Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/12/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Tina Manley SHOWED & SAID: Subject: [Leica] IMGS: Ruby, Color and B&W > Only one comment on the B&W Ruby so I'm posting the color one, too. Two > cameras, two lenses, two films: > > B&W: http://www.pbase.com/tinamanley/image/153623647 > > Color: http://www.pbase.com/tinamanley/image/153633093 > > Both M6's, one 35 Summilux with TMax 400, one Noctilux with Fuji Provia > 400. Hi Tina, And dear lady where we members missed out in creating wonderful dialogue with a picture situation as you've shown! A very powerful photo of the climate in the USA in some areas of life. I'm not claiming any whining reason why I didn't answer earlier.. it just happened when receiving close to over a hundred or more e-mails "PER DAY!" Whew.:-( In any event you've thrown down the gauntlet I feel. My comment! :-) The black & white is the power photo! WHY? Well quite simply, there isn't any colour to distract from this very unfortunate lady's living situation. You also have a larger scene enhancing the size of her day to day "bed location surroundings!" :-( Bloody shame really in a country as powerful and wealthy as the USA! Don't get twitchy folks we have similar situations right here in Canada. Unfortunately! :-( The colour image we can compare isn't as powerful as the B&W. It doesn't cover the same amount of lens coverage that adds to the impact. The B&W shows how large her area of living space is 24 hours day after day!! You look closer in B&W! Why? Well you see every tiny thing of each character in the photograph without one iota of colour distracting by each little colour. Sure it shows the colour effects, but the colours appear to clash with each other and take away the powerful visual effect of B&W! Actually I feel the colour "softens the visual power effect?" Certainly in this situation? Selecting an image for your project I'd be looking at shooting very nearly all B&W without a thought of colour! Just think about all the images from Viet Nam? Then think about which ones depicted the horrors of war and life day to day! The most memorable were in B&W! As is the case with this lady! I will go back to my quotation: "When you photograph people in colour. You photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in B&W. You photograph their souls!" What we see here is an absolute verification of that! I trust this gives you some solace as a comment? cheers, Dr. ted :-)