black and white

I must have black and white on the brain or something. Certain images just lend themselves more to black and white, they take on a whole new meaning, a much more deep and detailed, almost more emotional "look" if you will.
We do a lot of driving during the show season and see lots of interesting things. One of the things I keep a keen eye out for are abandoned buildings that tell a story of a different time, different place. Especially eery are the buildings that look like one day, the occupant(s) just vanished and nothing has been touched since. Here is such a picture, appropriately in black and white:



Haunted house? Looks to me like there's an apparition of someone sobbing in the second floor window.


Note the beautiful architecture of this once grand farmhouse, with curtains from a different era drawn open neatly. First thing that came to mind was Adams Family. Houses like this will never be built in this way ever again, and to see them neglected and overgrown tugs at my heart a bit.

This image would have never worked in color. The black and white defines everything and brings out the "apparition" in the second floor window.

Vivid color is a description that is very much associated with our work, but I find myself being drawn more and more to B&W and the visual definitions only possible through the juxtapositions of light and dark.

The winter Great Lakes surfing story photo essay I'm working on took on a whole new visual meaning with images in black and white. The two terms that keep coming to mind are definition and emotion. Kind of ironic, when not in the too distant past I had the ignorant attitude about black and white as it being bland and boring. It's almost like I'm a music student in college again discovering Miles Davis for the first time,then proceeding to make an uneducated comment to my jazz teacher, (hey Chas!) "What's so great about Miles Davis?" Ooops. An annual essay project was subsequently named in my honor for many years after where each student studied an assigned jazz legend and did a lengthy presentation on the life and music of that musician, which was enlightening and educational. Back then, I became very much enlightened to Miles' music,life and discography,(got to see him live in the 80's) now I am starting the journey of enlightenment to B&W.