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Why B&W When You Have Colour?
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Apr 20, 2018 09:56:43   #
dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia
 
Harry0 wrote:
One thing to consider is your brain. I'm serious!
People can process a specific amount of information thru a particular sense.
The amount of data in color can sometimes wash out your ability to discern detail. Comics and cartoons are great at using this. So do the special effects in many action movies. And that "vivid" mode will help disguise the lack of sharpness.
Take another look at the two examples. At first glance, the B&W one is sharper.
There was an old hippy thing about mixing B&W shapes in the mobile above baby cribs for this.
Plus I too "grew up" on B&W, when ISO 100 was a "fast" film. There were kits and plans for turning a closet into a darkroom- simple process, simple chemicals, fast results. There's something special about a slow chemical reaction of a long, small aperture shot that we don't yet get with digital.
So put that camera in B&W mode, and notice how much you need to focus better.
One thing to consider is your brain. I'm serious! ... (show quote)


A great example of mixed use of B&W and color is Schindler's List and the little girl's red coat. Of course this has been done to death since then.



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Apr 20, 2018 09:57:10   #
Feiertag Loc: British Columbia, Canada
 
Enough already. I got the message. I've taken my rose coloured glasses off!

Cheers.

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Apr 20, 2018 09:59:54   #
Raz Theo Loc: Music City
 
Feiertag wrote:
Colour is natural and alive. B&W photos are flat and dull to my eyes. To each their own but what is the attraction to B&W? Just curious.

Harold

You suggest color is natural but perhaps half of our existence is spent in equally naturally dark, gray, cloudy, solemn, wet, dreary, overcast environments. Even mother nature concedes that color is at times inappropriate, even unnatural. Capturing that essence is equally challenging.

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Apr 20, 2018 10:02:07   #
philo Loc: philo, ca
 
it depends abound the subject. I love both and i'm happy that we have a choice. I convert about 10% of my images to black and white. to me they are completely different and I love both of them. be glad you can do what you want and if you don't like bw then don't do it.


(Download)



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Apr 20, 2018 10:02:29   #
double g Loc: Oklahoma
 
I like the drama that B&W can add to an image. Almost everything I post on my photo FB page is B&W. B&W can also save an otherwise good image when the color isn't working quite right.
Gg

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Apr 20, 2018 10:04:42   #
Guyserman Loc: Benton, AR
 
tdekany wrote:
Can I also assume that when you shot wild life, you rarely go below F22? Because in real life, we don’t see “bokeh”.



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Apr 20, 2018 10:04:43   #
macthemac Loc: texas
 
Ansel Adams said it best: B&W symbolize the Hope and Despair that mankind is eternally subject to

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Apr 20, 2018 10:05:00   #
rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA
 
boberic wrote:
I think that ultimately "looking real and natural" is what this whole thing is about. One must first understand that NO photograph is either real or natural. A picture, any picture, is merely a reminder of what the "artist" saw. An important school of art is impressionist. It is a representation of what the artist "saw". It is neither real or natural but a Monet is among the most expensive things on the planet. The sky does not look the way Van Gogh painted it, but that's how he saw it. So person A's preference may be different than personB, but neither is wrong, or right.
I think that ultimately "looking real and nat... (show quote)

My pictures are always intended to convey the truth that I saw. 'On this date, this was the context and appearance of this train station' or 'comparing these pictures shows changes over time'
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-416539-1.html

I use B&W when color might implicitly lie. For example, some years ago I photographed a repurposed station which was all white - probably the original color - except the front was chartreuse; I photographed it in B&W because a passerby told me the owner was having a dispute with the city, and this ugly color was his way of "fighting city hall".

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Apr 20, 2018 10:13:35   #
mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey
 
jeryh wrote:
I used to work as a stringer for a lifestyle mag. I was told when I started that what I had to remember that I was employed to sell a dream;
colour boy, and lots of it !

In the context of a lifestyle magazine, absolutely.

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Apr 20, 2018 10:14:08   #
Feiertag Loc: British Columbia, Canada
 
Raz Theo wrote:
You suggest color is natural but perhaps half of our existence is spent in equally naturally dark, gray, cloudy, solemn, wet, dreary, overcast environments. Even mother nature concedes that color is at times inappropriate, even unnatural. Capturing that essence is equally challenging.


That is the reason I own a Nikon D5 to take care of the issues such as the ones you have mentioned (naturally dark, gray, cloudy, solemn, wet, dreary, overcast environments).
B^) Cheers.

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Apr 20, 2018 10:14:26   #
old poet
 
Here's another reason for B&W. I was just selected to be the featured photographer for the upcoming edition of a small literary journal of short stories and photography called Moonshine Review which only prints black and white, no money, just an honor.

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Apr 20, 2018 10:15:44   #
Raz Theo Loc: Music City
 
Linda From Maine wrote:
In the few moments I was collecting these photos, the thread has devolved into snarky comments and silliness. It could have been valuable and interesting for newbies and intermediate alike. Typical UHH these days?

Lamiaceae explained the best, so far, IMO: It is a different Art form, a different experience. ...It can emphasize different elements of an image, such as contrast, texture, tone.

#1 - photographed specifically for black and white - the story is not the color

#2 - a "let's see how this looks in blue tones/b&w" a week after I shot. Don't compare with a color version; does it stand on its own?

#3 - shot specifically for b&w, overexposed and pp'd to create a simple, graphical look
In the few moments I was collecting these photos, ... (show quote)

All three shots prove your point but #2 and #3 are sensational, certainly an argument for the coexistence of both expressions.
Thank you for these.

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Apr 20, 2018 10:17:04   #
garygrafic Loc: South Florida
 
You are all missing the point.......B&W or color?......it depends on the subject. Would the great photo of the flag raising on Iwo Jima be better in color? Would the work of Gene Smith be better in color? My opinion, no. Birds, flowers, color yes.

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Apr 20, 2018 10:17:18   #
macthemac Loc: texas
 
color misses the point



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Apr 20, 2018 10:17:45   #
Feiertag Loc: British Columbia, Canada
 
Les Brown wrote:
Here's another reason for B&W. I was just selected to be the featured photographer for the upcoming edition of a small literary journal of short stories and photography called Moonshine Review which only prints black and white, no money, just an honor.


Good for you. I am being featured in the June edition of the Downhome Magazine because of my colourful Atlantic Puffins. Isn't life grand?

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