2014-033 Shadow play

Shadow play is what you do every time you take a black and white photograph.  With no color to distract you -- or bail you out -- you play with light and shadow, form and line.  Texture and expression come to the fore.

Maybe that's why black and white photographs tend toward a more direct line to the heart of the matter, the soul of the person.  Shadow and light, form and line, back to the basics.

Try this one out.  Consider a photograph of an attractive woman in a bright red dress.  We will assume you have a photograph that will work well in either color or black and white.  Work it up both ways.  The color photograph will be about the red dress; the black and white will be about the woman.

Even the purists will allow that some photographs ought to be in color.  If you want a photograph to be about the marvelous red of the dress, please don't try it in black and white.  Or to capture the array of spring greens on the hillside along the creek, you are going to need color.  If the photograph is about color, clearly it must be in color.  If the photograph is about anything else, the purists will tell you it ought to be in black and white.  I don't go quite that far, but I'm close.

The best color photos, also, are all about light.  But as soon as you add shadow play to the game, I think you're talking black and white.

Prompt for February 2 from write alm.