I’ve been shooting bold color with reckless abandon for the last year. I’ve been drawn to saturated blues, greens, bright reds, and vivid orange. I’ve been insatiable. Lately, however, I’ve noticed a subtle shift in my gaze. As summer begins to draw to a close and the light begins to change, I find myself thinking a lot about black and white photography.
I love the clarity of black and white images. Light and shadow convey such depth. Your eye is drawn to the patterns, lines, shapes, and textures around you. Without color, a different story is told. We find the soul with black and white photography.
As I walk my garden in late August, I’m always struck by the light. Intensely bright and powerful.
Both light and shadow are the dance of love. ~ Rumi
The clarity of black and white is so powerful.
The delicate petals of Geraniums.
The hope contained in these teeny tiny Sedum buds makes me smile.
Do you find yourself drawn to color or B&W? Do the seasons influence your choice?
Beautiful, Laura! I love black and white, but it’s not a seasonal thing as much as a life stage thing for me. Most of my life I have preferred color when available and saw digital black and white mainly as a way to deal with mixed lighting. In the past year or so that has changed, and I am appreciating the way black and white draws attention to contrast and texture. I like setting my digital Nikon to a black and white setting and opening up the raw files in Nikon’s software so they keep their settings. I still have the option of color, but I find myself seeing differently this way.