It's so refreshing to watch a video like this. It seems that photographers on youtube focus too much on technical studd, gear and tech.. that's cool and all but photography is a lot more than that. It is an art form and it should be treated as such. It should challenge us and we should challenge it. People don't talk to much about the art of photography anymore, and when they do, it's always about composition rules or whatever, told in a way that leads people to think to much about the technical aspect of that. Nice to see someone talking about photography in a more filosophical way. My bad for the grammar mistakes and whatever, english is a second language to me. Thank you
When newspapers switched to printing colour pictures, when they became more like a magazine, heralded the change from black and white film, for most people. They started seeing, in their daily paper, pictures that a short time ago were monochrome, and almost forgot about black and white. It was kept alive by a few enthusiasts, sure, but Mr and Mrs Public wanted their Wedding, Christening, and holidays immortalised in colour, "just like the professionals". Now, because of the cost of colour that killed B&W in the first place, the exact reverse is happening. The world deserves to be immortalised in Black and White, colour just doesn't do it justice.
Agreed seem like the Dumbing down of society in general. Glad there will remain a group of people who appreciate the Artistic way of doing things outside of Society.
Your point about black and white being a metaphor is a very good one. It has something of the eternal about it. It is the same with cinema - which is why people who won't watch black and white movies are missing out on so, so much.
I came back to film in 2017 and shot colour for the first three years as it was cheap and I could get it developed at my local Max Spielmann photo store. I started shooting Black and White in early 2020 and fell in love with it. I went the whole hog and bought some developing kit and chemicals and have really enjoyed learning how to shoot, develop and present my images. I'm going to give darkroom printing a try at some point, but for now my digital darkroom is perfect for me. Film and Digital working in synergy is a powerful thing to behold.
Another great video! I like your description of B&W as a metaphor for reality. You've succeeded in making me nostalgic for my early photography journey. My cousin bought me a Kodak 110 camera when I was six years old. I was hooked instantly. When I decided to get serious, about 10 years later at 16, that same cousin gave me her Canon F-1 with some lenses and a fresh 100-foot roll of T-Max. She also had a darkroom and taught me how to use it. The addiction worsened. I became a lost cause later when I learned how manipulate contrast and tone in black and white using color filters. There is so much nuance to black and white photography, in both the images and the craft, that it's up there at the zenith of the art, if you ask me.
All the most famous photographs were taken in B&W. Back when I was using film in the late 80's, early 90s I was always rather partial to Ilford HP5, pushed slightly to get extra grain and then used with high contrast paper. Glossy magazines of that era still used B&W for artistic effect and many album covers were shot in B&W to give a band a cool look.
I started shooting film in December and have so far only shot B&W (not much color to be found in the winter anyway) and I expected to feel limited by it but as it turns out I love it - I also happen to love Fomapan so my rolls don't cost too much.
Same here. I used to shoot B & W back in the late 80s when I was a student (as we developed the films ourselves at college) & only ever shot colour for 'snaps'. I came back to film last year, like you, and absolutely love B & W. Fomapan is great!
My take is that Monochrome images remove excess information and allow you to see, ironically, more of the thing in subject; to appreciate aspects that were always there but somewhat camouflaged by normalcy and mundanity so we can focus on what's left. The contrast is more often pronounced which allows us to focus on elements that usually merge into each other in normal colour vision.
I shot a lot of Ilford HP5, back in the days of wooden ships and iron men. I did all my own processing, printing, and mounting. My first go with digital left me unimpressed, and I went back to film. I had no darkroom at that point. I shot Kodak Tri-X 400, frequently pushed to ISO 1200, and had it developed and scanned at the shop where I bought the film. The first photo I ever licensed was one shot on Tri-X pushed to ISO 1200. I just bought a Konica 40mm f1.8, with a Konica FS-1 body attached. I want to try the lens on my Sony a7III, but let's not waste a good body, I say. I went back to the shop and bought a roll of HP5. My wife, who doesn't know an f-stop from a doorstop, used to yell at me for shooting B&W, but now she's discovered she likes doing the monochrome conversions on her iPhone photos. My goal for this year is to start doing some large format work, on B&W.
A brilliant philosophical discussion about monochrome (as I prefer to call it) image making. I've always preferred monochrome as reality is reduced to a basic perception for the brain to process. Monochrome can give a sense of misery, darkness, of a shadowy world. Everyday objects are transformed to another dimension. A great video, thanks for another thought provoking discussion.
