Do you see a B&W?

[Donald]

Robin and Donald... I'm in your club too! My wife hates B&W and will not even watch an old movie on TV if it is B&W.

However, I think that the lighting and photography in the old B&W Hollywood films were absolutely great!

I also like many B&W still images...

Our little Community Cinema Club which meets once a month in our village hall (about 35-40 people attend), ran The Third Man at the end of last year. I'd never seen it on a big screen. The lighting and the rich tones (especially the blacks) are just spectacular. I'd watch it again and again just for that.

[jad]

Seeing B&W in the digital world of all color
I worked with a view camera using only Black and White film for many years. When I switched to digital I found the color image became a problem for me to deal with both at the time of exposure and in the post processing. During my film days I only had to deal with the color when I was looking at the scene to photograph. I used B&W Polaroid film to analyze the exposure and composition and everything after that in the process was all monochrome. With the digital camera I decide I needed to get rid of the color on the LCD screen in order to see the image in B&W at the time of exposure. This was a big help for me because now my LCD screen takes the place of my old Polaroid film test exposure. On my Canon 5D11 I have set the picture style to monochrome to get the LCD to B&W. I only record in RAW so my images when I download are 16 bit color. At that point I need to deal again with color. But to view my initial exposure in the field in B&W is a big help in visualizing the final image. If you switch your LCD screen to monochrome you MUST record all of your images in RAW or they will come out 8bit B&W images. http://johndoddato.blogspot.com/

[Mike Buckley]

I have set the picture style to monochrome to get the LCD to B&W.

As obvious as that might seem, I have never thought of doing that. Thanks for the idea, John!

[Donald]

I have set the picture style to monochrome to get the LCD to B&W.

Yep, that's the way I shoot as well.

[KennyF]

I mix & match sometimes the texture or geometry is there and I can see that a b&w is best, sometimes I try it post process and like the result.
My missus also hates my b&WS and says its my attempt at being arty farty but I think they're part of my best work my favourite shot of her is a b&w which really sets her off

[rambler4466]

When you look at an image can you distinguish between the subject matter and the subject? For example in the seal photo above, the seal is the subject matter, but what is the subject? Would it change if the picture was in color? Would the color of the sand and the color of the seal be important to the subject or does it distract us from the subject. The subject typically evokes an emotion. Does adding color change our emotion. If your subject is fear, what subject matter could be best used to envoke that subject? Would color be important? Could you express it better if your subject matter was shown in B&W? For an easier example, lets say your subject was texture and your subject matter was the wall of an old barn. The wall is mostly weathered wood, but there are traces of fading red paint. So, what would best show the texture? Color or B&W? Lets say you want to show the emotion of a Civil War battlefield and your eye is caught by the curve of an original snake fence stretching all the way across the field (Antietam has one). Today there is tall green grass un mowed growing along the fence. Which would best show the emotion of history, 1860 something, war, as you frame your shot, color or B&W?

[Donald]

Frank - For me, the question that leads to the answer to the questions you pose is - Is the inclusion or exclusion of colour going to contribute to achieving the vision that is in my head of this scene? That is, how am I seeing it? And only you can answer that becuase a) you're there and b) you know what image you want to make. I could be standing beside you and see an entirely different image.

It's that old adage about the picture being made behind your eyeballs.

So, I don't use the terminlogy of subject and subject matter that you use. But I think I follow what you mean. And, again, my view is that these are questions you need to answer (and only you can answer them) before you ever press the shutter and then capture your photograph and make your image accordingly.