Getting Down To The Black and White Of It

Color is all around us.

But what happens when you intentionally take that away from your work?

I love a dramatic pallet; I would never take the color out of my work.

Okay, but you’re missing a chance to see the world from a different angle.

Color catches the eye true enough, but it can also distract from the creative eye that comes out only when you take away one of the major cues.

Do you think all of the classic films of yester year were made in black and white because there was no color? No, the creative force behind those images made the decision that the story could be told with more impact if it had no color to distract from the message.

Imagine Harry Lime escaping through the sewers of Vienna in color. No that would be all wrong and Casablanca in color? Rick and Elsa just wouldn’t be the same. Could Paul Newman make us root for “Fast” Eddie if there were all the colors of the rainbow in that gritty pool room? Come on, you know “Fats” was the Man. You have to have a way to make the peanut gallery focus.

Could Rod Serling’s majestic script for “Seven Days In May” tell the same story without the sinister shadows of conspiracy as well as the rich tones of black and white?

Even something as lighthearted as “The Apartment” couldn’t tell the same story if you could see Shirley MacClaine’s red hair.

There are just some times when black and white does it better.

Why not take a break from all of that color, not forever just for a few minutes and see what you can do with just black and white.

I found these nice guys on the side of the road on Libby Lane and had to grab a shot. Now they don’t tell much of a story the way I saw them, but I had no intention of leaving them alone.

So I cranked up Photoshop Elements and did a conversion. Better, then a little crop and this is what happened.

I think I like my trees better than the one by the side of the road but that is for you and all the other guys who take a look to decide.

And you know how I love the old ship slowly rotting away in Charleston. I did the same for ole Hesperus and the result is pretty good. If the ole girl can’t live on maybe this image will keep her afloat somewhere.

Now what about you? Don’t you know a thing or two about getting along without all of the colors of the rainbow? So what are you waiting for? Get out there and make some art!