Film Still Photography
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Salzburg, Austria

The Monochrome Diaries

Picture
Photo by Dariusz Sankowski on Unsplash
INTRODUCTION
I will keep this short.  The objective of this page is not to educate but as a reference for my own studies.  The birth of concept came from browsing the now defunct web page "La Noir" which focused on B&W imagery.  It got me thinking that I might be taking B&W for granted. Perhaps it is time to dedicate a bit of time to study this to see if I am getting the most out of my own B&W images.  So this page was born. 

I have initially decided to house the page in my studies on composition because in this day and age B&W is an option and is not mandated by the limitations of technology. So essentially, we choose to "convert" a digital image into B&W, or we select B&W film. Either way it is a choice that we are making, presumably because we feel that this will give us the best rendition of the scene. In other words, because we are using it as a compositional element. This is my initial thought, but may change as I learn more.

DEFINITION 
In modern language, "Black & White" photography is well understood. Before the advent of color photography, all we had to do was call it "photography" and everyone understood it would be in black and white. Once I got into photography I began hearing of "Monochrome" images.  This got me thinking what is an accurate name for what we do?

According to physics, Black and White (and pink for that matter) is not a color. You see, they are not found on the visible light spectrum. Black and White is how our brains interpret the reflection of all colors or the absence of color. Now why should we care what physics says? Well, we owe it to photography in general. If we go back to the inception of photography, the people who were working on the capture and retention of an image, were driven by science.  This was the Victorian age, when Europe ruled the world, and people wanted to understand the world we live in. Science was a pastime of all middle class gentlemen.

While Black & White photography is well understood, it is not an accurate definition of what we do. You see the majority of our images use little "pure black" or "pure white". The majority of our images have a wonderful tonality that combine to make a pleasing image. 

Monochrome is defined as "a photograph or picture developed or executed in black and white or in varying tones of only one color".  This is a much more specific definition.  Its root of the word comes from the Greek word "monokhromatos" or "of a single color".  So while not idea, it is the closest definition I believe we can reliably use.  



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  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Vintage Cameras
    • Argus 75
    • Brownie Flash II
    • Contax G2
    • Ensign Selfix 820
    • FED-1 (PE0320)
    • Graflex Crown Graphic
    • Ihagee Exa
    • Leica M6
    • Nikon S2
    • Nikon F
    • Nikon F2
    • Nikon F3
    • Nikon FA
    • Olympus OM-1
    • Olympus OM-2 SPOT
    • Olympus Stylus
    • Pentacon Six
    • Pentax Spotmatic IIa
    • Rollei 35
    • Voigtlander 15mm ver III
    • Yashica C
    • Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/2
  • Learning Composition
    • The Monochrome Diaries
    • Single & Multi Elements
    • Symmetry
    • Keep the Right Strong
    • Framing
    • Color in Composition
    • Deep Dive Bubble Man
    • Photo Assignments
  • Darkroom Lessons
    • Building a Sink
    • Air Ventilation
    • Analyser Pro
    • Development Hints
    • Primer for Film Photography
    • Bulk Loading Film
    • Pushing & Pulling Film
    • Color Development
    • Digital Contact Sheets
    • Stick to One Film Stock?
    • HP5+ Shot at 200 ISO
    • HP5 Shot at 1600 ISO
    • HP5 Shot at 3200 ISO
    • Medium Format
    • Washing Film
    • Split Grade Printing
    • Using Distilled Water in Film Development
    • Darkroom Paper
    • Foma100 EI 400
  • Photography Books & Films
    • Colin O'Brien
    • Lartigue Life in Color
    • Magnum Contact Sheets
    • Top Photography Movies
    • William Eggleston's Guide
    • Helen Levitt
    • Sally Mann Immediate Family
    • Saul Leiter Early B&W
    • Leica 100 yrs
    • Calendar Days of Asaya Hamaya
    • The Decisive Moment
    • Regarding Women
    • Robert Capa in Love and War
  • Single Image Deep Dive
    • Sergio Larrain "A Man After Dark"
    • Colin O'Brien 'Comings & Goings"
    • Erwitt Mother & Child
    • Man Running
    • Samuel Becket
    • Koudelka Wristwatch
    • Dovima with Elephants