Black and white times again

I have at least one more post about the Kyoto Botanical Gardens but I am assuming that you guys do not want to be assailed with more pictures of plants. So I will hold it off till some other time to post it.



I will continue with my current obsession of black and white photography. Although colour photography is gorgeous and even essential in some situations, B&W mode can give a picture a different feel to it. Take for example, the first picture above. I don't think that it would stand out if it were in colour but since it was taken in B&W mode, the shadows and light appear more distinct, making the trees more striking and the presence of gloom.



The varying shades of grey, black and white allow more details to appear more visually striking, which sometimes can be lost in colour. Just look up Ansel Adams and his brilliant B&W photography of landscapes. Just.Simply.Awesome.



And I love B&W portraits of people. One of my favourite photographers in this medium is Henri Cartier-Bresson. In a portrait, the person is the main objective, the rest can either enhance or distract the viewer. So when your eye sensors are not assailed by colours, you will pay more attention to the person(s) in the picture and not so much to her/his attire, accessories and so on. However, there are many portraits of people in colour that are iconic - Annie Leibovitz is the master in this field. I love the one she took of John Lennon, naked, with his wife, Yoko Ono, for the Rolling Stone magazine (and I liked it even before I knew the story behind it).



Despite the advancement in colour photography over the years, B&W photography is still being embraced and loved. I don't think that it will ever fade away.