by Editor Rob Darby  
Published the 5th of March 2021

 
'Children of Nepal' by Yvette Depaepe

'Children of Nepal – monochrome version' by Yvette Depaepe

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n/t by Ibrahim Nabeel

n/t by Ibrahim Nabeel

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For many of us, our first steps into photography didn’t start in the realm of black and white. For others, however, black and white film photography may have been where their journey began. It is likely true that where one begins informs their artistic path, at least initially. For others, monochrome photography may be a new avenue of expression.

'A Quarantine View' by Rob Darby

'City Living' by Rob Darby

I wrote this article as an exploration into how an image in colour or monochrome may evoke different emotions from the viewer, or may focus the viewer on elements that the author wants to emphasize. I have often received comments from the 1X community, as well as in other forums, where a photographer critiquing one of my images will say “this image would be better in Black and White” and just as often people may comment that they would prefer to see the image in colour.

'The Gondolier 2' by Carmine Chiriacò

'on the canal' by Carmine Chiriacò

For this article, I have selected a number of images which were published or submitted in both colour and monochrome by photographers here on 1X.

In some cases, both were accepted by curators, in some cases not. 
But the side-by-side comparison of the same (or similar) image rendered in colour and black and white, may reveal the different impact that one or the other approach has on the work’s visual appeal and the emotion that the author intended to invoke.

'Goldeneye' by Jure Kravanja

'Barrel Sky' by Jure Kravanja

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'salt production' by Rolf Endermann

'salt production BW' by Rolf Endermann

So, which is preferable? Well, I would argue that this question is often a matter of aesthetics and personal preference, although without question some images are clearly stronger in colour and others, in monochrome. In some cases, both images are compelling, but for different reasons. The better question might be: how does the mood or subject change with a monochrome conversion? Sometimes, actually quite often, many of us will process an image in greyscale and sRBG to see which captures the mood or the essence of the moment that we want to emphasize.

#1 Veins of the Earth' by Peter Svoboda, MQEP

'Wide River Shapes' by Peter Svoboda, MQEP

Over time, I began to ask myself the question: what specifically is it that makes one version “preferable” over another? Do monochrome images evoke different emotions or turn the viewer’s focus onto an aspect of the image that gets lost in the cacophony of colour? Is colour an essential element of the image and does it positively contribute to the mood or the story the author is telling?

'Passion' by mike kreiten

'Tensionette' by mike kreiten

Not long ago, just before my father passed away, he told me something that I never knew about my grandfather. He was a landscape black and white film photographer back in the mid part of the last century. Since learning this, when I see a monochrome image waves of nostalgia take me back to an earlier time.

'Venecian simbols' by milan malovrh

'Bridge of Venice 1' by milan malovrh

For me, monochrome images evoke remembrances of the first images I saw when I was young. The moody and stunning landscapes of Ansel Adams. The amazing portraitures of Annie Lebowitz. The street photography of Bresson. These artists were able to capture the beauty and mood of a place or a person with whites, greys, and blacks, using contrast, shadow, texture, and shades of tonality to create drama and mood. The face of an elderly man or the granite face of Half Dome in Yosemite may evoke different emotions in monochrome than they do in colour. Not better or worse, necessarily, but certainly different.

'Hong Kong Island' by Daniel Murphy

'Hong Kong Monochrome' by Daniel Murphy

I guess it is safe to say, that a reader’s response to an image is likely reflective of their own particular way of seeing. Some “see” better in black and white. Monochrome images offer no distraction from disparate colours that might, for some people, detract from the core subject of the image or the story they want to convey. The textures, gradations of tonality, shadows, and shapes focus the viewer differently. There is often a rawness to monochrome images. Subjects reveal their organic essence and are stripped bare of the safety of colour.

'Waves' by Arnon Orbach

'Up up and away – Rishon LeZion' by Arnon Orbach

In other images, colour is integral to the success of an image. For example, if one is trying to capture the subtle beauty of a winter sunrise, the soft yellows and blues of an icy scene might add an element of intrigue: the icy cold and the pale sunlight might be more striking in colour to bring out the contrast between the warmth of the sun and cold of the ice.

'Two Trees' by Uschi Hermann

'Winterland' by Uschi Hermann

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'Unjustified Sadness..' by Radu Andrei Alexandru

The same image in monochrome focuses the viewer on the textures of the sky, or wind-blown striations in the snow, the contrast between the light of the sun and the dark shadows in the trees. Or perhaps a monochrome image of this winter scene may accentuate the sense of clarity and cold in the landscape, with gradations of tonality providing the separation of elements instead of colour.

'Mountain Sunrise' by Rob Darby

n/t by Rob Darby

All art is subjective, as we all know too well in the curation process on 1X or the selection of an artist for a particular exhibition.

Whether your preferred genre is monochrome or colour, or both, the most important question that we demand of ourselves to answer is whether a particular image is rendered in a way that maximizes its emotional and visual impact on the viewer.

n/t by NIKA

n/t by NIKA

 
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'The Walk' by Carmine Chiriacó

 
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'Drive Through' by Andreas Agazzi

'Over the Top' by Andreas Agazzi