Why do you photograph in black and white?

[Gary L. Quay]

Both have their place, but black and white lends itself to artistic explotation and creative techniques that color can not. Keep in mind that I do all of my work in the darkroom, so photoshop notwithstanding, the capacity of black and white paper to handle the extremes of contrast and tone is superior to color paper. There's also a certain stark beauty, and emotion in black and white that I find fascinating. I also like the fact that I can store an opened bottle of B&W developer for more than a week.

--Gary

[butterflydream]

I think because black and white image doesn't exist in nature, so it makes the image abstract. Like a dream.

I can concentrate on the shape and geometry of the object, so I like B&W.

[clay harmon]

Because on the internet, nobody knows you're a dog.

[jimi-the-jive]

personally i "see" better in b+w, if i'm playing computer games i'll ofter turn off the saturation on my screen. i think colour can often be a distraction. also the control and aesthetic.

[Walter Calahan]

Cause it's cheaper than color. Ha ha ha ha ha ha

Why paint with watercolors instead of oil?

Why sculpt in metal instead of stone?

Why why why?

The proof is in the pudding. Frankly I don't really care one way or the other. The resulting work is all that matters. B&W is just a tool of expression.

[MIke Sherck]

I don't use B&W exclusively, but the 95% of my photography which is in B&W is that way because I like the way it looks. It gives me the photograph I want to make.

For me, color is too literal, too documentary. When I photograph a tree, I'm not making a picture of a tree, it's something else. B&W both helps to make it more abstract and less like a tree, as well as allowing me to better show what else the photograph is really about.

Plus, prints are just *so* beautiful: I've seen few color prints which evoke a similar reaction in me.

Mike

[Bill_1856]

I switched from color to B&W in the '80s because it was cheaper (before digital), and the dye-transfer darkroom sessions were killing me.
Now, I switch easily between them, depending on the subject matter.

[bigdog]

Because on the internet, nobody knows you're a dog.

[evan clarke]

Because I just like it!!..Evan Clarke

[Brian Ellis]

Color tells us what things look like, black and white tells us what they feel like.