[LRflex] Re: Power of B&W?

Hi Bob,
Thanks puhlenty for your honest critiques .... appreciate your time
and opinion. I like that first shot a lot too, and am happy to have a
Leica lead me to it, if you know what I mean....whipped up the camera
and somehow managed to focus and catch that instant with no shutter
lag on a 50 year old camera.  A film or digital SLR would have been
way too conspicuous and noisy for that particular event.
And yes, on that last photo - it was part of FOM2.  Indeed you have a
keen eye.  Somehow with your comments, you've encouraged me to load up
more XP2 into the M3 for my short biz trip to Seattle/Bellevue where
I'll be for the next 2.5 days.  Giving a talk on Tuesday to 400+
cardiologists, nurses and biomedical engineers.  Nervous?  "Uh, Nyet".
 Prepared?  "Heck, no.......but working frantically on it with
Powerpoint".  May not rent a car, so not sure exactly what will
transpire to present itself in front of the lens while at the
symposium site.  Will take my chances both on the talk and with the
M3.
Cheers, Eric



> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> From: bob palmieri <rpalmier@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [LRflex] Re: Power of B&W?
> Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 10:43:11 -0500
>
> Eric -
>
> For whatever it's worth, here's my take on these four shots:
>
> Number 1 works great for me as a B&W snap, largely because it's a damn
> good picture in all the ways I care about; who knows what the color
> content might have been; doubt it would add and would have probably
> taken away from the impact.
>
> Number 2, unless the stuff on the walls had great color content, B&W
> does its thing.
>
> Number 3 is a good example of why it's often good to shoot color
> regardless of the eventual form (B&W or color) 'cause the bodies would
> likely blend into the bench unless you used selective channel work to
> separate them out (even then it might be tricky.)  However, something
> about the vibe of the blueness seems to go along with the body angles
> for me.
>
> Number 4 (was this one also in the running for the Family of Man 2; I
> feel like I remember spending some time with it before?) works great as
> a black & white image, yet I wouldn't be surprised if color would have
> been even better.
>
> Also, thanks for taking the time to articulate your views on this
> subject, as well as filling us in on some background info about your
> photo life.
>
> Bob Palmieri
>
>
>
>
>
> On Jul 14, 2006, at 4:19 PM, LEICAFLEX wrote:
>
> > Ted and Bob, I have a great love for B&W...or should I say
> > "monochrome" to cover sepia and toned images, and read both your
> > threads with enthusiasm!  The anecdotal advice from Ted is priceless
> > and ageless ~ I think most of today's digital snapshooters sadly tend
> > to forget these elements of being a photographer.  What I am talking
> > about is the 'heart connection' with your subject.
> >
> > For that matter, does B&W tend to convey more of the *** feeling ***
> > you had about the subject/scene, as opposed to color being just an
> > accurate documentary of the scene?  Or can color be used to evoke even
> > stronger emotions, like fresh blood of injured teenagers in a drunken
> > driving accident?  I think it depends a great deal on the actual
> > subject matter. If we are shooting Canadian geese and other birds, or
> > macros of butterflies or flowers, why even think B&W?   The good thing
> > about the digital age is that one can 'cross process' post
> > facto.....shoot either film or digital in color then desaturate in
> > Photoshop, and play with the monochrome tonalities to your heart's
> > content.
> >
> > When I was in my late teens / early spent 20's, I spent 2 years as a
> > photojournalist shooting mostly documentary, sports and reportage B&W
> > for the inside fotos of a magazine, and Ektachromes for the front
> > cover.  I remember how I used to shift gears to think differently when
> > moving from one medium to the other.  One had to not only consider the
> > use of tonalities versus color harmony and contrasts, but also realize
> > that slide film had little latitude while the B&W film was a lot more
> > forgiving afterwards in the darkroom.  Speaking of which, I would take
> > the scent of women's perfume over acetic acid (stop bath) anyday
> > Philippe....LOL!
> >
> > Well, back to B&W......How many of us actually have time to attempt
> > the classic Ansel Adams-style landscapes, and regularly apply rigorous
> > 'zone system' techniques that one can spend years trying to master
> > during photography and in the darkroom (or using curves and histogram
> > equalization, etc. on Photoshop)?  Most of the time these days, I use
> > a C-41 chemistry chromogenic film when I know for sure that the goal
> > is a B&W image.  However, I have enjoyed changing the look of an
> > original color image by removing all color saturation and rendering it
> > either a B&W or monochrome look.  Somewhere online, some one teaches
> > how to create a duotone look in Photoshop.  At any rate, here are some
> > of my Leica B&W's of people, and would be glad to hear the opinions
> > from this thread.
> >
> > Here are 2 spontaneous/candid available light shots taken in '05
> > during a Tibetan Buddhist ceremony in Menlo Park, CA., with a
> > collapsible Summicron 50/2 mounted on a Leica M3 DS.  Film was Ilford
> > XP-2. (You may have to copy and paste these links into your browser
> > window):
> >
> > http://gallery.leica-users.org/ThirdEye/Blessings01Archive
> > http://gallery.leica-users.org/ThirdEye/FH000005archive
> >
> > This next one was scanned from a slide then 'monochromed' in Photoshop:
> > http://gallery.leica-users.org/Scenes-from-Beijing-and-Shanghai/
> > Forward_Kick
> >
> > In contrast, I decided to leave this one in color due to the nice
> > blue-on-foliage-green color contrasts which I think add mood (same
> > park as prior image):
> > http://stmaarten.globat.com/~afirkin.com/FinalGallery/source/
> > 2005fomn0757.htm
> >
> > Finally, this was a real B&W:
> > http://gallery.leica-users.org/Scenes-from-Beijing-and-Shanghai/
> > Good_Wine_Conversation_Web
> >
> > Comments, critiques, debates, opinions, war stories, history
> > lessons....all welcome ;-)
> >
> > I think that B&W has the power to force us to focus on the Essential
> > Symbolism of a visual image, whereas color tends to add a qualitative
> > dimension that can potentially beautify the image as a whole, or
> > augment its meaning or symbolism.
> > B&W prints have an unequaled beauty in their own right, and given the
> > same subject matter, it is much more difficult to create a fantastic
> > B&W photo than a color one, IMHO.
> >
> > However, in the time that we ponder over B&W or color, film or
> > digital, 35mm or 120, don't forget to just take the damn photo before
> > the moment gets away!
> >
> > Ted, it is great to have you here on the thread! - Thanks for sharing
> > your experiences.  To me the greatest challenge in journalistic
> > photography is capturing the elements of the human condition and
> > focussing on something in the content/composition that forces the
> > viewer to question, inquire, compel into action, etc.!
> >
> > ~ Eric Chan
> > ------
------
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