Black and White Photography

      Black and white photography allows the viewer to see a photograph from a different perspective. Ted Grant, a famous Canadian photographer, once said, ‘When you photograph in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph in black and white, you photograph their souls!’ While attending the Florida State College of Jacksonville’s photography exhibit there were three black and white photographs that the viewer’s perspective and primary focal point would have been different had they been in color.  

       The first black and white photograph titled Jeryll was taken by Susan Mazur. The photograph was of a dead tree rising above the sand and sea and into the sky. The sand, sea, and sky were all white and provided the perfect back drop for the towering majestic dead tree which was all black. While the tree was probably majestic when it was alive, photographing it in black and white gave it another life. The dead tree was the focal point of the photograph. In contrast, if the picture had been in color the focal point would have been the clear blue sky, the crystal clear turquoise water, and the white fluffy sand. The dead grey tree would have blended in with the sand and would have been a secondary focal point.

      The second black and white photograph titled Binary Vision was taken by Lynn Pham. This photograph was of a beautiful black swan swimming in a pond. In this photograph both the swan and the water were black with a white sky. The uniqueness of this photograph was the angle at which the water was photographed, various ripples and patterns could be seen in the water. The pond was the primary focal point and the swan seemed to blend in becoming an additional ripple and pattern in the water. However, if this had been a color photograph the primary focal point would have been the majestic black swan swimming in a pond of filthy water.    
                                                                                                                                                                 
        The third black and white photograph titled Mykonos was taken by Susan Mazur. This photograph was of the Greek island Mykonos in the Mediterranean Sea. There were white houses that appeared to be hanging from the side of a cliff with the Mediterranean Sea below. The beach below the houses ran perpendicular to the cliff. There was a cement bulkhead with a handrail that ran the length of the beach. On the bulkhead was a restaurant with outdoor tables. You could see people at the tables while others were strolling along the seaside and yet others were standing at the handrail looking up at the houses on the cliff. The primary focal point was the beautiful white houses suspended on the cliff above the sea. Remember what Ted Grant said, ‘When you photograph in color you photograph their clothes.’ In contrast, if this photograph had been in color the people, in their colorful outfits, enjoying a cloudless warm day mulling around the Mediterranean Seaside would have been the primary focal point and the houses the secondary focal point.

     These are just a few examples of photographs that give the viewer a different perspective because they were taken in black and white. Each of the photographs primary focal points would probably have been different if the photograph was in color. The next time you take a photograph in color, try taking the same photograph in black and white for a different perspective. Ansel Adams, a famous black and white nature photographer, once said, ‘Photography, as a powerful medium… offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution.’