Why Mono? [A Discussion with Creatives on Black and White]
I came across this short film by Callum Preston today via photographer Nicole Reed which I thought might make an interesting discussion starter here on dPS.
It’s titled ‘Why Mono?’ and it is a discussion with five Australian creatives from a range of fields on the relevance of black and white in their fields. The film features two photographers – Nicole Reed and Steve Goulay as well as an Art Collector, Street Artist, Interior Architect.
Why Mono? A discussion with creatives. from Callum Preston on Vimeo.
Do you shoot in Black and White? If so what appeals to you about it? If not – why not?
Would love to hear your thoughts!
33 Responses to “Why Mono? [A Discussion with Creatives on Black and White]” - Add Yours
September 2nd, 2012 at 8:13 am
I am primarily a black and white fine art photographer. I shoot black and white for two reasons;
1. It’s classic, and will always speak to a very basic bit of our humanity. It’s ingrained in the English language–”It’s right there in black and white!” has come to mean factual. Counter intuitively, black and white images convey facts. They convey the hardness of reality, whether it’s the dense billows of storm clouds over the Sierra, or the clean edges of granite, or the grit and dirt of urban decay. It can also convey the soft textures of a child’s face, or the petals of a flower, without the distractions of color.
2. On a more pragmatic level, it strips away a level of complexity in post processing. You don’t have to worry about getting color accurate on the print.
My tuppence on the matter.
Edie Howe
September 2nd, 2012 at 10:15 am
Some of us grew up in a world where black and white ruled.
Perhaps we learned to see in shades of grey. Perhaps we feel comfortable in its familiarity. Perhaps liking black and white is a matter of nostalgia.
But maybe some stories are best told in balck an white.
http://constantphotographer.blogspot.com/2012/07/black-and-white-photography.html
September 2nd, 2012 at 11:33 am
When I open my eyes each day I do not see black and white but amazing color and thats why I shoot color.
September 2nd, 2012 at 6:07 pm
I still remember the Box Brownie days and was brought up on black and white. I love color and experimenting but sometimes black and white still just feels right
http://wildlifeencounters.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Southern-England-scenes/G0000.xAeTcT_pgs/I0000J3dGtXoJ7No
September 2nd, 2012 at 7:40 pm
Well, black and white photographs capture emotions more than a colored one.
And no distractions
http://raghavendra-mobilephotography.blogspot.com/2012/03/kids-feeding-goat.html
September 2nd, 2012 at 9:34 pm
B/W puts me in a wonderful frame of mind that color could never capture.
September 2nd, 2012 at 9:47 pm
I rarely produce black & white images because the world is so full of color and I try to make photographs that come close to what I saw with my eyes at the time (which is why I also carefully use HDR as well as color). Sometimes a nice foggy scene or winter scene is more or less colorless and renders well in black & white, but in my opinion most photographs look better in color.
I think black & white is overused by many photographers, especially some landscape scenes. I’ve yet to see a black & white photograph of Mesa Arch, Zion or Yellowstone that looks better in gray tones than color. The world just doesn’t look like that.
In the video (from what I could understand of it with such poor audio) one street artist, Rone-Everfresh, stated that “black and white has always been around.” Well, I think the vast majority and perhaps all artists used color prior to photography coming along. Early photography was almost exclusively black and white because of the limitations of technology. In Ansel Adams case he wanted to manipulate his photographs in the darkroom and black and white was the medium that allowed him to do it. If Adams could have done the same darkroom work with color film I’ll bet he would have made more color photographs.
Carl
September 3rd, 2012 at 12:15 am
I love black and white images and process a lot of my images into black&whites or monochrome. For me they are more special than color, because we see in color all the time. And even though I love colors of course, I do appreciate the calmness and peacefulness of monochrome, it has probably to do with me being high-sensitive. I think that people pay more attention to texture, light and composition in black&white images because there are no colors that take all the attention away.
September 3rd, 2012 at 4:00 am
monochrome photographs are dramatic because they are elemental and minimalistic, without color that can get in the way of the message …
… which makes this video ironic, because it has that annoying and pointless background music over which I strain to understand what the people are saying …
September 3rd, 2012 at 4:53 am
The beginning of 2010 I made a conscious decision to shoot nothing but B&W for a year. I a former photojournalist and we did nothing but B&W for the newspaper. So it has always been kind of a natural form for me. Since I made my decision two years ago I have extended it and 98% of my work now is B&W unless a client wants color. I find B&W much more expressive, interesting, and creative.
