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I was asked to explain why I've made so many of my Tea Party photographs black and white?

The subject came up in the comments to this morning's post, which had 3 black and white photographs. Let me post a few more, and then I'll give my answer.













So, what am I doing with black and white? I'll copy my raw musing from the comments at this morning's post:

Why black and white?

I experiment, tweaking each picture in different ways. Sometimes I like what black and white does.

When does that happen?

1. When the color elements are random or distracting or loud or inconsistent with the mood/theme of the picture.

2. When the shapes and forms are good and you want to give them maximum prominence.

3. Sometimes cutting out the color seems to unify everything.

4. Cutting out the color can give the picture a timeless or historical look or a profundity that works.

I'm drawn to black and white in these pictures as a way of eliminating the casual "picnic" feeling and making things seem more serious and significant.

By the way, my Tea Party pictures are notably neutral. I'm not promoting or criticizing these people with my photographs. I'm observing them and presenting them for what they are. I hope you appreciate that.

That's written more roughly than what I put on the front page here generally. I hope you understand.

Here's an interesting comparison between black and white and color: black & white and color. It makes a big difference, doesn't it?

Full post as published by Althouse on April 19, 2010 (boomark / email).