Color and Black and White

When photography was first widely practiced, there were those who immediately sought ways to make color images, or who insisted that color be added through paints, toners or dyes. It is often surprising to see just how much color was daubed onto nineteenth century images; it's like first learning that many ancient Roman or Greek statues were painted, and often gaudily at that. The images of the nineteenth century were dutifully colored by freelance artists and by painters employed by photographic studios. Understandably, the lack of color often bothered these photographers, as it did the consumers who wanted a natural portrayal of themselves or their loved ones. And, if not colored, the prints were toned, sometimes in imitation of painters, other times to remove the cold, metallic rendition of the photographic image itself.

We look at these images as quaint, but only because we now have the ability to choose between a color or black and white image with such ease. And now that color is with us the black and white image stands as a unique visual form that needn't stand in as the base for colorized images. Now, when we choose to color a black and white image, or to add tone to it in some way, we do so to add to its expressive qualities, and not merely to make up for lack of color.



All this does not mean that it's a color versus black and white debate; there are no sides to be taken and defended. It's more a matter of appreciating the artistic pleasure that black and white affords, and beginning to understand the visual dynamics that make it unique. The aim of any print is to create images that will touch the viewer and serve as an expressive vehicle for the photographer.