Paul Politis, black and white photography. 2007. Web.

Why Black and White Photography is Still Relevant

Ever dreamed about what it would be like to take travel photographs professionally? For most of us, going to exotic destinations and capturing our experiences on film is something we only wish we could spend more time doing. But for Charlie Hatch-Barnwell, it’s how he makes his living. Here he shares a photo essay of breath-taking black and white images taken in Indonesia…

I’m starting my journey into long exposure Black and White Photography and have been reading your page for awhile now. It’s inspiring as is your work. Thank you for everything.

Thanks Doyle, I agree with you that neither color or B&W need to be defended. But in this day and age of full color digital photography people need to be informed why there is an alternative in black and white, and that it isn’t an anachronism, but as you put it: an alternative. PS: from a technical point of view, color is an addition (through use of the Color Filter Array) and black and white is what the photo sensor can record without the addition of a CFA.
Joel

Paul Politis Black and White Photography | Free Essay Example

Our team shoots color for all our photography work here at the National Air and Space Museum. But on occasion I come across a subject that jumps out and begs to be processed as a black and white. The engine and propeller of the Boeing 247-D aircraft is an example of something that struck me this way. On another occasion I found myself in a black and white mood while taking a tour of our Paul E. Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland, last year that resulted in a photo essay. This tire photo is one of the images from that experience.

Modern digital cameras allow you to shoot in monochrome and instantly see them in black and white. While that is the easiest method of taking black and white photography today, it is not the most effective. Monochrome mode gives you a basic greyscale photo of the subject. But with today’s technology and post processing controls in programs like Photoshop and Lightroom, shooting in monochrome would be akin to shooting and processing black and white film and not exposing for shadow and processing for highlights. The great photographer Ansel Adams used a zone system to create his magical black and white images, expanding the latitude of black and white film beyond a basic grey scale. I can only imagine how he would have loved today’s technology and equipment. What one can do with post-processing software to create dramatic black and whites is the subject of numerous blogs on the web. Just as there were many ways to expose and process film that yielded different results, there are numerous ways to get black and white images from digital. You need to experiment.

The decision to make photographs in black and white or color is an individual creative choice. One is not “better” than the other. Most of my photographs are made with color in mind because there are stories I feel can only be told in color. However, when you learn to see your world without color, you stretch your creative muscles and push yourself further along the artistic path.

I find that shooting black and white photography is all about focusing on the basics—tones of grey, quality of light, contrast, composition and texture. While these basics are important to the impact of a color photography as well, they are the essence of black and white.

Is Black and White Photography a Gimmick

Thanks for reading, Paul. Adams’ development of the Zone System certainly was a game changers in the world of Black and White photography. Thanks again. I appreciate your comment.

Black-and-White Photography—Lessons from Helen Levitts Spider Girl

Early in my career as a Navy photographer, I shot both color and black and white film, depending on my assignments. I began to notice that I approached a subject differently depending on the type of film I was shooting. When I shot in black and white, I would visualize my subject and the composition in shades of grey. It was like I had a monochrome filter over my eyes. I saw my subjects in their purest form.

One of my greatest passions is black and white photography

While the film is in color, sometimes it appears to be in black and white. There are no bright colors in the film. Most of the colors are either browns, beiges, whites, blacks, and grays, so that even when the characters are outside or in daylight, there are contrasts between lights and darks. For example, at the beginning Mr. Gettes is seated in a somewhat dark office, yet he is wearing an all-white suit. Later, when he goes to examine the dried up river bed, his black suit contrasts with the bright sunlight and light colored sand.

Not Today Zine including black and white photography and illustration

Why am I am drawn to black and white photography? Perhaps because, unlike memory, black and white photos evoke a sense of reliability. They are conduits of the past, concrete objects one can return to for a sense of security that what one perceives or remembers is real and true. All this, that is, before subjecting the photographic object to the added powers of narrative, of story.

On Black & White Photography & a Memory