Black and White vs. Color Photographs

Few years  ago, when I purchased my first( digital) DSLR Olympus camera, I never thought of taking  black and white photographs. Having DSLR, I realized that I did not need to worry about the price of film so I started taking hundreds more shots than I had . This gave me the chance to play with color options.

That being said, color photography has definitely taken the forefront in popularity, especially since the evolution of digital methods. Digital cameras, as well as some other things, have made photography available to a much wider audience of professionals and amateurs alike. It has made cameras much less expensive with a wide range of quality. Because of this accessibility, many people do not consider taking black and white photographs on a regular basis.

Uses tonal contrast to create a dramatic scene.

After shooting a lot of different subject matters, I have some opinions about what seems to work in color and when black and white seems more appropriate. Black and white does offer the most options for contrast and using filters for a more dramatic effect. There is no universal rule for this and each photographer is going to have a different approach. There are also many more kinds of photograph subjects that I will not mention; these are just from my own experience.

Public Toilet in old part of Kuching City.

Kuching General Post Office Building

I still have the opinion that buildings are best shown in black and white. It helps show the structure and the details of its proportions and relation to other buildings. I will say it depends on the location.I do hope very much that I becoming more experienced with taking photographs really involves exposing yourself as much as possible; taking more shots than you may think is necessary and experimenting. As you can see, there is no universal rule for which type of photograph works best. Both color and black and white have their benefits and their possibilities. In either case, I am a fan of taking the shot in my camera rather than adjusting it on the computer later. This means a deeper understanding of the composition and subject matter while you are in the moment rather than relying on the computer to make the nice shot for you.
Thank You people ..more  B&W on my next entry........