I'll always admire the Tonal qualities of the BW film that reminds me of Classic Cinema. In terms of visual impact I think that BW will always be more artistic then colour. Bearing in mind this is subjective because I remember using T-Max 400 and the enjoyment of the high contrast look is special dreamlike? Enjoy your videos much appreciated.
Can't beat a good black and white photo. I still use my dad's old camera from before I was born in 61.Bought a pack of 127 roll film and then it was end of production. Like a lot of your viewers I have a lot of various film cameras and all get used. Sadly digital had to enter my life but it's keeping my spark alive. Scan my own processed negatives and slides so win all-round.
I think we are going to see an analog colour crash sometime soon , someone " in the trade " told me 20% of the uk labs have closed in the last year I have a stash of colour neg and positive films in the fridge , I just can't bring myself to pay for postage to a lab plus the costs plus the stress of waiting and hoping nothing goes wrong A roll of 120 Kodak is let's say £15 then postage £3.50 , then development without scans let's say £7. That adds up to £2.12 per shot on 6x6 camera !! I prefer my B&W photos anyway. I may buy an old xpro1 and get an m Mount adapter if I feel the need for colour
A thought provoking video. Well done. I started out with black and white in the early 70s as a youth because it was easy and affordable to develop and print myself. Colour was a much more expensive and complicated enterprise all together. And I still enjoy back and white to this day although the chemicals and enlarger have long since been sold off in favour of digital.
You must be a similar age to me, I started photography in 1978 (when I was 18) with a Zorki4 which was gifted to me by an older work colleague. It's how I learned the basics. The ups and downs of life crushed my interest for a long time, and then the evil of digital corrupted my soul for a few years. I'm back into film again now, but I have to use a lab (A.G. Photolab in Birmingham) to get my film developed/printed as I just don't have the facilities to set up a dark room where I live. Excellent topic by the way. I'm sure Magnum founding member HCB would have agreed with you.
Do you know what I think would be great for these videos? Review Medium Format to Full Frame cameras here. I just bought a MAMIYA SEKOR C 80mm f 2.8 lens for my Sony A7Rii. Plus I ordered a adapter. You should review MF lenses.
I've shot b&w only for years and I still don't know why I prefer it over colour film. The only thing I can come up with is - with b&w one is not distracted by colours and can see the essence of the scene. ? I don't know if that's it but b&w only for me. Really enjoy your walk-around vids!
I only ever shoot in black and white . I just find colour to busy ? A information overload if you will. Black & white captures just enough in my opinion to make for a beautiful photo.
Bit cheeky with title, but it did the job as papers, soaps and other media that grasp one’s attention, at least yours is the truth & real, unlike the biased corrupt newspapers. Yeah some good points and I will add, that it is strange that even our brains add the colour, as we actually see in B&W. I think I asked this before but I’ll blame it on my age, do you send your B&W film away for processing or do you develop your own, I have the cassette type Ro something that allows you to do it in the light, but as yet have still not got around to taking the plunge, I keep meaning to try it with one of the films I’ve retrieved from some old cameras that I’ve bought or acquired over the past couple of years, but again I’m apprehensive that I may just ruin some vintage photos. I acquired a Reid with lenses fairly recently and that had film in probably about a year ago, are you in London as you mention the Parakeets? Regards DG
Once I sold off my expired colour film I decided that except on rare occasions, I would shoot B&W on film and colour (and B&W) on digital. Colour has just got too expensive and I only dev B&W at home currently. To be honest, I really do love shooting in B&W, even having a preset on my Olympus digital camera that shows me the world in monochrome.
Tarkovsky expressed similar thoughts on color and b&w. Although his view leaned more towards the biological than the experiential. He believed we don't perceive color most of the time during daily activities. That we are primarily conscious of only luminance and shapes. I'm not sure I agree with that, but he certainly attempted to fully realize this philosophy in most of his films. Even the color films.
My X-T1 just has a b&w film simulation plus yellow, orange and red filter options. The X-T2 onwards also has Acros which I'd like to try. I'm seriously considering getting a 2 or 3 but in the meantime I need to find an Acros setting for my X-T1. I'd quite like one for HP5 as well but obviously Fujifilm aren't going to provide any for other companie's films.
