Emotion is revealed in the absence of color.

An oft-used quote by Ted Grant explains that "when you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes, but when you photgograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls." I've noticed this to be true - monochromatic pictures seem to have a strong emotional draw, as if communicating a deeper meaning than the subject itself.

Recently I've been experimenting with Black and White. I don't actually take the pictures in greyscale (that comes into play as I run them through Photoshop), but I have been thinking about what would make a good B&W shot vs. what would be better in color. And I've found that a good B&W photograph needs good texture, good lighting, and good composition. You can't rely on the colors to provide an artistic feel. You need to put your spirit into it, pour out your efforts and your thoughts into making a single picture.

Of course neither of these pictures that I share with you today have any intrinsic message. I didn't mean them to. But they mean more to me in black and white than the original color pictures do.

In case you want to know the story behind the pics (I always do), the top one shows some works made by Mr. Brent Hale, a traditional blacksmith who has dedicated his free time to preserving that lost art. He visited the scout camp Nelson and I worked at and taught the metalworking merit badge for a week. It was undoubtedly the coolest class offered that summer (except maybe rifleshooting or climbing), and he was very generous, giving away minature swords and horseshoe nail rings to the boys, and making braces, brackets, hooks, and handles for variety of items around the camp.

The second photo is of an old waycar shed in Springville, Utah. Waycars, otherwise known as speeders, track cars, and pop cars, were once used to inspect railroad rights-of-way before the invention of the hi-railer pickup trucks that are now used. When the pickups pushed the waycars away, this little building became a tool shed for Union Pacific's maintenance division. The railroaders who frequent the place must have a sense of humor.

Regards,

Josh