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I recently had the chance to chase the Central California Traction
with Ted Benson. He was shooting b&w and I was shooting color. It was a
sunny day, but nonetheless, when I look at Ted's prints compared to my
color slides, I think Ted kicked my butt. The way the lights and
shadows work in Ted's prints cannot be duplicated in color.
To see some of the prints Ted took that day, check out the July
Railfan, which will be getting to subscribers and hobby shops just about
now (sorry for the plug).
Does all this mean I'm going to switch to black & white? No way.
More than half of what makes Ted's b&w work is his darkroom work. I
don't have the patience to do that kind of work. I'd rather be out
shooting more trains that spending time in the darkroom. I tried black &
white for a couple of years, using a bracket that let me fire a color
shot and b&w shot at the same time. The biggest problem I discovered,
though, is that given the same scene the best angle for color is often
(almost always?) different than the best angle for black & white. And
I'm not willing to give up my color. (Mama, don't take my -- never
mind.)
Good black & white is truly an art form that still has a place in
today's world. To see why, check out Ted's farewell to the Amador
Central that was in R&R last year. No way you could capture that kind of
imagery in color.
And even though I'm strictly a color shooter, my all-time favorite
book is Echoes Down the Canyon by Mr. Benson.
Steve Barry
Railfan & Railroad
Newton, NJ
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