Colour, or B+W

[paul_nelson3]

Years ago, I carried a couple of bodies, several lens, and that was all heavy gear. I had Tri-x in one F body, and K25 or 64 in my other F. Now, I am no longer a slave to my gear. I only carry a M6, with a 35/2, 50lux and 90T/E. A lot of my work is done in China, so I often ask myself which do I want, the colour & excitement of the situation, or the drama and sulkiness of B+W.

 

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I would like to know what is the determining factor that makes your decision on colour or B+W. And yes, I know there is an easy way out of this, spring for another body! But there is still the question, what makes your mind decide to go to B+W. What are you looking for? Thanks for that. P Nelson

[wilhelm]

Drop an Epic into your pocket with 400 color negative film, and

continue to use the Leica for B&W.

[geddert]

I choose black and white for almost all of my indoor shots (primarily

of people) - because I think it not only looks "better" but also

because I haven't found any color film above 100 speed that I like

(thus I almost exclusivly use 400 or 3200 speed B&W film). It is also

very nice to not have to worry about a magenta or green color cast

from indoor lights. I use color slide film (I like Provia 100F) for

outdoor shooting during the day time - this is what I load in my

Ricoh GR1 (which goes everywhere with me). If the roll will be used

both outside and indoors I tend to choose whichever type of film I

have more/older rolls of.

[andy_piper2]

I tend to work on PROJECTS as opposed to individual pictures - and

when I start I make the choice that a given project will be B&W or

color (Small-town car racing at night - B&W; City of Denver coffee

table book - color). Sometime I choose B&W for technical reasons

(exceeding poor light) and sometime I see it as just an extension of

color photography (just a VERY limited color palette!!) - a way of

interpreting the subject, like lens choice or film size.

 

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I have a digital darkroom, and one of its magic elements is that I can

scan a color slide original and make EITHER B&W or color prints - in

fact some of my nicest B&W work from the past 8 years started as color

transparencies (and yes, some of it is dramatic and/or sulky. e.g.

memorials for the 13 people killed at Columbine High School, anti/pro

gun demonstrations,etc.)

 

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I actually prefer B&W from 50-speed slide film if there's enough

light. Velvia has much finer grain than any B&W negative film I've

seen, and amazing highlight detail (at least with Leica lenses). Plus

I can shoot at larger apertures in sunlight and get beautiful sharp/

soft bokeh pictures.

 

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Ever since I discovered this interchangeability, I have basically

chosen B&W film only if I KNOW I'll have no need for color, and I need

really fast turn-around on weekends when the color lab is closed but

my bathroom lab is open, or if I need extra high speed for very low

light. Otherwise I default to color slide because I know it will work

either way.

 

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If you don't have your own scanner or a nearby digital lab, or if you

just love doing your own chemical B&W processing I guess my technique

won't help. I'd still shoot color as default, though, because

EVENTUALLY you will have some method of getting B&W out of your color

pictures, and there will never be a way to add realistic color to a B&

W original (Ted Turner and his digitized movies notwithstanding).

 

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As to your final question, I now often choose B&W after the fact,

because I want that dramatic sulky look, or because the color and

content of a picture don't mesh, or sometimes just because a picture

isn't especially colorful and makes more sense as a straight B&W

picture; essentially the same choices you would make on the fly with

two camera bodies, but made in the peace and quiet of my study while

looking at both versions on a computer monitor.

 

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(Sorry about the yankee spelling of "color".)

[msitaraman]

Or drop a Contax T3 loaded with B&W film into that more roomy pocket

(it will have fewer dollar bills in it than if you had bought a

Stylus Epic). A 35mm lens that has gotten rave reviews as ranking

amongst the sharpest ever, and a dead quiet mechanism. The camera

seems unusually well designed for manual operation, not just by P&S

standards. The $650 price tag and the f2.8 (not f2) lens are the

flies in the ointment.

 

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Use it for your indoors shots. 35mm, small, quiet, unobtrusive.

 

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Just a thought...

[jim_shields]

Always B+W. Colorblindness, unfortunately.

[Robin Smith]

My feeling rather accords with Andy's. When I use my Hasselblad with a

color and a black and white back my ratio is 3 color shots to 1 black

and white. In this situation if the color is a vital part of the

photograph (and it is often is), then color it is. Likewise if the

essential part of the image is monochrome or has a limited set of

colors or the force of the composition is such then I shoot black and

white. I like both black and white and color portraits and I like

them both equally - but non-photographers I find almost uniformly

expect to see color, and black and white can look "weird" to them. So

unless I have a specific reason to take black and white - I agree that

available light shots could be one of them, I take color slide.

Certainly it is reasonably easy to make a black and white print from

color, but impossible the other way.

[jean_david_borges]

I'd like to hark back to the original question, which, as I read it,

asks pointedly "what make you, the photographer, opt for color or BW?"

 

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In my view, it would depend on the nature of the project, whether it

is an assigned one(leaving limited choice) or a personal one. If the

latter, you, the photographer has to decide on your current feelings

or state of mind concerning the project.

But why limit oneself to one or the other medium? It is a fairly easy

proposition to change film in mid-roll, mark it, replace it with

another choice and continue to shoot with a different perspective.

That, IMO, would be even more revealing of the different facets of

the subject matter.

[jackflesher]

When I go on a trip, I can never seem to decide on just one film, so

I end up schlepping two bodies. Thank goodness they're both M bodies

and don't weigh much or take up much room!

[paul_nelson3]

Thanks Mates!

 

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what I got from all that is not so much about how the choice was made

to use either B&W or colour, but rather just to drag along two

bodies, which is as I said above, the simple solution, providing you

have a good idea in the first place.

cheers,

Paul Nelson

[godfrey]

I rarely shoot color and b&w in the same session. Which one I'm

shooting depends on my mood more than anything else, and what I'm

"seeing" on a given day. I almost never carry more than one camera at a

time anymore (except for the fact that there is *always* a Minox in my

pocket...).

 

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One body, two lenses, and a selection of b&w or color neg film is

always how I leave the house with the Leicas. I make the decision when

I see what the light and my eyes are telling me.

 

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Godfrey

[george2]

My two viewfinders, an M3 and a Hexar Classic, are

loaded exclusively with B&W films. The Leica with

negative, either Delta 400 or T400 CN, and the

Hexar with Agfa Scala. Since I am mainly a slide

shooter the Hexar is always in my pocket and the

Leica is used occasionally.

 

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Why B&W as an everyday medium? I do seldom

landscapes and the city I live in has limited

colour potential. In my spare time and on the way

to work I look at people's faces and click away.

And I personally prefer people photography in B&W.

 

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For B&W portraits of friends/relatives I use the

Leica with 50 and 90 lenses and negative film.

 

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Strangely enough, I do a lot more colour (with my

SLRs) than B&W with viewfinders.

[don_maldon]

I am fortunate to have 2 M bodies: One for chromes (Velvia) and the

other for 400 ISO B&W. There are situations where the light is not

jsut right for the color film but there are intersting shadows and

lines which can be exploited by using B&W film. Converting color

images to B&W images using Photoshop works but seems to lack a

certain quality. I wish there was a simple answer. And oh yes, with

2 bodies, I always have a back-up.

Don

[andrew n.bra hrefhttp]

Colour or B+W?

 

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No contest - colour always, for all work, for all subjects. No

exceptions! ;?)