Black & white photography in a color world.. (Page 7): Amen to that. Amen whether digital or analog. Amen whether today or someday. Acoarst, the analog photographer must choose the...

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jackm1943 wrote:

I think that most good digital photographers
today know when they push the shutter whether
the final result will be color or b/w, regardless of
how it was captured.

Amen to that.

Amen whether digital or analog.
Amen whether today or someday.

Acoarst, the analog photographer
must choose the appropriate film
holder, or body, in the moment.

.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

One thing I have not yet seen mentioned is the archival permanence of black and white silver-based images when printed on fiber paper. We were taught in class that properly developed and fixed black and white on fiber had an estimated life of 400 years with proper mounting and subsequent care. For resin coated paper, life was estimated at well under 100 years for b&w and on the order of 50 years for color, neither of which was considered archival. (We were not allowed to use RC paper...I think there had been an incident in the print dryer. That restriction was later removed.)

I'm not sure that color prints have ever been considered archival.

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larryepage wrote:

One thing I have not yet seen mentioned is the arc... (show quote)

Well, by the nature of the query per the OP,
it was not mentioned cuz it's of no concern
within the thread.

Acoarst you can re-re-re-re-re-re-raise the
archival issue in a new thread, easily worth
about 12 pages ;-)

.

DaveyDitzer Loc: Western PA

[quote=sxrich]For me, it can or may emphasize emotion, mood more. Black and white is a good choice when the color in a photo serves only as a distraction from the message you want the image to convey. I like B&W very much. I'm also in my 60's so nostalgia may have impact on me personally. Look at the works of Ansel Adams and his zone system. Here is an image of a 2 hr. old baby with mother.
Your first image of the mother and baby reminds of the photo essay "The Family of Man" which is still a fascinating set of images to me - all B/W. It is a good tutorial in composition telling a compelling story.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

User ID wrote:

Well, by the nature of the query per the OP,
it was not mentioned cuz it's of no concern
within the thread.

Acoarst you can re-re-re-re-re-re-raise the
archival issue in a new thread, easily worth
about 12 pages ;-)

.

Would say that it was of considerable importance to those artists seeking to create long-lasting works of art and significantly influenced and increased the volume of b&w work compared to color.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

rmalarz wrote:

Bill, you make a point. However, if one looks at t... (show quote)

When viewing war pictures from that period, you need to consider why they were taken influenced the color or black and white decision. If they were by military photographers for the military, they were mostly in B&W because processing and turnaround were faster thereby meeting military requirements. If they were for newspapers, most papers at that time were only printing the front page in color if any. Also, newspapers depended on minimum time between clicking the shutter and going to press and B&W was much faster in every respect. Remember, we had mainly B&W slow analog facsimile machines at that time to transmit photos from the war front to the newsroom. Most, but not all, of the color photographs were taken for magazines or other purposes where color had commercial or other value.

That is not to say the B&W was not often chosen for its aesthetic effect, but there were many other reasons for B&W back then that are no longer need to influence the choice of one over the other.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

19photo30 wrote:

COLOR, COLOR, COLOR! My eyes see in color! I think that most B&W pictures are dull, flat. Most B&W enthusiasts come across as pretentious. 'if you don't think this is super good, then you just don't understand ART." Just like the people that call spatters of paint "ART"

Are you talking about digital B&W being dull and flat? Or are you talking about film photos viewed on a computer screen? Have you seen many original prints by the great B&W film photographers? They are not dull and flat.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

Bipod wrote:

And how many of those iconic images were taken in large format?

Landscapes? Probably a lot. But most of the classic B&W images in the street/documentary/photojournalism genres were shot with 35mm.

canadaboy

sxrich wrote:

For me, it can or may emphasize emotion, mood more... (show quote)

Does LR have a filter for getting rid of the shiny skin in your BW effort?

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Remember what Marshall McLuhan, said. The Medium is the Message. Color is cool and B&W is hot.

afka_bob

19photo30 wrote:

COLOR, COLOR, COLOR! My eyes see in color! I think that most B&W pictures are dull, flat. Most B&W enthusiasts come across as pretentious. 'if you don't think this is super good, then you just don't understand ART." Just like the people that call spatters of paint "ART"

You can say that, again! Oh, never mind!

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

SteveR wrote:

Remember what Marshall McLuhan, said. The Medium is the Message. Color is cool and B&W is hot.

Color is cool unless there is too much blue, then you need to warm it up a bit.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

I just got to love those who denigrate black and white photography because the world is color, color, color. Yet, charcoal, pen and ink, and pencil drawings have been around and appreciated and loved since it seems the beginning of forever.
When you go out at night with a bright moon far away from the "bright lights of the city", the scene is beautiful. And grayscale

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Rich1939 wrote:

I just got to love those who denigrate black and white photography because the world is color, color, color. Yet, charcoal, pen and ink, and pencil drawings have been around and appreciated and loved since it seems the beginning of forever.
When you go out at night with a bright moon far away from the "bright lights of the city", the scene is beautiful. And grayscale

To work within limitations is a wonderful thing. It helps focus the mind and forces you to utilize and develop skill and technique. This works whether the limitations are imposed by conditions (equipment, weather, cost) or by choice (like B&W, color, camera format). And many people love exploring what can be done within a limitation. It is a wonderful thing. But when one starts to think of a personal chosen limitation as a universal rule for others, they have lost their way.