Interpretations of Black and White and Color

© 2007 Stuart Pearl http://www.pearlphoto.com/

We’ve all had our favorite teachers. One of mine was Michael Kuzma. He was an excellent photography professor at Miami University more than 30 years ago. Mike taught me advanced camera technique as well as a solid regimen of darkroom and lighting skills. Some of his words stay with me today:

“The main impact of a color photo is often the color itself. But the striking feature of a good black and white image is usually the subject matter or the message that the artist is trying to convey.”

Consider these two pictures. They both show Cleveland’s Inner Harbor with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the right and William Mather freighter to the left.

The city is noted for it’s changeable weather and that day experienced a mix of sun and fog. Although both pictures were created from the same digital file, I “finished” them in different ways: one is displayed in its original color while the other was converted to black and white. The result conveys two entirely different moods.

The color version reminds me of a soft watercolor painting. It’s tonal “feel” is reminiscent of the 19th century painters except for the contradiction caused by the modern architectural shapes and sharp angles. I feel this visual conflict makes the picture even more interesting. The black and white version has a completely different mood. Instead of warmth and wistfulness it conveys a sense of foreboding and potential danger. It could be the jacket cover for a detective novel or a movie poster introducing a movie thriller.

Software like Photoshop enables us to manipulate images in ways similar to the techniques used in traditional wet darkrooms. At the very least it enables us to modify saturation, contrast and exposure as well as highlight and shadow detail. In the extreme we can develop Dali-esque abstractions. Beautiful and fanciful images can be created as well as the stuff of nightmares.

Perhaps we are giving up the magic of seeing an image slowly appear in the darkroom tray. In exchange though, the technology of digital has made it easier to experiment with our imagination and see those results almost instantly.

Taking the Blog Route

Welcome to the blog of Stuart Pearl Photography. For some time friends had urged me to "blog" as a way to present fresh photographic content. They also felt it was a dynamic alternative to the more static website. Creating this blog represents a new direction for me.

Initially I was not a fan of blogs. To me they were just another kind of website. But once I started reading blogs of others in the arts, I discovered that they showed depth and creativity in a “journalistic” way. Their blogs often portrayed a fluid day to day progression of their craft. The concept interested me.

It’s now apparent that a well organized blog can be very effective for presenting new images as well as commentary related to my love of photography. Toward that end I will try to provide an interesting blend of both images and text.

You can look forward to seeing a variety of features in my blog. Mainly it will be used to display current photographs as well as provide links to galleries showing more of my images. Periodically I will write articles on my experience with the art and craft of photography. And finally, this site will be used to showcase events and places that I’ve photographed over the years as well as those projects in which I am currently involved.

Hopefully this area will also generate more interest in my website http://www.pearlphoto.com/ . And if you would like to view working proofs of weddings and other social events that I've covered, you can also visit my proof galleries at: http://www.pbase.com/sapearl/root&page=all . Thank you.