September 3rd, 2012 at 7:22 am
I think a black and white image is like an outline in a coloring book, it allows the viewer to “fill in” their own color.
The photographer may also “fill in” their own color on a B&W.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lendog64/7816857306/
September 3rd, 2012 at 11:12 am
I have to agree with bobbyv here. I always shoot color, but frequently will develop a shot as mono because it enhances the picture. However, the very annoying and pointless background music and otherwise poor audio quality (not to mention we non-Australians can’t understand the dialog) makes this entire bit unlistenable. I would really like to hear the interviews done so I could understand them. Very interesting video, however.
September 3rd, 2012 at 7:12 pm
I found this video really interesting as I have found myself shooting more and more black and white over the last year or so. In fact most of the favourite images that spring to mind of mine and other photographers seem to be monochrome. Perhaps it’s because of their immediacy and impact, there’s no hiding in a black and white image, I also find them to be more raw and emotive. Some of my black and white images can be seen here: http://www.millycolley.com/gallery/fashion/
September 4th, 2012 at 1:58 am
Like Rusty Sterling, I made a decision to use B&W film exclusively. For me, 2012 is a year of learning, to visualize in B&W, and work with B&W contrast filters. In 2011, I bought a 3 pack of B&W film (Kodak BW400CN) to photograph the final Space Shuttle landing; in using the remaining film, I found that B&W has a classic, timeless look.
I wish that I could get traditional B&W film developed locally, but I have to send it out of state, which takes about a week for turnaround. I primarily use C-41 B&W film since I can get it developed locally in an hour turnaround.
Occaisionally, I’ll regret my decision when I see a pastel sunrise. My wife is tolerant of my decision to shoot 2012 in B&W; one of our friends, Bert, refuses to look at any photograph that’s not in color. I will continue to use B&W film in 2013, but color film will also be used.
September 4th, 2012 at 2:55 am
I love black and white. I love color. There are particular instances where color makes the photo. There are others where removing the color makes the photo. I don’t really know how to best convey my opinion other than to say that I get feel for certain images that dictates whether they should be color or not.
I must stress that this isn’t an across the board thing. Like Instagram filters, black and white is not some kind of fix all. A bad image is still a bad image and a good image can be made bad by post processing. In other words, don’t screw up a great color image by converting it to a boring black and white and don’t miss a strong black and white in favor of a bland color image.
Also, I think we should discuss the issue of good audio in videos while we’re talking. This video really needed better audio for the interviews. These days, decent audio is neither hard nor expensive, but it takes effort. Also, despite the popular misconception, adding music over (I guess it is meant to be behind?) people talking doesn’t do anything to improve the audio and usually ruins it and the video.
September 4th, 2012 at 9:07 am
I love black and white and I do shoot mostly in B&W. I personally think that you as the viewer aren’t distracted by the colors, but are totally focused on the subject.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72525943@N05/7421170566/in/photostream
September 4th, 2012 at 10:37 pm
one other reason to shoot in monochrome, as I realized, is that it tends to mask the noise that is created in high-ISO conditions
September 5th, 2012 at 6:19 am
I still use b/w in my film cameras. Just finished a roll of Fuji b/w iso 400 today.
September 5th, 2012 at 11:33 pm
I agree Matt E. and Rosa. I believe both color and black&white images have its place. The treatment of the image one way or the other helps me to show the story I want to have in the image. I agree, the world is full of color, I see it around me. But sometimes, I do not want to tell the story of color. Sometimes the light and shadow are more important. Or I want viewer to pay attention to the texture or a shape, rather then its bright color. Especially if the two colors are not contrasty, my subject might get lost. In those situation, I go black and white. I also think black and white is perfect for street photography, where bright clothing or cars or window displays draw to much attention to themselves.
At the same time, if I see beautiful color of landscape or flower, or any other interesting color contrast, I want to show it in my color image.
That’s why I shoot and post-process both.
September 7th, 2012 at 2:10 am
I just made a post about this topic
http://pb-photo.blogspot.com/2012/09/baby-in-black-and-white.html
For me, sometimes color can be a distraction. A baby for instance, even though the skin is usually perfect, at times they can be blotchy and red. I feel that can take away from what is a beautiful baby. So I choose to remove the distraction in certain cases.
