The Lived Collective

I think black and white, or monochrome, if you’re into sounding like a snob at a bar, is amazing. It is abundant in all the ways it is lacking.

ROYGBIV – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Lacking all, yet telling the most profound stories.

I am old but I’m not that old. the youngsters refer to my demographic as millennials, of which I am the very last. I am not old enough, however, to remember the golden age of black and white film. The talent is used to take to convey a scene and emotion with zero color just gray scale. Yet they still managed to tell beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking stories. Have you seen a black and white photo from the land before time (pre 1935)? Another fun fact for your next night out; Kodachrome was first introduced in 1935 for everyday use. Thus, gone were the days of the daily black and white photographs.

Now don’t hear what I am not saying. I wouldn’t go back. I think color mediums are distinctly special in what they can convey to the viewer. However, I wonder if something was lost when traded our grey scale for full spectrum.

For photographers, a skill was lost or at the least less necessary. We no longer needed as keen an eye for creating scenes and revealing emotions or displaying grand moments. The color itself allowed us to get away with less attention to the art itself. Much like how the introduction of digital photography has slowly degraded the art of photography itself. Anyone can fabricate a Nat Geo worthy image now, the majority of the skill is now in editing not in taking the photo itself. Some could certainly argue that being excellent at post production is just that, and that is not the same as being good at photography.

Well alright. Now that everyone is offended. Let’s circle back to black and white film. There is nothing like the shadows in a well composed black and white photo. And tell me truthfully when the last time you paid attention to shadows was? Not paying attention to shadows for the sake of minimizing their effect on your photo but rather thought, how can I best capture how the light shifts and changes when only the light tells the story, no shades of color to help.

I think black and white photography is beautiful in the same way we are. In our most basic showing, no mask, no facade. If you ever want to know if you like yourself, sit down with you and nothing else. If you ever want to know if you are worth your salt at photography, turn a few of your photos black and white and see if they can still tell a story worth seeing. Maybe you find that you aren’t a fan of you and perhaps that’s because you don’t understand your own light and you haven’t investigated your own shadows. And maybe you don’t like black and white photos because you’ve never stopped to notice them before.

So every now and then, load up some monochrome film and let the world come more alive through a more simple medium. Do the same with yourself. Take off the mask and the facade and just allow yourself to exist, full of shadows and light.