Weekly Poll: Color or Black & White

[Teewinot]

I am often very moved by certain black and white shots, but if I really had to choose, there's no way I could give up color. Color is reality and so important in many of my favorite subjects: sunrise/sunset, flowers, mountains, etc. I would simply melt if I were forced to shoot a mountain sunrise in black and white...

[wulf]

Given an either / or choice, I would have to opt for colour. I am all for limitations as being a boost to creativity but, as others have noted, there are too many subjects where the play of colours is as integral to the picture as the light, shade and revealed structure.

FWIW, I strongly suspect that the likes of Mr Adams and Mr Cartier-Bresson would have created some wonderful colour pictures if they could have got their hands on colour pictures and the tools of the digital darkroom. I am trying to recall if I have seen any colour shots by either of them but the technology was much more limited when they were in their prime.

Wulf

[arh326]

I voted for color simply for the limitaions that B&W has....i do have a very warm spot in my heart for Sepia...that might of had a better chance with me...

[Richard]

I prefer color for almost any subject. For me b/w is more of a fallback option if you are taking family photos and the various members' clothing colors clash horribly. Terrible color coordination can look stylish in b/w! (Bound to happen with a sufficiently large extended family.)

Part of my choice is that current digital cameras capture color data even if you have it set to record black and white (assuming a raw capture!).

I might change my mind if some manufacturer produced a camera with a b/w only sensor that had much more resolution (and no bayer mask on the sensor). That would cause me to think real hard about how much I really like color.... but I don't expect to see the market cause such a thing to be created.

[jdepould]

Originally Posted by wulf

FWIW, I strongly suspect that the likes of Mr Adams and Mr Cartier-Bresson would have created some wonderful colour pictures if they could have got their hands on colour pictures and the tools of the digital darkroom. I am trying to recall if I have seen any colour shots by either of them but the technology was much more limited when they were in their prime.

Wulf

Excellent point, I'm not sure if you're familiar with Joel Meyerowitz, but he does some absolutely stunning color work with an old 8x10 view camera, his style sort of bridges the gap between Adams and Cartier-Bresson with the f/90-focus-here-to-infinity sharpness and journalistic/street feeling. His 9/11 collection is . . . well it's impossible to describe, and to hear him talk about it is an amazing experience. He shoots a Leica on occassion also, and those shots tend toward Cartier-Bresson, but the colors . . . the colors! The shot that springs immediately to the front of my mind is sunset at ground zero with a bright red crane truck in the foreground catching very warm light from the sun, it's enough to bring tears to your eyes.

[matthewchj]

I always shoot in colour. Somehow I find that colour brings out more detail and contrast in my pictures. Of course, colour makes the pictures much more vibrant.

[ryan s]

Originally Posted by Nicole

Last week we had an overwhelming number of people who preferred zoom lenses to primes.

Heyyyyy now

I haven't looked at the results yet, but by the responses it looks like color is the way to go. Without it, that last sentence would have been plain printing on the screen.

While B+W pics have their times and moments, I would miss the vibrancy and variation of color.

[Saralonde]

Originally Posted by wulf

FWIW, I strongly suspect that the likes of Mr Adams and Mr Cartier-Bresson would have created some wonderful colour pictures if they could have got their hands on colour pictures and the tools of the digital darkroom. I am trying to recall if I have seen any colour shots by either of them but the technology was much more limited when they were in their prime.

Wulf

Ansel Adams did do color images, stunning ones at that.

[velvet4269]

It's a tough choice, but I'm going to have to stick with color. There's so much brilliance in the world, and I'm fortunate to be able to see it.

That said, there's definitely something to be said for the mood & emotions evoked by some B&W photos.

[wulf]

Originally Posted by Saralonde

Ansel Adams did do color images, stunning ones at that.

Fantastic - thanks for the link.

I feel all educated now...

Wulf