Color or B&W

King Street, Alexandria, VA

Some photographers treat the black and white versus color discussion as a religious debate. Reality. Emotion. Distraction. Quality. Tradition. All sorts of adjectives, hyperbole and art-speak, usually in support of shooting B&W. Leica builds a black and white only camera that is quite pricey.

I think the truth might lay closer to the photographer’s “druthers.” What do they want to shoot? When do they want to shoot? Do they want to develop film? And on. And on. And on. I have a friend who enjoys shooting B&W, he usually goes out at mid-day when contrasts are high and shadows are “small.” He takes fantastic images. But, they’re all black and white. Oops. I entered the debate and I can feel the responses beginning to form in B&W shooter’s vocab quiver. I yield.

For me, some images might “need” to be B&W but it’s really more of what I need or want than what the image demands. Oops. I did it again. I don’t want to tread on the sacred ground of “real photography” so I’ll just say that perhaps my “fail” is to not have a go-to mode…sometimes I like B&W, sometimes color.

These two images are classic examples for me…they could go either way. The child at the flood in Old Town was cool in color…it was just after dawn…but B&W seemed to emphasize the child’s space with no adults. The lighting in the Building Museum was crazy, reflections off the bronze pillars and wall coverings creating awesome shadows and the pillar’s edges glowed! B&W was cool but I wanted the warmth of the sunlight and the bronze. So for me, the religious debate between B&W and color is a tie…I like what I like and that’s my mojo.

Building Museum, Washington, DC