I would like to start a discussion on Black and White photography.
I just got back from Paris and have a renewed interest in Black and White.
I was especially inspired with the photos of Henri Cartier - Bresson ( you can google some of his works).
I have used various techniques to convert to B&W and although I am a fan of Silver Effects Pro but I do not find that it satisfies all my desires.
Simple Raw contrast, black, clarity and saturation adjustments sometimes are more pleasing.
Each of these examples I posted was post processed with a different technique, software or workflow.
What little I know about B&W needs to be expanded on.
I often wonder how the masters perfected their photos with no photoshop, but when I look at them deeper (exhibit at the British Museum) I found that they were not perfect and that was a part of the attraction. Some were more simple than I would have thought of and some were much wider angle than I would have though of and some were much closer than I would have thought of.
An early piece of advice I got on B&W processing is that in every B&W photo something must be white and something must be black.
And the mindful reflection that a color photograph captures an image of a person while a B&W captures the soul.
I am looking forward to a discussion on B&W photography that goes beyond software and post processing and into the art of the subject.
Thank you.
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