in the SPN vote thread, @bobfoto commented on the fact that street photos tend to be void of colour and this made me think about why that is... i did some googling and there were a number of hits... didn't have time to look thru all of them, but this one listed two of the three reasons that had occurred to me:
one is that "the masters have brainwashed us", the other is that "colour is a distraction"...
i also wonder whether the connection between street photography and photo-journalism plays a role here, because newspapers stuck with black and white long after the advent of colour photography...
i certainly don't ALWAYS convert street photos to b&w, but i generally do unless there is a reason why not (eg: the colour is an integral part of the image)... and i have to confess that i do like how b&w creates a focus on the subject(s) in a different way from colour (ie: i guess i've bought into the "colour is a distraction" argument)...
I like it both ways! I'll keep a street shot in colour if the competing colours aren't detracting from the main focus of the shot, but sometimes the background is just too noisy and black and white makes sense. I mean most of the time you can't expect to control every (or any!) part of the scene and converting to bw can wrest a little control back maybe...
at one time all my street shots had to bw, but right now I'm more than happy to keep the colour, or even look for a scene that highlights a colour (espec red for some reason...)
I have mixed feelings on this subject as well, Northy. I have always been a color hound, it is what really gets my creative juices flowing. I had a really hard time at first in my project doing b&w, but now have seen the beauty in it as well. I feel b&w is one aspect this project has introduced me to that has really changed my thinking process and how I view images in b&w now. I suppose when you really analyze it, black and white are colors too.
For me I think b&w really gives street photography it's grit and it is more the feeling that I get from it such as moodiness, reflection on poverty and the deeper darker seedier side of things. I do not so much buy into the "colour is a distraction" argument as much as b&w has been around a lot longer than color when it comes to the media, press and photography and perhaps we have the feel of the emotions that it evokes, imbedded in us. Great thread BTW, it should really get a debate going.
I will look at the processing options for the images i have taken some look better in B&W Some with just the key details picked out and others have stayed in full colour where b&w conversion sometimes looses detail. Allot of the time it can depend on what you are trying to say with the photo.
There examples of all ways of looking at a street scene in my project some better than others
I personally don't understand the compulsive need to HAVE to convert to b&w. Most of my stuff stays in colour because I feel like b&w takes away from the sense of place that I'm trying to convey with my street stuff. That being said, I have converted to b&w before, only when it has had a photojournalistic connection or when the image is trying to tell a 'not-so-happy' story.
Ask someone who lives on the street. Life is pretty much black and white. For them there is really nothing else. A few grey areas but no colour. Colour equals happiness for many of us but most days there is not a lot to be happy about on the street. For me B&W just fits street photography...something I dont do unless I go out of town because of the work I do. Having said that there are times when colour is what really makes the image. I have seen a few shots on 365 that just would not be what they are if it were not for the splash of colour.
I don't think most is necessary in B&W its just some of the best and well known is in B&W and that isnt by accident. B&W not just in street photography but in any photography removes the distraction of color and reduces the image to what is most important which is the subject matter not the colors. It shows people in a much different way then the way we are used to seeing them. It makes the viewer look a little harder. But not all the time, sometimes the colors in street photography is the subject. So just like any photography it all depends on the subject matter and what you are trying to convey with your image.
@soia I agree with Kevin, unless the subject of the photograph is the colour it draws attention to the elements away from the distraction of colour, also of course the mood is changed by b&w as discussed. I left some colour in my current SPN entry as I felt the green of the tree reflection was important to keep and I wanted to make the photo less depressing despite the rainy subject..
I guess the reason why flower photos are almost always colour is because generally their beauty lies at least partially in their colour
@northy I love street photography and shoot in both colors and black&white. 2 main reasons for black and white:
1) most of the well known street photos are black&white so some of today's street photographers still stick to blak&white because it's cool, elite. Just look at the newest Leica monochrome . It only produces black&white photos, and according to Leica sharper images. And believe me, they will sell so well. Most will end up unused or used to hang around some necks like jewelry.
2) streets are full of colors so your photos may not be effective and may tend to be messy/lack point of focus in colors. So getting rid of all the street colors by Converting them to black&white is the best solution, especially since most street shots are wide angle which may catch a lot of unwanted elements,
In my opinion, if you shoot on the street with a DSLR and a 200mm tele or zoom lens, that's shooting on the street, not a street photography. In fact I'm a bit crazy about this...if you use any focal length longer than 50mm for street photography that's cheating... :-) Get close and personal and don't mind being thrown a bottle at once in a while.... The funny thing that I have experienced shooting street is not trouble from some dudes, but mainly elder ladies who demanded to know why I have to take photos of her or 'her things', or even 'why do I have to take photos inside her house' etc...
As already said its mainly the distraction thing. Look down any high street and its full of colourful shops fronts and signs which can distract from that is usually the main focus of a person, also other people in the background may well be wearing bright colours which again can be distracting.
