[Leica] Street photography in B&W?

[Lew Schwartz]

The short answer is "yes," but maybe it isn't. It's not a question of what
viewers are used to; what matters is what's in the particular image. In an
Eggleston street shot color is all-important, but (as an example) for the
cover shot in Friedlander's "Like a One Eyed Cat," it's irrelevant; the
idea is more important than the color of the bush. Also, "street
photography" is quite a generic term. Are you in the street documenting
what's out there or listening to your inner voice?


-Lew Schwartz

On Fri, Nov 7, 2014 at 4:02 PM, Larry Zeitlin via LUG <lug at leica-users.org>
wrote:

>
> An ancillary question - does a good "street" photographer only shoot B&W,
> i.e ?is infra dig? :-)
>
> Cheers
> Jayanand
>
>
> - - - -
> That's a very interesting question. In my post retirement career as an art
> and photo show reviewer I find relatively few "street photos" exhibited but
> virtually all are in B&W. There is a feeling amongst show curators and
> jurists that B&W photos are more immediate and authentic. Of course most of
> these guys are 60 years old or older and are familiar with wartime
> pictures, the police shots of WeeGee, and the stuff that was popularized in
> the older photo magazines. Naturally, any picture taken with a cell phone
> cannot be true "street photography."?Color pictures seem to be too
> processed to be true street photography.?
>
>
> I remember the outrage in the LUG several years ago when I criticized Dr.
> Ted's assertion that B&W had more impact than color in depicting scenes of
> trauma. I wonder how people will feel about it after a couple of
> generations of digital camera use and the ubiquity of cell phones. Come on
> guys. Regardless of the Leica Monochrom, color has won the imaging battle.
> And it will be true as well in street photography after all the mossbacks
> have passed on.
> Larry Z ?
>
>
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