Comments on Fluffytek Art Blog: The Language Of Grey

I like color, but I think only certain photographe...

2008-10-18T09:27:00.000+01:00

I like color, but I think only certain photographers can really do it, and pull it off well.. a lot of people should just stick to B&W, because color is hard to understand. I'm really obsessed with color. Other people don't grasp it quite the same.

Richard,Your description of how a color photograph...

2008-10-15T17:37:00.000+01:00

Richard,

Your description of how a color photograph is created highlights your presumption that color work is artistically inferior, and that during its creation little if any activity is taking place between the photographer's two ears. I'll stand by my earlier comments.

Will

WillT,When you take a colour photograph, you look ...

2008-10-15T07:30:00.000+01:00

WillT,

When you take a colour photograph, you look through the lens, compose the image for what you want to portray and press the shutter. WYSIWYG.

When you take a black and white photograph you do all of the above, and then, in your head, you have to process the image to reduce it to its tonal range given the colour to grey transform that will be applied either by the film or by your choice of black and white conversion process.

In colour you can see two colours that have the same grey value as being different, in black and white those two colours may appear as a single tone.

To say that B&W is simpler in every respect is to simply hand over all aspects of the process to your workflow defaults.

To say "on almost any level, B&W is a much simpler medium" is well, just silly.

I don't buy the argument that B&W is somehow "more...

2008-10-15T04:22:00.000+01:00

I don't buy the argument that B&W is somehow "more subtler, more elegant, more alluring..."

Nor do I buy the argument that only B&W requires photographers to engage their intellect, or that understanding and interpreting "all the different nuances that make up the hundreds of shades of grey" is any more difficult than understanding and interpreting the same hundreds of shades of each color within the spectrum of any particular image.

Indeed, on almost any level, B&W is a much simpler medium. An almost irrefutable argument can be made that because the medium of color comprises so many more visual complexities and relationships than B&W that it is extraordinarily more difficult to master.

And to suggest that color photographers blindly record scenes "as is;" or that they aren't thinking about mood, ambiance, or style; or that they aren't using light as a tool to realize a specific emotion is, well, just silly.

Both mediums - B&W and color - are fully capable of producing beautiful, sensuous, artful images that stir the very wide gamut of human emotions. In the end, whether that objective is reached is about the photographer not the medium.

Will

Ohhhhhhhhh, I so want to get in on this topic, but...

2008-10-15T00:16:00.000+01:00

Ohhhhhhhhh, I so want to get in on this topic, but I have no idea what to say.

Many years ago when I was first starting out I sol...

2008-10-14T21:40:00.000+01:00

Many years ago when I was first starting out I sold a sunset, a city-scape of the lake with a boat with a person who seemed to be waving. It was a B&W sunset and the woman who bought it was so pleased that she could use her imagination. That the true magic of B&W, it cuts the clutter of everyday life so your imagination can fill in the details. Like a good book.
M

It's long been recognized that you can't print tru...

2008-10-14T18:31:00.000+01:00

It's long been recognized that you can't print true black with Epson matte black inks. You get close with photo black on lustre or glossy papers. You get closest (in fact exceeding the blacks of GS prints) by using photo black ink on the relatively new baryta papers.

No, you can't see true blacks on most (all?) CRTs. LCD or plasma screens get closer, and in fact in an environment with little or no ambient light, show for all practical purposes true blacks.

I always must use the histogram to determine if I've got true blacks and to what extent.

As far as I'm concerned, however, there is no substitute for a print. A print's visceral impact -- as you already know -- is so much greater than what may be seen on screen. The "true" blacks are only part of that equation, however. Viewing fine art photography online is like licking the outside of a grilled filet mignon -- you get only a sense of the extraordinary tastes within.

Thanks Stephen.Brooks (Jensen) went on at some len...

2008-10-14T18:02:00.000+01:00

Thanks Stephen.

Brooks (Jensen) went on at some length about the difficulties of printing true black, which he does in Lenswork by printing twice, black on black, to get a really deep black.

Can viewers actually see true black on current monitors or do you have to actually see a print to really appreciate the full effect? Is the emotional impact of the message within the photograph lost if you can't see the full extent of the black (because you are viewing it online?)

As usual, a wonderful text, a true analysis, a fin...

2008-10-14T17:04:00.000+01:00

As usual, a wonderful text, a true analysis, a fine article ! Wow... I'm impressed...

Hah! Good post, but let me add a small addendum. ...

2008-10-14T16:15:00.000+01:00

Hah! Good post, but let me add a small addendum. You emphasize the ability to capture (and "print" greys), but for me black and white is all about the blacks. A problem too often encountered with color photographs is that hue and tint yield the picture's emotional content, whereas the real power of photography lies in the ability to either capture (or to create) true blacks within the scene.

A workshop instructor several years ago terms it "sudden black" -- the necessity to introduce some noticeable portion of true (0/0/0) black in the photo.

Some photographers overdo it -- Annie Leibowitz for example. Think of the great black and white OR color photographs, however, and chances are the artist has assured that some portion of the photo printed to black.

bolshie or bolshy (Brit & NZ informal)Adjective1. ...

2008-10-14T16:06:00.000+01:00

bolshie or bolshy (Brit & NZ informal)

Adjective
1. difficult to manage; rebellious
2. politically radical or left-wing

Noun
pl -shies
any political radical [from Bolshevik]

Colo(u)r me illuminated.