Though must of the street photogers I follow on Flickr will post colour shots sometimes, they seem to "know" when colour would work better.
@viranod RE: Focal Length, finally someone else on here has said it. Thomas Leuthard sums it up best
"The smaller your focal length, the bigger your balls"
@38mm haha Yeh. Love 35/1.4 or 28/2.0 and just walk right to them. Not just for fun/coolness or whatever. This way you also get interesting gestures and expressions that cannot be obtained from sneaking in and zoom....
I guess I should add my two-bobs... I grew up in a small city, very cosmopolitan, quite vibrant and a lot of space. It was also the driest state in the driest continent, so often the sun would shine and the sky would be blue. As I grew up, and I took some photos, I would read and hear from Professional Photographers that they loved the small city where I grew up because no where else on the planet was a city with sunlight so clear.
You can see where I am heading, this place was a city of colour.
On occasion I would head to neighbouring bigger cities of Sydney and Melbourne and often it was be overcast, the steel skyscrapers just soared up and into the grey sky, every overcoat was black, grey or brown and every umbrella was black. The pavement blended into the road into the Tram lines into the building across the street.
You get the picture, if shit were snow, these places would be ski resorts.
I agree with some of the statements here, that colour represents life and joy and this kinda tells me that maybe there's not much joy on the big city life... perhaps it is all just work/eat/sleep?
@k1w1@shirljess - That is well said, but it also says to me as a photographer "take this guy or girls photo in bnw because he/she tells me that there is no hope, no joy, so lets reinforce that". That photo is a kick in the guts to that person on the street... I would be so looking for that glimmer of colour, that glimmer of hope, that reason for waking up each day.
@38mm - Jase, you say that too much colour can be distracting. True, but grey on grey on grey can be dull and lifeless. My argument has always been that modern day photographers who automatically reach for the btw button are afraid of colour. They are scared by it.
Just do whatever is best for the shot and the story you want to tell with the shot. I shoot mainly in colour and in my street photos I almost always select scenes and stories which work in colour and the colour adds to the shot. Sometimes colour is a distraction, and then I have no problem to go monochrome.
One thing to remember though : If you convert to monochrome, make sure that you adjust brightness, contrast, shadows and highlights ... otherwise the shot may turn out to be quite flat. This goes with colour shots also, but monochromes can take so much more tweaking and they almost always need that tweaking too.
@bobfoto After many years of working with these folks and the kicks and set backs and the lost hopes it's so very hard to see any spark of hope....even the very smallest ones. Next time you are doing street photography stop and chat to these people and see if they would prefer their image in B&E or in colour.... or even if they want there image recorded for all time.
What we need is affordable housing to create the start of hope. Some of the people I work with actually have jobs but their wages dont allow for them to have a home. It's a pretty sad world out there.
I think there is overuse of B&W as a trend/gimmick. Classical B&W street photography was not a choice, until the 70s, photographers couldn't afford color processing.
We are in a retro look trend (see Instagram and other film look filters) that contributes to overuse of B&W.
@k1w1 - At least 90% of the Papua New Guinean population are on an income less than $100USD per year. I think they would love to have the same kind of unemployment benefits of someone from New Zealand or Canada, but no, the PNGean have nothing to subsidise their grass roots income.
Yet for every PNGean I meet, there is a glimmer of hope... they bathe and drink their own shit, but there is hope. They die from TB and Malaria, but they have hope. I live in a world where people die from infection and snake bite because it is more than 8 hours to a medical centre.
I appreciate your work Christine, but I know full well the feeling that for every time my life hits the shits, there is so many more worse than I.
@bobfoto I just want to live in a world where everyone has the necessities in life. A world where I dont give my lunch or dinner to someone who has come into the office to see me because they have nothing. I so wish we could change the world!!! Maybe one day :)
tx all for the interesting discussion... it seems that for many it's about whether or not colour adds to or distracts from the subject... and this makes sense to me and i think may be applicable to all photography - not just street... in taking a quick glance at PP (which has comparatively little street photography), most photos are in colour... the ones in b&w are clearly rendered so to achieve a particular style or impact...
furthermore, looking at the ones in colour... they are either very "clean" images... that is, it would appear that the photographer had a considerable amount of control over the subject and composition... or they were photos of nature - which has a tendency to be colourful, but often in a way that is more cohesive than a street scene...
Jason / Christine... i hear what you both are saying... but two things spring immediately to mind... one is that your cultures are so clearly hugely different... sadly, that sense of optimism seems to have abandoned us in the Western hemisphere... and no amount of wishful thinking will bring it back... the other thing is that to my mind, street photography is not limited to street people...
anyway... thank you all again for your thoughtful participation in this discussion... i have found it very illuminating...
n
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For me I think b&w really gives street photography it's grit and it is more the feeling that I get from it such as moodiness, reflection on poverty and the deeper darker seedier side of things. I do not so much buy into the "colour is a distraction" argument as much as b&w has been around a lot longer than color when it comes to the media, press and photography and perhaps we have the feel of the emotions that it evokes, imbedded in us. Great thread BTW, it should really get a debate going.
