Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Color is true to life, but a good B&W just has a "FEEL" to it.

Thank goodness for today's excellent conversion filters and apps. In the film days, I had two identical Miranda Sensorex SLRs, one with color neg or slide (usually slide) and the other with B&W. Now I just use a digital and make the image whatever I want in the editing software.

goofybruce

Couple of questions/observations/invitations to discuss:

Picture #7: Is that The Fist of God in the clouds?

Picture #24 Is the cat looking at the shadow coming for it? And, would the picture be as good if more of the top were cropped off? And, what if the cat wasn't there, would it have the same impact?

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

I thought about buying a monochrome camera, but decided not to because of the quality of conversion apps.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

The cat looking in the direction of the shadow grabbed my eye right off and I think the cat makes the picture. I like the picture as it is and I don’t think the picture would be as good croppped. Those are good questions.

bikinkawboy Loc: north central Missouri

Nice pix!

PhotoMono123 Loc: Houston, Texas

Thanks for the link. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at these lovely images.

Many people wonder why black & white photos "work." After all, over time we have worked hard to add color to photos and movies and TV and many other things. And now some folks are taking that color away.

On my own website (www.photomono.us), I use the tagline, "the other side of the rainbow." And I try to explain black and white photography this way —

With monochrome, an image is seen with an entirely different perspective, and color does not get in the way of an image's cynosure. When the color is removed from the photo, connecting to the emotion of the image becomes simpler and more direct.

More philosophically a black and white photograph is an abstraction. The image becomes more notional and conceptual. There is an elemental appeal in abstraction. It allows us to capture images without worrying about context or verisimilitude. And once in a while it is just plain fun to be different

I encourage everyone to go out once in a while with the purpose of taking monochrome photos. How do you look for a good black & white photo opportunity? Here are some quick guidelines: when lines, shapes and textures are more important than color; when there are clean whites and blacks and good contrast opportunities; or when color does not contribute to this image as a whole or make the image stronger.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

I’m glad you enjoyed it Don. Thank you for the comments.

Walkabout08

The Cartier-Bresson image was archetypal Bresson!

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

Thanks for the link! Loved the images, B&W at its best! Especially #1 and #9.

Stan

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Excellent photographs BECAUSE they are in black and white. Thank you.

Dennis

bikinkawboy Loc: north central Missouri

Color can make or break. Everyone thinks of a watermelon as being red on the inside. I’ve raised watermelons that were white, yellow or orange on the inside. One of those guys can be just as sweet but the color makes them unappetizing. Or like the time I was making waffles and added blue food coloring. It didn’t change the taste but the girls and I couldn’t eat them. And it’s known that colors can affect moods or emotions. We even describe emotions or moods in colors. A coward is yellow, green with envy, blue is cold or depressed, red is hot or angry , someone has a black heart and so on.

I remember our first color tv. The show “Grizzly Adams” was popular at that time but we never watched it on the old B&W tv. We got color and we watched it then. The plot hadn’t gotten any better but the green trees and blue mountain skies had us hooked.

Finn Man Loc: wisconsin

Very nice set of shots...K.A.N.

PhotoMono123 Loc: Houston, Texas

I am not sure exactly how to respond to this.

If I understand you correctly, everything takes a back seat to color. If the colors are pretty, if the blues are blue and the reds are red, then the image is a beauty. I cannot argue with you for what you like is what you like. We all have our own tastes and standards.

But for many of us, a photograph can go beyond color. The photographer often wants us to see and experience other aspects of the captured moment — things that, perhaps, have little or nothing to do with color. In these instances color often interferes with the primary focus of an image.

But monochrome also allows us to see an image from a different perspective, giving us a more direct line to the artist's intention of feeling and emotion. In other words, the very removal of color can generate intense interest and feeling. This is drama that color could otherwise overwhelm.

Or, to quote Joseph Eckert, "The prosaic can be made into something tremendously interesting, by changing it, in a sense, into something even more prosaic, something even simpler."

Look through these photos again. Do you see any photos that don't need color or perhaps ones where color would change their focus?

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

Are saying that color makes for a better photograph? If so I’ll have to dis agree.