Startet photography with Kodachrome and Ektachrome slidefilm only. Processing included at Kodachrome it was the best quality you could get at that time... I never changed to digital, now I use Ektachtome and Fuji Velvia... it's another story. Getting more interested in b&w if I could get my own lab... especially with ADOX CMS 20.
I've just got back into SLR 's from my original experience like you in the 1970s and Im loving shooting Black & White on a Praktica BCA Electronic with a Prakticar 28mm 2.8 lens. Found a nice cheap film too. Its' Kentmere Pan 400 from Mr Cad! Amazing results!!
Got some Tri X or whatever in my FED 2 some FP4 in a Zorki 4 and some Ultramax colour in a Pentax SF7 right now....will develop B&W pretty soon too....
Black and white is unnatural, of course. But it strips the world to its essentials. I believe the true nature of people and things comes through more clearly, by being abstracted. My early decades of shooting were almost totally in B/W. Tri-X 90% of the time. Bulk-loaded. D76 1:1. And done. All very cheap to do. I'm feeling tempted to buy a couple of 35mm reels and sally forth again.
What are you guys using to print your black and white with? Is that same paper from India still around that has a higher silver content? Or can you emulate that on your home printer using the color dyes instead of that black ink that prints cold? (I used to print at home using Canon's double weight matte paper)
very enjoyable as per 🙂 I recently loaded some B&W film (Ilford 400) into an old Canon AF-7 and Olympus mju point and shoot cameras. Have not touched them since!! You might have inspired me to get out with them though!
I think colour deceives you. It's too much information and it blends one into the other. Things are much clearer to see in black and white. You see more structure, and form, and that has more impact.
Hand painting black and white film with Marshall Oils adds another layer of mystery to a photograph, especially black and white infrared film.
It's so refreshing to watch a video like this. It seems that photographers on youtube focus too much on technical studd, gear and tech.. that's cool and all but photography is a lot more than that. It is an art form and it should be treated as such. It should challenge us and we should challenge it. People don't talk to much about the art of photography anymore, and when they do, it's always about composition rules or whatever, told in a way that leads people to think to much about the technical aspect of that. Nice to see someone talking about photography in a more filosophical way. My bad for the grammar mistakes and whatever, english is a second language to me. Thank you
When newspapers switched to printing colour pictures, when they became more like a magazine, heralded the change from black and white film, for most people. They started seeing, in their daily paper, pictures that a short time ago were monochrome, and almost forgot about black and white.
It was kept alive by a few enthusiasts, sure, but Mr and Mrs Public wanted their Wedding, Christening, and holidays immortalised in colour, "just like the professionals".
Now, because of the cost of colour that killed B&W in the first place, the exact reverse is happening.
The world deserves to be immortalised in Black and White, colour just doesn't do it justice.
Agreed seem like the Dumbing down of society in general. Glad there will remain a group of people who appreciate the Artistic way of doing things outside of Society.
Your point about black and white being a metaphor is a very good one. It has something of the eternal about it. It is the same with cinema - which is why people who won't watch black and white movies are missing out on so, so much.
The best video of you my friend…!
I came back to film in 2017 and shot colour for the first three years as it was cheap and I could get it developed at my local Max Spielmann photo store. I started shooting Black and White in early 2020 and fell in love with it. I went the whole hog and bought some developing kit and chemicals and have really enjoyed learning how to shoot, develop and present my images. I'm going to give darkroom printing a try at some point, but for now my digital darkroom is perfect for me. Film and Digital working in synergy is a powerful thing to behold.
Another great video! I like your description of B&W as a metaphor for reality. You've succeeded in making me nostalgic for my early photography journey. My cousin bought me a Kodak 110 camera when I was six years old. I was hooked instantly. When I decided to get serious, about 10 years later at 16, that same cousin gave me her Canon F-1 with some lenses and a fresh 100-foot roll of T-Max. She also had a darkroom and taught me how to use it. The addiction worsened. I became a lost cause later when I learned how manipulate contrast and tone in black and white using color filters. There is so much nuance to black and white photography, in both the images and the craft, that it's up there at the zenith of the art, if you ask me.
All the most famous photographs were taken in B&W. Back when I was using film in the late 80's, early 90s I was always rather partial to Ilford HP5, pushed slightly to get extra grain and then used with high contrast paper. Glossy magazines of that era still used B&W for artistic effect and many album covers were shot in B&W to give a band a cool look.
