Colour or Black & White? Yes!
“Colour Is Everything. Black and white is more.”
- Dominic Rouse, English Photographer
“To see in color is a delight for the eye,
but to see in black and white is a delight for
the soul.”
- Andri Cauldwell, American Photographer
“The most colorful thing in the world is black
and white.
It contains all colors and at the same time
excludes all.”
- Vikrmn, 10
Alone
“Color is descriptive. Black and white is
interpretative.”
- Elliott Erwitt, American Photographer
Recently, I’ve
been playing around with black and white photography. Or, more precisely, I’ve
been recording photos in colour and then switching them to black and white in
iPhoto or Photoshop. People who are cleverer than I refer to the resulting images
as monochromatic photography.
I’ve been
trying to figure out why one photo looks more dynamic in colour, while another
looks more dyanmic in black and white. There used to be a pervasive assumption
among the self-congratulatory crowd that colour photography was inherently vulgar,
while black and white photography was, by definition, more refined and nuanced.
To me, it sounded like radio journalists harrumphing about the
arrival of television in the 1950s.
The texts I’ve
read refer to the importance of light, form, texture, and subject when determining
which photos are better suited for colour and which are better for black and
white. And it comes down to – wait for it – the tastes of the individual photographer
or viewer. Alas, there is no app or algorithm that can decide for you. So, as
with so many other things in life, I’m left with my educated instincts.
As a little
experiment, I chose a selection of colour images and rendered them in black and
white. Below, you’ll find them posted together, the top in colour
and the bottom in black and white, with my brief notes indicating which version
I prefer.
What do you
think? Which version works better for you? Or perhaps I’m framing the question
as a false binary. As society, we are becoming more comfortable with fluid gender
identities. (Question: male or female? Answer: yes.) Perhaps when we ask which
is better for a particular photo, colour or black and white, our best answer
can be: yes!
I invite you to look at the following pairs of photos and decide for
yourself. Enjoy!
Doll on Main Street, Warkworth. My preference: colour.
Limestone wall, Queen's University, Kingston. My preference: colour.
CityTV outdoor studio, Toronto. My preference: colour.
Gate on Hay Bay Road. My preference: yes!
Clouds, St. Joseph, Minnesota. My preference: colour.
Frozen hostas, Belleville. My preference: colour.
Barn and field, Casey Road, Tyendinaga Township. My preference: B&W.
Barn, Casey Road, Tyendinaga Township. My preference: B&W.
Barn, Casey Road, Tyendinaga Township. My preference: colour.
Orangutan hand, Bowmanville Zoo. My preference: colour.
Tett Centre reflection, Kingston. My preference: B&W.
Manure spreader, Spring Brook Road. My preference: yes!
Way pointer, Point Petre. My preference: colour.
Anchor, Picton Harbour. My preference: yes!
Texter in fog, Victoria Harbour in Belleville. My preference: yes!
VIA Station, Belleville, in snow. My preference: yes!
VIA Station and ghost figure, Belleville, in snow. My preference: yes!
