote:

When it comes to archival photos I think there will always be a way to convert the files of today to whatever format will be developed in the future. Think of the art of Weston and Adams. There are masters of this day as well and their work will have to be preserved.

As I noted in my post, the negatives of the past, whether photographs of the masters or of family snapshooters, are not a problem for future computer digitization, regardless of the evolving software.

The problem is with digital photos of today which have only a digital file based on today's software. There is no guarantee that such software will be compatible with the future software several generations down the pike. If you shoot b/w film today, and use ordinary care in washing and storing the negatives, they will be accessible for digitization 100 years from now if anybody is interested. Today's color films, however, are less reliable, and the digital color shots are equally unreliable because of the relatively short software life, in my opinion, and the apparent unwillingness of software developers to coordinate their programs for compatibility.

Giugly01 Loc: Woodstock, NY

RichardQ wrote:

As I noted in my post, the negatives of the past, ... (show quote)

I don't get ya...

RichardQ Loc: Colorado

Giugly01 wrote:

I don't get ya...

The original post asked "Why black and white photography?" I answered with several reasons but not everybody will agree with me, I guess. I certainly don't agree with the opening comment that because the world is in color, black and white photography is an "anachronism."

Giugly01 Loc: Woodstock, NY

RichardQ wrote:

The original post asked "Why black and white photography?" I answered with several reasons but not everybody will agree with me, I guess. I certainly don't agree with the opening comment that because the world is in color, black and white photography is an "anachronism."

Absolutely! If anything, because we are inundated with color the contrast of monochrome lends a new way of seeing. And, I also agree that preference prevails. If you don't like bw then why ask? If you like it, as I do, then enjoy it. If your clients are asking for it then best to bolster your bottom line by learning it. Its all relative.

Giugly01 Loc: Woodstock, NY

RichardQ wrote:

The original post asked "Why black and white photography?" I answered with several reasons but not everybody will agree with me, I guess. I certainly don't agree with the opening comment that because the world is in color, black and white photography is an "anachronism."

And, I wasn't thorough with my point about present and future compatibility. Film can be scanned into digital. Anything in digital form today, in JPEG or instance, will be available through conversion into what ever form or format evolves in the future.