Somewhere in the middle here in town is old storage for cattle-food. It is an old building and I am pretty sure that it soon will be demolished. It is a big and very high building…
In it own way it is a impressive sight and somehow the view just belongs to the town of Haaksbergen. Recently I have been playing with black & white pictures. I noticed that a black & white picture can give a complete different atmosphere… In the picture above it almost if the colors are too joyful for the picture…
Somehow the sight of the building in black & white fits better. More moody, more sorrowful… fitting for such an old and crumbling building that is facing the end of its time…
As a side note… see the gravity above the tackle? So persons must have been a bit tired of their lives.
Someone I talked today was surprised that I was considering to make this pictures in black & white. Black & white was so old fashioned in his opinion. I think he is wrong. For a certain group of pictures black & white adds clearly to that what the picture is trying to say.
Take a look at the two next pictures. An old loading door in the same building as above… first in color and then in black& white…
Personally I think that the black & white one is better. Maybe it is the mood of the picture or maybe because the black & white somehow is a good combination with something that old. Most likely both…
Because of this experimenting and playing with black & white I looked some things up. There are photographers who do most or all of their work in black & white. And I have to admit that I saw some awesome things. I really can understand that they have chosen to do there work in this line.
Maybe I will add later an list with link to the work of photographers I really like. Looking at their work and reading about it is a good way to learn more about photography.
But even for old buildings there are pictures that look better in color! The one below is an example of it. I was very surprised to see on the roof of this old and high building a small tree growing. Can there be a strong sign of the strength of nature? For this picture color all the way!
(Credit photo’s: Rob)
Hey Rob,
Nice Pictures.
If you want the pictures to look old, try Sephia in various degrees. That will make it look like aged Black and White pictures.
I know. But I think sepia works better on living things (people, animals & plants) then on buildings (as the examples above). Sepia adds also a softer tone to the pictures, which you may want in some cases and some not. But of course things like this depend a lot on personal opinion and taste.
“Cool” blue is also a very nice for black & white.
So true
I like the photos in black & white. But I have no idea what to imagine with sepia or cool blue. Could you please post one of the pictures in sepia and cool blue as well, so I can see the differences.
When I am home tonight again, I shall make a small setup and make a set pictures of that. One full color, one black & white, one sepia and one cool blue. That is the easiest and best way to show the difference between those.