What is it about Black and White?

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<p>the agitating Nick Ut is actually visually simple for me.</p>

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<p>I can understand that. It's why I don't think we can say black and white is one thing (agitating, calming, simple, complex) without considering all the other elements and qualities in the photo. For instance, the Moriyama, which is also black and white, seems more detailed and complex. (The Moriyama is detailed in a much different and more chaotic way than most Adams photos, also black and white.) I can't and prefer not to reduce black and white or color to one or another expressive purpose.</p>

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<p>I find the Dijkstra image in its subject matter, and I find the colors pleasing, but I am more interested in the girl.</p>

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<p>I don't think of the colors as pleasing. I think of them as expressive. And I'm as interested in the photo as I am in the girl. That may be why the color doesn't distract me.</p>

<p>Fred - I actually do find the Moriyama photograph quite calming. I think despite the subject matter, it is broken down simply into blacks and whites and that's how I see it. The Nick Ut photo I do find unsettling. Documentary photographers like this make such an effort to bring the subject matter to the forefront. It's difficult to see it any other way. I do find the color photographs calming but wonder if they would be even more-so in soft gray tones.<br>

Sarah - You might be on to something although I've never been officially diagnosed. :-) I do tend to simplify my photo's for the most part. I tend to be a bit of an introvert and I think that personality is reflected in my images. I also have a tendency towards background details. That's what pulls me into HDR. I find it really enhances the details, especially the far off ones. My favorite parts of these images are the far off horizons and the details within.<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/13719612-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="470" /><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/8009551-md.jpg" alt="" width="679" height="450" /></p>

<p>Tim, having followed your photography and reviewing again your portfolio, I'd say you photograph calmingly. There's a serenity, peace, and acceptance in your work. And that is an observation and the feeling I get, not a judgment. I think it's got everything to do with you as a photographer, perhaps as a person, and little to do with whether you choose black and white or color or with the properties of black and white or color.</p>

<p>I'd say you <em>use</em> black and white simply and calmingly, NOT that black and white photos are either simpler or more calm than color.</p>

<p>Fred- I think that's a fair assessment and I'll take it as a compliment. Makes me wonder too if my mood affects how I view a photograph. I do think I tend to attribute b&w and/or color to certain times of the year (seasons) or conditions of the day (sunny, rainy, etc). I think I prioritize the aforementioned attributes ahead of the actual tonal relationships in a scene.</p>