I have great respect for black and white photography. Some of the greatest photographs ever made were on black and white film, and some of the ones I love most.
But the debate is over. Color has won. Millions of color photographs are made every day (think of all those cell-phone users snapping away) and a very, very, almost vanishingly small percent of photos are in black and white.
I shot a lot of black and white film back in the day. It was cheaper than color
and I could process it myself with simple equipment and chemicals,
which made it even cheaper. But digital imaging changed all that. Color was no longer expensive to shoot -- it was free! Once you had your camera and a memory card or two you could snap away to your hearts content with no further drain on your bank account.
So I no longer shot in black and white. I came to consider color the essence of my photography. And yet. . .
Sourwood Lane in black and white. . .there's a black and white photograph locked inside every digital color image, just waiting to be let out. And its beauty may surprise you. This is just a quickie Photoshop conversion from the Sourwood Lane color file, yet it has a loveliness all its own.
Most digital cameras can be set to make both a black and white jpeg and a color RAW file at the same time. So it's win-win either way. If you have a little experience with Photoshop you can easily make a black and white from any file without losing the original.
Try it. You may like it. In fact, you may find that you've added a whole new dimension to your photography.
If you like my photographs, you can see more of them in my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/ Looking is free, and, who knows? You might find something you want to keep.
The second edition of my book, Backroads and Byways of Georgia will be released in June, 2023.
Photographs and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.
I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.
I understand what you are saying here but I will stick with my goto imagery in black&white. I, like you, have been involved in photography for over 50 years both as an amateur and paid amatuer. I was first drawn to b&w when I saw Ansel Adams landscapes but it was the subject matter (street/documentary) of Cartier-Breeson that really sparked a desire in me.
ReplyDeleteThe photographers who have most influenced me are Fritz Henle, Tony King, Elliott Erwitt, Robert Doisneau, and Richard W. Brown. Of the five, only Brown works predominantly in color.
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