Friday, May 11, 2012

The appeal of black and white photography

art photographyIn the mid 1800s painters making a living out of portraiture experimented with photography. Photography to them was a new method where they could re-use their skills in image composition. The camera was held on a stand and the artist could exactly compose and focus the image under a black cloth to prevent reflexions.

Maybe the lack of colour forces the mind to evaluate the graphic composition of the image.

The only situation in life where we see in black and white is at dark or in poorly lit situations like in a well. Therefore subconsciously black and white may be associated with fear or unease.

Black and white gives an image a unique level of abstraction. Your eye never runs independently of your mind. A smooth shading in the levels of grey is quite suggestive in expressing volume or even temperature. In yesteryears of chemical darkrooms the operator would mask some parts of the negative to give more time for some rich graduation to appear in the highlighted areas.

A black and white portrait has always more stature than the same image in color. Yet again the portrait of a young person is more attractive in color unless you focus on the plight of the poor the orphan or the sick. A black and white portrait of a woman makes you to focus on her stare as the makeup has a lesser impact. Looking into someone's eyes is a gateway into gazing into their soul. Black and white portraits have this uncanny effect.

The removal of color in a still-life or a nature scene has a dramatic impact. The top of trees quickly turns into a silhouette. A grey sky heralds rain or worse thunderstorm even if the picture was taken on a good sunny day. Still objects tussle with one another through forms and degrees of contrast.

Photography has the ability to suspend existence out of time but this is even more so in black and white. It is just recently that newspapers print in color. Photo journalism has produced a long tradition of celebrities and leaders providing instant recollection of their faces precisely because those images are stored in our memory in black and white.

See Photo Exhibition - people for some fine illustrations.

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