Black and White Photographs

[Oola]

What is it about black and white photographs that makes them so classic and timeless? It goes without saying that I love looking at old black and white Beatle pictures, but I also love old pictures of streets, local historic pictures, pictures of my Mum when she was young in the 60s, old wedding pictures and snapshots of my grandparents in the 40s and 50s.

There's something about black and white pictures that captures the moment on film with a completely different quality to colour, and I can't quite place what it is.

I found these pics on an old webpage I'd put up years ago, from a trip to Sennen in Cornwall 10 years ago when I was 15. I love looking back on them, they seem so much more atmospheric then the colour ones I have

http://www.chrosys.com/photos/cornwall.htm

[lily]

Thank you for the pictures, especially interested as we've visited Sennen recently.
I've taken some black + white pictures of Dartmoor- stone crosses -and I think they have a lot more atmosphere then colour. Perhaps the colour is a distraction to the content?

[Healing Hands]

When Lara got married she had some of her wedding photo's done in sepia and they look lovely, also when Natalie got married she had some of her wedding photo done in blak and white. There is something about black and white or sepia that has a mystery to them.

[franbee]

I love sepia photos, have loads of old ones of the family. Also one which is sepia touched up with bits of goldy colour.

[Crocus]

It's as if these photos are surrounded by some kind of mystery. Lovely photos Oola!

[eleanor2]

they are really good photos.doesn't the sea make a powerful backdrop to a photo.my daughter took some black and white photos a couple of years ago of my 2 grandsons.one of them is framed and is my favorite.i have already said as i change the others as they get older.i cant bring myself to change that one.there is more mystery and imaginary depth to black and white.i love colour photos to they are more life like.

[Oola]

Here's a stark black and white picture taken by David Bailey of John & Paul - I really like it

http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/photography/images/photograph/large/im00022.jpg

In comparison Ansel Adams did some great landscape shots

http://www.afterimagegallery.com/adamsportf3bridalveil.jpg


Whilst Diane Arbus did some very kitsch, strange shots of 'everyday' life

http://www.studium.iar.unicamp.br/13/retrato/images/arbus_hand_grenade.jpg

[jazzactivist]

Those are lovely photos of you at Sennen, Oola. I lived in St Ives for a while and regularly used to go there. I agree with everyone here that black and white or sepia adds a depth of atmosphere to photographs that colour can't quite match, unless the colour is very deliberately used to enhance the shot. I really like the stark contrast in the Beatles shot, and also the quirky Arbus shot. I am also a fan of the black and white portraits created by Jane Bown who was a photographer for the Observer in the 60s and 70s.

[sheddie]

Love the photos Oola! A few years ago Mum,OH ,Jo and I went to Windsor. There you could go in a shop and dress like the Victorians did and they took a photo like they used to. Mum was dressed in a long dress and a big hat with roses on, I was similar, OH wore a uniform and Jo a sailor suit.It was like you were standing in a Victorian drawing room and everywhere there were signs that read 'The Victorians didn't smile'. We look just like something from the past. I always think that could be a good business venture here. X

[TIGGYWINKLE]

I use Picasa(free download from Google) for my photos. They go from my camera to My Pictures, and then they are automatically imported into Picasa, where I sort them into more specific files.The master File is still My Pictures. I've had great fun with the editing features, and they are so easy to use.You can change photos to black and white, or Sepia and then you can make them hazy, and do lots of interesting things. I am wading my way through all our old photos. First I sorted them by year, But still found it hard to find photos easily. Last winter I collected some very smart shoe boxes, and have started filing them in envelopes with specific headings such as Garden, American cousins, childhood photos etc. It is tedious, a winter job. I am only up to 1984, but it works really well. Now I am in a Jumble on the computer, and must start to delete,sort and put on disc.
I have discarded old negatives, and just take a photo of old photos if I need one. Still trying to figure out how to upload a photo here- a bit confused about size. Just wish there were 48 hours in a day!

[Rustic Pumpkin]

I do a lot of post editing in my computer, but no matter how hard I try I find you cannot recreate the same ambience by digitally changing a photo to black and white as using b+w film. I also have a b+w film facility on my digital camera, but again, I find you cannot get quite the same effect as 35mm b+w film.

Still trying to figure out how to post my pics on here!

[TIGGYWINKLE]

Yes,I do agree with you rustic Pumpkin, but I do enjoy messing about with the features. I am also lost as far as putting up photos on the site. I posted in Troubleshooting to Oola tonight. Then I noticed that Sheddie's come up as thumbnails, and then show up really well. Salle de Bain's don't enlarge very well.
It's the sizing that blows my brain. I'm sure we'll get there.