Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/10/11

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Subject: [Leica] Black and White
From: ricc at mindspring.com (Ric Carter)
Date: Tue Oct 11 19:43:24 2005
References: <6.2.3.4.2.20051011212038.0313b570@mail.rhtc.net> <p06230918bf721c7f2a5b@[10.0.1.2]> <6.2.3.4.2.20051011220406.02f1fd10@mail.rhtc.net>

I really DON'T find that the color keeps me from paying attention to  
the emotion and faces. I MAY need to look for a bit longer to get  
past the color.

I think I feel more "superior" to, more pitying of, the people in the  
B&W versions than the color.

I DO find that the B&W seems to make these people look more  
depressed, the community looks dirtier, almost despondent, in the B&W  
version. The actual world they live in is much brighter than we would  
think from the B&W version. This love of color that they clearly  
celebrate tells me that their life is happier and richer than I would  
think from the B&W version.

For instance:
http://www.pbase.com/tinamanley/image/50601014
http://www.pbase.com/tinamanley/image/50607349

The lady, to me, clearly uses the color material in her clothes out  
of choice, saying something about her life, something we cannot get  
from the B&W. Her bundle of branches in the B&W becomes a bouquet in  
the color. The child in the drab, dusty clothes, is now wearing a  
bright, clean shirt of many colors.

I used to shoot color only when it added something to the photo. As I  
have gotten older, I find that I now go for B&W only when it adds  
something, or perhaps takes away.

In general, reality is good enough for what I do. If reality is NOT  
what I'm looking for, B&W may be the solution.

Even the youngest of our number may fall into "old fartism" by  
judging themselves against the greats of earlier generations who  
likely shot B&W because color was available or wasn't practical for  
the target publication.

Of course, I may feel completely differently when the sun rises...

Ric Carter
http://gallery.leica-users.org/Passing-Fancies



On Oct 11, 2005, at 10:05 PM, Tina Manley wrote:

> At 09:59 PM 10/11/2005, you wrote:
>
>> Tina - Color because the colorful clothes, the red fire in the  
>> stove, the blue smoke in the third shot, the color of the wood in  
>> the houses, all make the photos more involving, at least to me.
>>
>
> Thanks, Richard.  Sometimes I agree. Sometimes I only want to see  
> the faces.
>
> Tina
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>


Replies: Reply from ricc at mindspring.com (Ric Carter) ([Leica] Black and White)
Reply from kididdoc at cox.net (Steve Barbour) ([Leica] Black and White)
Reply from images at InfoAve.Net (Tina Manley) ([Leica] Black and White)
In reply to: Message from images at InfoAve.Net (Tina Manley) ([Leica] Black and White)
Message from r.s.taylor at comcast.net (Richard S. Taylor) ([Leica] Black and White)
Message from images at InfoAve.Net (Tina Manley) ([Leica] Black and White)