Thoughts on Black and White

Ever since the advent of color photography, people have debated whether color is an asset or a distraction in photography.

I am 100% on the asset side, by the way. As if anyone would guess otherwise. And although I've been known to post a black and white image or two, the vast majority of my photos stay in color. Which, in my opinion, is as it should be. Colors are so gosh darn pretty! And the world (as we see it) is in color.

However, my feelings on the topic started to shift a bit recently when I downloaded a (sadly expired) trial version of Nik's Silver Efex Pro, widely regarded as the leading black and white software in the industry. And I realized that there are times when I do really want to see the world in black and white, and not in color. There is something a little more refined about it, more soothing as well, and if you can get the tones right, the pictures have a sort of depth that color photos only aspire to.

All of this to say, I see more black and white images in my future. Consider yourselves warned!

Souvenir Foto

Some of you may be familiar with the quirky, prone to charming hyperbole Miss B of Blah Blah Blahg notoriety. If you are not familiar with her, I suggest you become so, as her blog is a light and charming spot on the internet, a surefire way to pleasantly waste a few minutes of each day.

A few times a year she hosts a Flickr-based photo project, called Souvenir Foto School. It is free to participate, the only requirements to participate are that you actually do so (non-participants are thrown out of the class!). Currently the assignment is to photograph the entire alphabet from September 4th to October 4th at the pace of one photo per day. I am having a LITTLE difficulty with the pace (being that, you know, there are only 24 hours in each day) but so far I am hanging in there. And it is nice to have a real need to shoot every day.

Below are the photos for F (Falls), W (Window) and T (Triad). I'll share more with you as the class goes along!