On 19/09/2011 5:03 PM, Tom C wrote:
I would suggest that since we see in color, it is color that has a
tendency to be blas? (one reason that people are still drawn to
photographing sunsets, flowers and other extraordinarily colorful
subjects).
I would argue that part of the aesthetic appeal of Black& White (or
other monochromes) is precisely because we DON'T see that way. It
gives us an alternative view of the world that we don't get
ordinarily.
Certainly it is in the "different strokes for different folks" arena,
but I could not disagree more that "B&W is boring" (although I would
agree that poorly done B&W is not exciting simply because it is in
B&W).
Darren Addy
Kearney, Nebraska
> From the book "Ansel in Color"
Adams felt closest to black and white photography, which can be
manipulated to produce a wide range of bold, expressive tones, and he
felt constricted by the rigidity of the color process. "Art implies
control of reality, for reality itself possesses no sense of the
esthetic. Photography becomes an art when certain controls are
applied..."
In a 1962 essay describing his efforts in color, Adams noted the irony
of our perceptions about the two media. "There is little or no
'reality' in the blacks, grays and whites of either the informational
or expressive black-and-white image," he wrote, "and yet we have
learned to interpret these values as meaningful and 'real.'"
Darren Addy
Kearney, Nebraska
I feel sort of the the same way as you Darren, but not precisely. I
rarely (if ever) see a black and white photograph and think "Ooh, Aah,
that's breathtaking!". I do feel that about color photography very
often. OTOH, I see monochrome images and think they're very nice and I
appreciate the aesthetics and even convert to monochrome occasionally.
So I think I see the 'sheer in your face beauty' in color images,
whereas I feel more contemplative and introspective regarding the
monochrome images I enjoy.
Possibly, because of the influence of television, monochrome images
almost always strike me as older.
I've liked, but never really loved Ansel's work. Not putting it down
in any way. A fair portion of it doesn't strike my fancy, even though
some of it's very good.
Possibly Ansel also felt closest to B&W because that's essentially
what he learned on, grew up on, made his fame on. I would too! :-)
Tom C.
Not liking Ansel Adams certainly strains a friendship, but I'll grant
you are still a more or less worthwhile human being until you say
something to redeem yourself.
The monochrome needs to be cropped to more or less square, and then it
works.
,mark.
One cannot try to see the same way with B&W as one does with colour and
expect to get good black and white.
</mark>
--
William Robb
--
PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List
[email protected]
http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow
the directions.
