How many times have you heard that a true photographic expression can’t be presented in color – that the only valid way to show emotion or “feelings” in photography is with Black and White? In other words, photographic reality must be Monochrome.
When you think about it, that sounds pretty funny, huh! After all, the reality that we see and experience is in color, unless you are one of the few who don’t have the capacity to experience a full color pallet.
This image is an example that shows how the original color version expresses reality far better than the monochrome version.
They both are good presentations of the musician but only the color version is a true expression of reality and the emotion that goes with the experience of being there, hearing the music and enjoying the memory of it all.
I’m not criticizing non-color images. If you’ve seen any of my prior posts, you know that I love to do monochromes, duotones, tritones, split toning and a variety of other photographic expressions that are not in true, living, realistic color. All of those alternative methods are simply artistic re-interpretations of reality but don’t express the visual experience as it really is seen.
Another area where color better represents reality is landscape and nature photography. The HDR images below were both worked with Nik HDR Efex Pro and Adobe Photoshop but the monochrome version was enhanced with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.
You can see that in this case, the monochrome image lacks the vibrant visual draw of the color image. It’s still a nice artistic expression but not realistic by any means.
For the two images below, I took the color version and loaded it into Adobe Camera Raw and did split toning with the highlights as yellow and the shadows as red with the mix toward the highlight end. It produced a nice warm color version. I then used Channel Mixer in Photoshop for a monochrome conversion using the yellow filter to get the image on the right. Again, it’s a nice monochrome with a little more contrast than the one above. A nice artistic version but not realistic.
So, what about my statement above; . . . “only the color version is a true expression of reality and the emotion that goes with the experience of being there, . . . and enjoying the memory of it all.”
Please, let me know what you think. I’m sure someone might have a different (visual) perspective. 
I couldn’t end without an artsy, monochrome version of my starting image.
Interesting post Mark. I think there are three types of people, ones that see things in color, ones that see the things in B&W and those who straddle both. I happen to see life in color. Whenever I see a scene that I want to capture, B&W never enters my mind. I know others who only see only the B&W version when shooting. I think the emotion of an image is dependent upon the type of person you are. That being said, I enjoy well done B&W and sometimes wish I could envision it when shooting.
Thanks for your thoughts, Len. I still wonder if those who say they see things in B&W are only choosing to do that, since it’s not at all natural. Or can we just turn off our visual color sensors by choice? Doubt it!
(color blindness excluded, of course)
I chose to use the “see things in b&w” argument back when I did my own darkroom work and couldn’t afford the color processing. Ah, the joy of digital where we can now choose our preferences with a single click.
Like you, I also enjoy well done b&w and the variety of “tones” that we now available.
I’m probably one of those people that straddle both ends of the spectrum. I love color images and I see the world in color (literally and figuratively) but I do love the drama of B&W and there are times when I’ll see a scene before and just know that I will process it in B&W. You show some really good examples. I think that images of the musician and the landscape convey the scene beautifully in color. The image of the deer I actually prefer in B&W. Why because to me the focal point of the image is the deer and I think the B&W does a better job of isolating the subject.
Appreciate your comment, Edith. I tend to agree with your opinion. But, I still prefer the color image of the deer. It’s nice that we all can enjoy our distinct preferences.
I remember one of your b&w shots from a while back, At Home in Murano. That one was really nice and probably works bests in monochrome.
I enjoy creating B&W and toned images but see that approach as an artistic expression and matter of preference.
I am in the color camp, Mark. When capturing images it is my first consideration, having the ability to present the image as seen originally or as close as I can get to that experience. Having said that, I tend to push the color a bit and add a little vividness which rides the edge of reality at times but again, this is a preference. Color, without a doubt, is how we see things naturally, in my humble opinion.
I’m with ya, Jimi. No need to be humble.
Reality is color and the others are artistic expression. Artsy is really good also!! And, your color punches really give a nice edge to your images.
Pingback: Aria Resort & Casino | HDR Photography - Jimi Jones Visuals
Pingback: How Could That be Real - A Case For Monochrome, etc. | HDR4real - Realistic HDR Photography