are blown highlights more acceptable in b&w?

I think there are plenty of times when blown highlights are perfectly acceptable: a blanket rule is silly. As to whether they are more acceptable in black and white, then "no". They are just as acceptable in either medium.

Robin, pithy and accurate. Great post.

Specifically, for landscapes looking into the sun, I think that we expect the sun itself to be blow out if it's not too cloudy or smokey. What I dislike are amorphous blobs of sky that are also blown out, such as in the top image. The bottom image, to me, is better because it makes it obvious that we are looking into the sun and that it is surrounded by clouds. My reasoning for color photos is the same as it is for black and white.

 

Pure blacks are another story, I like regions of pure black if not overdone. They can lend a sense of mystery to a photo. If there are no pure black regions in my black and white photos, I often adjust levels to include (usually small) regions of pure black. I am a fan of Brett Weston (AKA, "the prints of darkness") who composed many images with large regions of pure black.

Edited September 22, 2017 by Glenn McCreery