There goes another misconception that street photographs must be exclusively in Black&White.
I believe that this misconception is rooted to elements which were exposed [pun intended] to the very origins of Street Photography and Photography itself: the ever humble film and paper. I won't dive into SP history stuff, tho, I'm not really good at remembering dates and names really. There are tons of resources out there on the net that would tackle those accounts better than me. ;) Anywaaays, going back to the topic: At the time Henri Cartier-Bresson (HCB) and friends (otherwise called THE Magnum Founders) were scouring and photographing the streets and doing projects about the post-war Earth, technology was far from its peak and all they had were cameras and film rolls which could capture light intensities ONLY.
In other words, color capture was impossible.
In other other words: They had no other choice but to shoot in black and white.
Thus, the world was seen in black and white those days. It just happened that HCB, who lived in a world where red was grey and blue was lighter grey, was later on renowned as the Godfather of SP; naturally then, his works (and of many others in his time) defied the years and has had the power to influence even the youngest generation of street photographers. A strong influence and symbol of standards seen in, guess what?, black and white.
Thus it has lead us to somehow (even subconsciously) think that street shots must be in black and white. Well I do think that HCB himself would disagree. If color film were already existent in their era, I bet my lowly camera that HCB and friends would have shot in color. Or atleast not exclusively in BNW. And we'd think differently about the issue if ever.
But then, it is indeed undeniable that B&W images have a certain "xfactor" that we could not resist. But color has its own lineup of advantages and "charms" as well. So I think it would be fair to discuss and dissect both the methods.
*Advantages of B&W:
1. The removal of the color stimuli arouses the mind to search and appreciate geometry, patterns, textures, symmetry, and relationships of the elements in the frame.
2. A sense of "rawness" is induced by B&W images (well at least for me).
Tried to emphasize the textures by eliminating the colors of the photo. Copyright: Julian Barbadillo
*Charms of Color:
1. Moods are much easier portrayed with the help of colors and their associated psychological interpretations. For example, a photo tainted with the primary colors invoke a sense of joy and even intensity. A photo dominated by blues seem to convey a gloomy atmosphere.
2. If used properly, color could invoke what I call "eyegasms". You know what I mean. :))
A captured soul. I can't just dump the colors out of this photo. Copyright: Julian Barbadillo
And then again another question is raised: When should I use B&W or color?
Being born in the digital age, I have been an exclusive digital shooter since I got interested in photography. It's a shame I haven't tried film yet. But I'm planning to do so soon. Anyways, being a digital shooter as I am, I have learned a simple rule of thumb concerning this somewhere in the vast web of info we call 'internet', too sad I can't remember where exactly. But I'll gladly share it to everyone nonetheless (well if you won't really find this corny or plain common knowledge. 'Cause I found this very influencial to my workflow).
"If color isn't adding interest to your photo, drop it."
Hence, I never shoot in monochrome (never a BNW jpg straight from the cam) and just convert the photos to BNW according to my desire. But, I normally end up with a greater count for black and white photos after post processing. I dunno, maybe I'm more of a BNW shooter. :))
ANYWAYS! This had been a looong post, so I'll just share some name of photographers whose works are worthy to review and are relevant to the post. You might as well see the issue in a much lighter way and even learn more from their photographs. ;)
*Some renowned BNW Streettogs:
*Some Color Shooting Streettogs:
very informative! idol!
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