HP5 is my favourite, 800 giving results I like.
Not all them . Not even close
I started shooting film in December and have so far only shot B&W (not much color to be found in the winter anyway) and I expected to feel limited by it but as it turns out I love it - I also happen to love Fomapan so my rolls don't cost too much.
Same here. I used to shoot B & W back in the late 80s when I was a student (as we developed the films ourselves at college) & only ever shot colour for 'snaps'. I came back to film last year, like you, and absolutely love B & W. Fomapan is great!
Excellent once again. Realistic with a love for photography.
Thank you for your work, for your videos that I'm watching every time you are posting a new one
My take is that Monochrome images remove excess information and allow you to see, ironically, more of the thing in subject; to appreciate aspects that were always there but somewhat camouflaged by normalcy and mundanity so we can focus on what's left. The contrast is more often pronounced which allows us to focus on elements that usually merge into each other in normal colour vision.
I shot a lot of Ilford HP5, back in the days of wooden ships and iron men. I did all my own processing, printing, and mounting. My first go with digital left me unimpressed, and I went back to film. I had no darkroom at that point. I shot Kodak Tri-X 400, frequently pushed to ISO 1200, and had it developed and scanned at the shop where I bought the film. The first photo I ever licensed was one shot on Tri-X pushed to ISO 1200. I just bought a Konica 40mm f1.8, with a Konica FS-1 body attached. I want to try the lens on my Sony a7III, but let's not waste a good body, I say. I went back to the shop and bought a roll of HP5. My wife, who doesn't know an f-stop from a doorstop, used to yell at me for shooting B&W, but now she's discovered she likes doing the monochrome conversions on her iPhone photos. My goal for this year is to start doing some large format work, on B&W.
A brilliant philosophical discussion about monochrome (as I prefer to call it) image making. I've always preferred monochrome as reality is reduced to a basic perception for the brain to process. Monochrome can give a sense of misery, darkness, of a shadowy world. Everyday objects are transformed to another dimension. A great video, thanks for another thought provoking discussion.
I'll always admire the Tonal qualities of the BW film that reminds me of Classic Cinema. In terms of visual impact I think that BW will always be more artistic then colour. Bearing in mind this is subjective because I remember using T-Max 400 and the enjoyment of the high contrast look is special dreamlike? Enjoy your videos much appreciated.
Can't beat a good black and white photo. I still use my dad's old camera from before I was born in 61.Bought a pack of 127 roll film and then it was end of production. Like a lot of your viewers I have a lot of various film cameras and all get used. Sadly digital had to enter my life but it's keeping my spark alive. Scan my own processed negatives and slides so win all-round.
I think we are going to see an analog colour crash sometime soon , someone " in the trade " told me 20% of the uk labs have closed in the last year
I have a stash of colour neg and positive films in the fridge , I just can't bring myself to pay for postage to a lab plus the costs plus the stress of waiting and hoping nothing goes wrong
A roll of 120 Kodak is let's say £15 then postage £3.50 , then development without scans let's say £7. That adds up to £2.12 per shot on 6x6 camera !!
I prefer my B&W photos anyway. I may buy an old xpro1 and get an m Mount adapter if I feel the need for colour
A thought provoking video. Well done. I started out with black and white in the early 70s as a youth because it was easy and affordable to develop and print myself. Colour was a much more expensive and complicated enterprise all together. And I still enjoy back and white to this day although the chemicals and enlarger have long since been sold off in favour of digital.
You must be a similar age to me, I started photography in 1978 (when I was 18) with a Zorki4 which was gifted to me by an older work colleague. It's how I learned the basics. The ups and downs of life crushed my interest for a long time, and then the evil of digital corrupted my soul for a few years. I'm back into film again now, but I have to use a lab (A.G. Photolab in Birmingham) to get my film developed/printed as I just don't have the facilities to set up a dark room where I live. Excellent topic by the way. I'm sure Magnum founding member HCB would have agreed with you.
Do you know what I think would be great for these videos? Review Medium Format to Full Frame cameras here. I just bought a MAMIYA SEKOR C 80mm f 2.8 lens for my Sony A7Rii. Plus I ordered a adapter. You should review MF lenses.
