When I was growing up, I always thought that there was no points to a black and white picture. You see, I was a child of the Internet age. Newer, for me, was always better. Sure, in the past there was a time when a black and white print was the best that you could do. Black white photos were the cutting edge back then, so it made sense for them to be used. But nowadays, why would anyone bother. Color photography existed after all, so why use an outdated technology?
Looking back, my earlier reactions seem so naïve. I really knew nothing about art. I liked special effects in movies, I liked computer animation, but I didn't understand art. I didn't understand what a black-and-white picture offers that a color one never can. As a kid, I just didn't have the patience to look carefully. I was intoxicated by color. I was intoxicated by bright sounds and flashing images. I had to grow up a little bit to see the beauty of the black and white picture.
Nowadays, I developed my own photographs. I have at least one black and white poster on every wall. You see, in some ways color gives you a lot of information. It gives you a whole new dimension to explore. In other ways, however, color photography is a drawback. When using color, you can miss out on the richness and depth of light and shadow. In a black and white picture, you can see light and shadow clearly. It seems like a strange paradox, but there is actually a lot more depth to black and white pictures than to color ones. You can look at a flat photograph and still feel space. It really is incredible.
So many people never spend time in art galleries and never get to explore the beauty of images. They will have a few of their favorite images decorating the walls, but they will never open their eyes to all the beauty that is around them. For me, looking at a black and white picture is a way to do this. I'm always amazed at how it works. If you look at a scene through your eyes, you might only see ordinary everyday things. When it is captured in the right black and white picture, however, it becomes luminous. You see all of the beauty that you missed otherwise. I don't know how I failed to see it for so long!
