Why do you shoot B&W photography?

[brighteyesphotos]

If you shoot primarily B&W, why do you?

What is it about B&W that draws you?

Who inspired you? Is there an artist you're trying to emmulate? (is that the right word?)

 

[rabidzoomer]

I shoot black and white primarily since it is easy to develop the film and you can get so much more contrast out of the photos than you can with a color. Color photos cheat to grab your attention because they can use bright colors while B&W you have to work to get the contrast using filters and the right timing while developing your photos.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

I shoot black and white film because I have to. I shoot black and white digital to bring out texture that would have otherwise been 2nd to color like what rabid was saying.

 

[Rusty_Tripod]

In my case age would be a factor. Many photos from childhood were taken with the old Kodak using black and white film. There is also an artistic aspect in that I have to be selective in my subjects and how I approach them. Color can distract from focus and intent. Finally, I can print my own negatives when I work with black and white film.

Rusty Tripod

 

[neea]

Black and White seems to bring more emotions out and trigger feelings.
That's why I like black and white.

 

[ashfordphoto]

i'm the same with neea. I like the feeling, the emotion, and there's just something about it. i feel like when I shoot color I'm cheating and don't have to work as hard to get it "right."

 

[usayit]

In some ways, I find color just seems to distract from the true content of a captured moment.

 

[ashfordphoto]

In some ways, I find color just seems to distract from the true content of a captured moment.

that's really what I was meaning to say. :thumbup:

 

[Efergoh]

I shoot B&W because I don't know how, nor do I have access to develop color by myself.

Even if I did, I would probably shoot B&W anyway. It just feel more "arty"

 

[terri]

Using B&W film is what photography is all about for me. It provides me with total control over an image from start to finish. I enjoy handling and developing my own film, as well as making my own prints in the darkroom. If I want color, I can use photo oils or pencils to add it, or I can tone for color. If I want to take the image further, into some "alternative photographic process" such as a bromoil print, I have that negative and am free to do that. Anything goes and the sky's the limit!

A B&W negative is like having a blank canvas. It can stand on its own or end up being a print full of riotous color.

 

[markc]

For me, there's something about it being both real and unreal at the same time.

While I don't try to directly emulate them, some of my influences are:
Robert Frank
Eugene Smith
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Keith Carter
Teru Kuwayama

 

[craig]

I shoot colour because I think B&W is cheating. Of course B&W will be more dramatic because we see the world in colour.

My photography comes from a strong B&W background. All said and done I am more of a dip and dunk guy as opposed to spending time in the darkroom. Even converting to greyscale is weird these days. Strangely enough 25% of my commercial work is B&W. I hate it.

Love and Bass

 

[enne]

I learned to develop film in B&W. I used only B&W for 3 years before deciding to shoot with color film and pay someone else to develop it - which takes a lot of the artistic process away (all the burning, dodging, vignetting..) I only recently got a digital slr, and I feel like I'm cheating by using color. And actually, after exclusively using b&w for so long, I feel like my images have lost a lot of feeling by being in color.

 

[Oldfireguy]

I'm colorblind. B&W just appeals to me more and I can work with it better in PS. If I do color I have to have someone sit with me or the final results would look awful.

 

[JamesD]

I shoot black and white for most of the reasons above. Like Terri, I love the photographic process, the act of imaging using light and chemistry--and it leaves open techniques which wouldn't be available with color. Like Efergoh, I find it more artistic (my color stuff always winds up looking like snapshots), and I can manage the BW process myself. And like Craig says, it's easier to get dramatic effects--but then, it's just as easy to misuse those effects. It's easier to get BW to do what I want it to do than color--especially since my color work winds up being processed on the computer, which I don't particularly enjoy.

Ultimately, it comes down to my love of the whole idea of photographic imaging, and the fact that I can control my imagery from start to finish. And, most especially, BW gives me something to learn. I can still learn color, but since I have to do it on the computer, and I'm so familiar with computers that they tend to bore me at times, it isn't appealing. BW, though, there's a whole world full of techniques and processes that I haven't tried. It allows me to experiment, and to study form, light and shadow, composition, and everything else. It allows me to express my intent much more effectively, and to achieve the sense of accomplishment that motivates me to learn more.