Amazing insight, I love listening to your videos!
I've shot b&w only for years and I still don't know why I prefer it over colour film. The only thing I can come up with is - with b&w one is not distracted by colours and can see the essence of the scene. ? I don't know if that's it but b&w only for me. Really enjoy your walk-around vids!
I only ever shoot in black and white . I just find colour to busy ? A information overload if you will. Black & white captures just enough in my opinion to make for a beautiful photo.
Very inspiring, thanks !!!
Pentax just released a monochrome
Thanks for your videos. I really enjoy them very much
The prices are crazy now. Especially delusional Facebook marketplace
Bit cheeky with title, but it did the job as papers, soaps and other media that grasp one’s attention, at least yours is the truth & real, unlike the biased corrupt newspapers. Yeah some good points and I will add, that it is strange that even our brains add the colour, as we actually see in B&W.
I think I asked this before but I’ll blame it on my age, do you send your B&W film away for processing or do you develop your own, I have the cassette type Ro something that allows you to do it in the light, but as yet have still not got around to taking the plunge, I keep meaning to try it with one of the films I’ve retrieved from some old cameras that I’ve bought or acquired over the past couple of years, but again I’m apprehensive that I may just ruin some vintage photos.
I acquired a Reid with lenses fairly recently and that had film in probably about a year ago, are you in London as you mention the Parakeets? Regards DG
Once I sold off my expired colour film I decided that except on rare occasions, I would shoot B&W on film and colour (and B&W) on digital. Colour has just got too expensive and I only dev B&W at home currently.
To be honest, I really do love shooting in B&W, even having a preset on my Olympus digital camera that shows me the world in monochrome.
Tarkovsky expressed similar thoughts on color and b&w. Although his view leaned more towards the biological than the experiential. He believed we don't perceive color most of the time during daily activities. That we are primarily conscious of only luminance and shapes. I'm not sure I agree with that, but he certainly attempted to fully realize this philosophy in most of his films. Even the color films.
My X-T1 just has a b&w film simulation plus yellow, orange and red filter options. The X-T2 onwards also has Acros which I'd like to try. I'm seriously considering getting a 2 or 3 but in the meantime I need to find an Acros setting for my X-T1.
I'd quite like one for HP5 as well but obviously Fujifilm aren't going to provide any for other companie's films.
Sorry, that's wrong. It has yellow, red and green filters, no orange.
Startet photography with Kodachrome and Ektachrome slidefilm only. Processing included at Kodachrome it was the best quality you could get at that time...
I never changed to digital, now I use Ektachtome and Fuji Velvia... it's another story.
Getting more interested in b&w if I could get my own lab... especially with ADOX CMS 20.
I've just got back into SLR 's from my original experience like you in the 1970s and Im loving shooting Black & White on a Praktica BCA Electronic with a Prakticar 28mm 2.8 lens. Found a nice cheap film too. Its' Kentmere Pan 400 from Mr Cad! Amazing results!!
Bulk rolling film is a good idea.
Got some Tri X or whatever in my FED 2 some FP4 in a Zorki 4 and some Ultramax colour in a Pentax SF7 right now....will develop B&W pretty soon too....
B\W is so good.....yes.....
bit off topic... what do you suggest as an alternative to the the Leica Thambar?
Black and white is unnatural, of course. But it strips the world to its essentials. I believe the true nature of people and things comes through more clearly, by being abstracted. My early decades of shooting were almost totally in B/W. Tri-X 90% of the time. Bulk-loaded. D76 1:1. And done. All very cheap to do. I'm feeling tempted to buy a couple of 35mm reels and sally forth again.
What are you guys using to print your black and white with? Is that same paper from India still around that has a higher silver content? Or can you emulate that on your home printer using the color dyes instead of that black ink that prints cold? (I used to print at home using Canon's double weight matte paper)
Ive had descent results using fotospeed platinum barita 300
🙏🏽💜🧘🏽♂️
very enjoyable as per 🙂
I recently loaded some B&W film (Ilford 400) into an old Canon AF-7 and Olympus mju point and shoot cameras. Have not touched them since!! You might have inspired me to get out with them though!
I think colour deceives you. It's too much information and it blends one into the other. Things are much clearer to see in black and white. You see more structure, and form, and that has more impact.
wOW
zUT aLORS
Never used film. There is no need.