When I was child first starting out in photography, I hated to take photographs with black and white film. I wanted to capture the world as I saw it, and I saw the world in color. I wanted nothing to do with black and white photography. And, for years and years, I had nothing to do with black and white photography.
But, as I learned more about photography, especially photographic composition, I realized that sometimes black and white photography was a much better means of portraying what I saw than color photography would have been.
What I have noticed with my photography over the years is that the primary compositional element color photography emphasizes is, typically, color. The other elements of composition – line, texture, shape, form, and pattern – often seem to be secondary considerations if I have considered them at all.
With black and white photography, color is no longer the primary element since, get ready for a deep thought here, there is no color. With the color element removed, I am able to see and emphasize the other compositional elements, which I often find to be quite remarkable.
The picture above is a shot taken on a small bridge that crosses North Sylamore Creek at Blanchard Springs. I notice two things about this image when I look at it. First is the curving shape of the creek bank. Second is the texture on the large flat rock. Without even touching that rock, I can feel how rough it must be on bare feet. In the color version, everything seemed to blend together, and neither of these elements was as obvious to me as it is in the black and white version.
So, the next time you have a color shot that you just can’t get the way you want, try converting it to black and white. The results just might surprise and please you.