That said. Most of my photography is in vivid color. I do prefer it.
September 7th, 2012 at 2:25 am
been taking picture throughout my life.
not sure if i’m trained to see in greyscale , but majority of my photography is in BW.
for me, its everything a picture should be.
Emotions, Drama, personality, excitement all are amplified when looking at the shoot in BW, it give the viewer the freedom to fill in and intrigue the brain way more.
saying that, Colors are great, needed and i cannot disregard that as a medium.
in Film days, the film selection itself of BW. iso, textures and vendors dictated a lot, and was a vessel to produce unique images, also maybe im a bit of an old school but in my eyes , BW come strait after looking at the light of the scene.
Great article , aparently modern video in BW also works
latest shoots are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zilberbergd/sets/72157631400848050/ hope you’ll enjoy.
dz
September 7th, 2012 at 2:40 am
Very interested in this diverse look at B&W. Too bad the sound so awful, I could barely hear the words.
September 7th, 2012 at 3:49 am
Great idea. We are so saturated with color these days in our everyday lives. We often overlook the simple linear and shapes beauty of every day life which are so wonderfully captured in black and white.
September 7th, 2012 at 3:53 am
I like B&W for a very different reason. I’m partially color blind. Either I trust the camera to get the colors right, or have to ask some for help. I do love color and find many things beautiful in color. I just have to imagine how much more it would be if I could see it as it truly is. But, you have to drive the car that you brought to the race.
September 7th, 2012 at 8:38 am
I like that my mind fills in the missing colors. Black and white un-clutters and simplifies the moment.
September 7th, 2012 at 9:05 am
B&W is timeless. I have photos of the Empire State Building that could be from 30 years ago or 30 days ago, you just don’t get that with color.
September 7th, 2012 at 2:18 pm
I started taking photos in 1953 with “C” model Box Brownie given to me for my 13th birthday. The only option I had those days was black and white photography, and although today we have cameras that capture all of these marvelous colours and in HDR, I still find myself drawn back to black and white. I have heard it said that if you want a photo of the persons clothes, then take your photo in colour, but if you want a photo of the person, then take the photo in black and white. I tend to believe this.
P.S. “colours is not a spelling error, that is the way we spell it in Australia.
September 7th, 2012 at 2:57 pm
i love a proper b & w shot..not every shot is ideal for it.some look far better with colour.i always lookout and try to picture a shot in my mind in b&w before discarding it.because some times shots i wouldn’t normally use have ended up getting simply amazing with a b&w setting.
September 7th, 2012 at 5:17 pm
I love black and white because if done well can be more ‘colorful’ than colored. B/W can have a very dramatic effect again as i said, if pulled-off well. Check out the photo n feel free to leave a comment.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NhizW2QvtYI/UEe6RBa99wI/AAAAAAAAACE/-A3Um29SiQM/s1600/Steph1.png
September 7th, 2012 at 8:02 pm
I am partial to black n white! It’s expressive with minimal distractions. Having said that, not every shot is best expressed in black n white. Sometimes, colour speaks more. I choose colour or lack thereof on the merit of the frame. Shooting digital of course, helps me to decide from the comfort of my desk.
September 12th, 2012 at 5:37 am
I love to look at the B&W picture, it’s seem like the author is trying to tell you something beyond what you are seeing. Please check out one of mine and feel free to leave any comment.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/longden77/7796249992/
October 11th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
I think BW images are really under rated at the moment. In the days of film, they were a milestone for every novice photographer who was learning film processing and printing. These days it is often just a function and perhaps an exercise in photoshop, but those months spent learning the craft in the dark room with your Ilford film gave you a real insight into what your take on photography was. It enabled you to work on style and content without the distraction of colors.
January 26th, 2013 at 8:00 am
Great film. B+W has an absolutely timeless quality that means even as technology advances, with breakthroughs in inks, papers and printing techniques leading to never before seen colour reproduction – the humble B+W print can always look clean and fresh.
Particularly in baby photography you can never NOT offer your prints as B+W, because clients will ALWAYS want them – this picture here has a real angelic quality that mums and dads love that would just not work in colour
Leave a Reply