Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2012/12/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I have the identical view on color vs. black and white. I read a while back that one should think of one's favorite photographs and then notice whether they're in black and white or color. In the article I read, the writer or the person being interviewed -- whatever -- said it would almost always turn out that one's favorite photographs are in black and white. I get, as it were, the picture, and I still can't come out in favor of one over the other. Who has ever left a museum thinking that, Well, those oil paintings were indeed masterpieces, but they'd have looked a lot better in black and white? Perhaps as Photoshop allows us to gain more control over color, we'll begin to accept that masterpieces can also be in color. Some people seem to have made up their minds. I just never could pick a favorite because apples and oranges always seem to become a part of the issue. Who would insist that all Tina's photographs of Guatemala should be shown only in black and white? Not I. A few years ago I spent considerable time scouring the Internet for Leica photographs, and if I saw color, I'd immediately click to another site. I don't do that now. When thinking of Kertesz, Cartier-Bresson, W. Eugene Smith, and, more recently, Axelsson, it's hard to imagine that their photographs would be anything but diminished in color. On the other hand there are photographers such as one of my favorites, Thomas Nebbia, whose work I've seen only in color (and only in National Geographic), and I can't imagine how removing the color, even in such a way as to make them into stellar black and white photographs, would do anything but diminish them. -----Original Message----- From: Tina Manley Sent: Monday, December 10, 2012 4:59 PM To: MUGers at yahoogroups.com ; lug ; paw ; seephoto ; Olympus Camera Discussion Subject: [Leica] Color vs B&W PESO: I am always torn between the two. To me, color is such a part of the people of Guatemala that it is almost a sacrilege to eliminate their color. Not so at all in Honduras or some other countries I've been to. I took 10 times as many color photos in Guatemala as in Honduras. In this case, somebody on the MUG suggested this photo is more of a character study in B&W. I aree that it's more of a character study, but which is more true documentation? Is it ok to remove their color when it is so important to them? I really don't know. http://www.pbase.com/tinamanley/image/147801312 or http://www.pbase.com/tinamanley/image/147801737 Opinions would be grealy appreciated. Tina -- Tina Manley, ASMP www.tinamanley.com _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information