Sunday, September 4, 2011

Color Dilemma

I can't seem to make up my mind on the color vs B&W choice. It used to be much easier. In the old days, if you wanted black & white, you put a roll of Tri-X (or whatever) in the camera  and shot B&W. If you wanted color, you chose a color film. It was possible to get B&W prints from color negatives, but the results weren't necessarily pleasing. Forget about color from B&W film.

Now of course, the camera shoots in color, all the time, and you make a choice in processing. Sometimes the choice is easy, sometimes not. Is it really just a matter of taste, or are there some general guidelines that dictate when to use one or the other? In the previous post, I submitted two pics in color, but the more I play around with it, the more I like B&W. I've had the opposite experience, where I posted something in B&W and later changed my mind and reposted in color. Here I can't make up my mind, so I'm posting both. Help!


Painted Leaves B&W


Colonnade B&W

Update

I did a little searching around on the topic. Here's a photographer who posts side-by-side color/b&w versions and asks viewers to vote: 

Ferran Jordà Photography Photoblog

And here is Eric Kim, a street photographer, with his general guidelines and examples. I didn't always choose what he chose in the pictures posted. 

Black and White or Color in Street Photography: How Do You Make the Decision?

6 comments:

  1. I think they look great in B&W ... so I vote for B&W

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  2. Thanks Gerry, I think maybe sometimes I post too quickly after shooting, and I need to sit on the images a while before making a decision. Today the B&W seems more obviously a better choice. I also posted an update with some links on the subject...

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  3. Well... my feelings are that it's down to the artist. I like street-photography in B&W, but sometimes colour suits there too. Architecture always looks good in B&W, concentrating on textures of stone, glass and steel etc. I am not so sure about nature and wildlife. I think colour does this best... although, if your plant ot flower can be presented in an artistic way, then B&W works too. Portraits can look incredible in both.

    So.. my conclusion is that there is no answer to your question.

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  4. I'm afraid you are right, Bill, and yet you also included some general guidelines, which are helpful and I think valid. I may adopt the attitude of, "when in doubt, toss it out" (color, that is).

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  5. Hi, I am enjoying your photographs! I am not an expert, but they are interesting and draw me in....I like the leaves in B&W, but I like the columns in color -they are warmer and have more "depth". Anyway, just thought I would chime in....will keep stopping in from time to time. Do you take these while you are riding a bike in town? Take care, Lori L.

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  6. Thanks Lori! Your comments make sense - chime in any time! And I'm certainly not an expert either...

    I sometimes take the camera on bike rides, but it's not easy, walking is better. When I'm biking I am going too fast and I don't really like having the ride interrupted. But I do sometimes notice things that I make a mental note to return to on foot some day...

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