Bruce Barnbaum's new book - Plateaus and Canyons

**Duane Polcou** · 24-Dec-2011, 21:25

Originally Posted by Nathan Potter

Is there anyone that comes to mind who has done superb work in both color and B&W and is represented by a definitive body of work in both?

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

Philip Hyde worked for many years in black and white before turning to color to photograph for the Sierra Club exhibit format books. I think some of his B/W Grand Canyon work to be some of the most beautiful images I've seen.

Eliot Porter, known for his color work, has a book out there entitled "Eliot Porter's Southwest", which I have a copy of. Exclusively LF black and white, and some beautiful work.

Morley Baer published a book I really like, "The Wilder Shore", both B/W and color. I vastly prefer the B/W images, but the color ones have an understated, non-oversaturated realism to them.

William Neill is well known as a color landscape photographer, but has converted some of his earlier color work to B/W (Heresy!! Cheating! Where's the Previsualization? What would Ansel think??) in a book entitled "Meditations in Monochrome" that has some beautiful images in it.

Steve Mulligan in Moab, Utah has produced books in color and color calendars for Brown Trout, and has published several books in black and white, two of which I have seen and are outstanding, Terra Incognita and Earthworks.

Robert Mapplethorpe published images of flowers in both B/W and color, I think.

Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, Ellen von Unwerth all shot/shoot portraits in B/W and color.

**J. Fada** · 25-Dec-2011, 00:50

There is a big difference between making images in b&w and color and being a master of both . I can only ditto the above from Merg and Kirk, it just doesn't work out. History has shown this time and time again. I haven't seen the Barnbaum book but judging from the rainbow image on the front page of his website there would be no way I would buy the book.

**Nathan Potter** · 25-Dec-2011, 14:33

J Fada, yes that is what I was thinking. Maybe it is asking too much of any photographer to be a master of both. Perhaps Eliot Porter comes close but those others mentioned above are more second tier I feel when looking for excellence in both mediums. I greatly like Richard Misrachs color style and compositions; his synthesis of color with design is a style I can recognize as his. Don't know his B&W work though.

I think I tend to agree more with Merg and Kirk on the difficulty of merging the two mediums, or trying to work in both. Learning to see the essence of an image and fusing it with ones own vision is so difficult that working in B&W and color just doesn't happen. When we achieve mastery in one of the mediums we are trapped with a skill we do not want to abandon because that method of expression seems complete.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

**Eric Rose** · 25-Dec-2011, 15:25

All my serious "expressive" work is in B&W. It's the way I see. On the other hand almost all of my commercial work is in colour. Two totally different venues. Some would look at my some of my colour work and say it's "art". To me it's just money in the bank. I don't get excited over someone liking one of my commercial images. However if they gush over one of my B&W's I get weak in the knees lol.

**Kirk Gittings** · 25-Dec-2011, 19:12

Originally Posted by Eric Rose

All my serious "expressive" work is in B&W. It's the way I see. On the other hand almost all of my commercial work is in colour. Two totally different venues. Some would look at my some of my colour work and say it's "art". To me it's just money in the bank. I don't get excited over someone liking one of my commercial images. However if they gush over one of my B&W's I get weak in the knees lol.

Me too-all my commercial work is color and all my personal work in b&w. Every once in awhile I get crazy and do a personal color image but when I get it home its just dead to me. Other people don't understand my dichotomy with this but for me it is very real.

**Merg Ross** · 25-Dec-2011, 20:03

Originally Posted by Kirk Gittings

Me too-all my commercial work is color and all my personal work in b&w. Every once in awhile I get crazy and do a personal color image but when I get it home its just dead to me. Other people don't understand my dichotomy with this but for me it is very real.

That is also exactly the way it worked for me.

I was thinking back to my early trips in the field with Brett Weston. We worked quite often around Mono Lake at the time he was shooting Ektachrome, with the hope of perhaps a commercial sale. He would always expose the black and white holder first, and then make an exposure on the Ektachrome film. The results were stunning in black and white and mediocre at best in color. Very few persons were to witness the results, and the color was always hastily disposed of.

Anyone can photograph in both color or black and white; being familiar with the work of those mentioned in this thread so far, their finest work was either in color or black and white. My friend Steve Mulligan is one example, there are many more. I rest my case.

**Alan Curtis** · 26-Dec-2011, 06:18

My friend Jim Bones began his career studying with Russel Lee, where worked with B&W for many years. I believe he switched to color for commercial reasons. When he became Elliot Porters assistant he became quite skilled in Dye Transfer printing, he told me that he felt that he had as much control of the final print with Dye Transfer as he did with B&W photography. He completely abandoned B&W. His color was superior to the black and white.

**Brian Ellis** · 26-Dec-2011, 10:14

I think it's possible to work in one medium (say b&w) for a long time, then decide to switch to color and immerse one's self in color for a long time, ultimately producing color work that was the equal of the earlier b&w. But I don't think it's possible to frequently switch back and forth and back and forth more or less as the mood strikes and/or as assignments are received, and produce equally compelling work in both. Possibly someone who's very talented and who has done that frequently over a long period of time can become so adept in both that they can do it successfully but I think it's very unusual.

**Kirk Gittings** · 26-Dec-2011, 10:17

Originally Posted by Alan Curtis

My friend Jim Bones began his career studying with Russel Lee, where worked with B&W for many years. I believe he switched to color for commercial reasons. When he became Elliot Porters assistant he became quite skilled in Dye Transfer printing, he told me that he felt that he had as much control of the final print with Dye Transfer as he did with B&W photography. He completely abandoned B&W. His color was superior to the black and white.

Thats a name I haven't heard in many years. Where is he these days and what is he up to?

**Alan Curtis** · 26-Dec-2011, 10:41

Originally Posted by Kirk Gittings

Thats a name I haven't heard in many years. Where is he these days and what is he up to?

Kirk
I worked with Jim in the 80's and 90's. We taught several LF work shops in the Santa Fe and Abiquiu area. He invested heavily (went into debt) in Dye Transfer materials when Kodak announced they were discontinuing those materials, sound familiar?
He left Tesuque around 2000 moving to Alpine, TX. He is still involved with photography but, I don't believe it is at the same scale as in NM. I heard that he got rid of all his LF equipment. I think he is more involved with video and small format photography.
I have not been in contact with him for several years, unfortunately. I really enjoyed working with him, he is highly skilled artist and an excellent teacher.
Did you know him?