There examples of all ways of looking at a street scene in my project some better than others
I guess the reason why flower photos are almost always colour is because generally their beauty lies at least partially in their colour
Good discussion @northy
1) most of the well known street photos are black&white so some of today's street photographers still stick to blak&white because it's cool, elite. Just look at the newest Leica monochrome . It only produces black&white photos, and according to Leica sharper images. And believe me, they will sell so well. Most will end up unused or used to hang around some necks like jewelry.
2) streets are full of colors so your photos may not be effective and may tend to be messy/lack point of focus in colors. So getting rid of all the street colors by Converting them to black&white is the best solution, especially since most street shots are wide angle which may catch a lot of unwanted elements,
In my opinion, if you shoot on the street with a DSLR and a 200mm tele or zoom lens, that's shooting on the street, not a street photography. In fact I'm a bit crazy about this...if you use any focal length longer than 50mm for street photography that's cheating... :-) Get close and personal and don't mind being thrown a bottle at once in a while.... The funny thing that I have experienced shooting street is not trouble from some dudes, but mainly elder ladies who demanded to know why I have to take photos of her or 'her things', or even 'why do I have to take photos inside her house' etc...
Though must of the street photogers I follow on Flickr will post colour shots sometimes, they seem to "know" when colour would work better.
@viranod RE: Focal Length, finally someone else on here has said it. Thomas Leuthard sums it up best
"The smaller your focal length, the bigger your balls"
You can see where I am heading, this place was a city of colour.
On occasion I would head to neighbouring bigger cities of Sydney and Melbourne and often it was be overcast, the steel skyscrapers just soared up and into the grey sky, every overcoat was black, grey or brown and every umbrella was black. The pavement blended into the road into the Tram lines into the building across the street.
You get the picture, if shit were snow, these places would be ski resorts.
I agree with some of the statements here, that colour represents life and joy and this kinda tells me that maybe there's not much joy on the big city life... perhaps it is all just work/eat/sleep?
@k1w1 @shirljess - That is well said, but it also says to me as a photographer "take this guy or girls photo in bnw because he/she tells me that there is no hope, no joy, so lets reinforce that". That photo is a kick in the guts to that person on the street... I would be so looking for that glimmer of colour, that glimmer of hope, that reason for waking up each day.
@38mm - Jase, you say that too much colour can be distracting. True, but grey on grey on grey can be dull and lifeless. My argument has always been that modern day photographers who automatically reach for the btw button are afraid of colour. They are scared by it.
I say embrace.
But yeah you are right, I suck at colour photography and have always admitted that, though some people suck at B&W as well :)
One thing to remember though : If you convert to monochrome, make sure that you adjust brightness, contrast, shadows and highlights ... otherwise the shot may turn out to be quite flat. This goes with colour shots also, but monochromes can take so much more tweaking and they almost always need that tweaking too.
18mm street/candid
18mm street
28mm construction site/candid
35mm street/candid
35mm street/candid
50mm street/candid
What we need is affordable housing to create the start of hope. Some of the people I work with actually have jobs but their wages dont allow for them to have a home. It's a pretty sad world out there.
We are in a retro look trend (see Instagram and other film look filters) that contributes to overuse of B&W.
Yet for every PNGean I meet, there is a glimmer of hope... they bathe and drink their own shit, but there is hope. They die from TB and Malaria, but they have hope. I live in a world where people die from infection and snake bite because it is more than 8 hours to a medical centre.
I appreciate your work Christine, but I know full well the feeling that for every time my life hits the shits, there is so many more worse than I.
tx all for the interesting discussion... it seems that for many it's about whether or not colour adds to or distracts from the subject... and this makes sense to me and i think may be applicable to all photography - not just street... in taking a quick glance at PP (which has comparatively little street photography), most photos are in colour... the ones in b&w are clearly rendered so to achieve a particular style or impact...
furthermore, looking at the ones in colour... they are either very "clean" images... that is, it would appear that the photographer had a considerable amount of control over the subject and composition... or they were photos of nature - which has a tendency to be colourful, but often in a way that is more cohesive than a street scene...
Jason / Christine... i hear what you both are saying... but two things spring immediately to mind... one is that your cultures are so clearly hugely different... sadly, that sense of optimism seems to have abandoned us in the Western hemisphere... and no amount of wishful thinking will bring it back... the other thing is that to my mind, street photography is not limited to street people...
anyway... thank you all again for your thoughtful participation in this discussion... i have found it very illuminating...
n