In sterile dictionary language, photography might be defined as, "the process, of recording visual images", or words to that effect. Rigid definitions don't exist when you're talking about art. Which is the superior medium, color or black and white, film or digital? These are subjective questions, without definitive answers. What works in one situation may fall miserably in another. Sporting events are one example of a situation when color is superior. Landscapes and portraiture can go either way. A black and white landscape can save a picture from being overwhelmed by excessive color. Everything comes down to application and execution. Just as great ideas are sometimes most powerfully expressed through writing, the best black and white photography speaks to deeper truth. Black and white allows the photographer as artist to reveal a world invisible to the naked eye. In black and white, abstract shapes, contrast, and recurring patterns have a psychological impact and dignity often unrealized in color. When the beauty of a common place item comes through in a photograph, the photograph has become art. Tonight I have converted several EN favorites into Black and White and in doing so they have the power to speak a new story.
