Was Paul Simon right?
 

Was Paul Simon right in the song Kodachrome when he sang that everything looks worse in black & white? Or...perhaps some films are actually better without color? Here's a short video on the subject. Would Casablanca have been better in color? I don't think so.
Anyway, "Here's looking at you, kid."

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So I am a big fan of street photography. Which, for some unknown reason, has stuck in the BW past. But I find that BW is far superior for conveying emotion and meaning. The colors seem to distract me from what emotion or message a human is sending.

I would say Paul Simon missed the mark. I am a big fan of BW.

And, Vivian Maier is probably my favorite street photog, since you didn't ask.

Mama don't take my Pan-x away.

Just watched Maestro ( excellent) The first part was b&w which I thought really added to it

IMHO his line about black and white isn't meant literally. Imagine life with no shades of grey, no nuance. Imagine having no option other than "this" or "that".

As for film. When a director shoots in B&W they have to pay close attention to lighting and composition. Think Ansel Adams. A great B&W film is a true work of art.

Old school, large format film cameras black and white processed and hand printed in my darkroom. Works for me!

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Black and white gets to the essence. Artsy and often apropos.

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I absolutely agree. Black and White is far superior to color for creating pure mood and emotion without distraction.
On the other hand, perhaps some genius will find a way to use color as effectively as B&W. I haven't seen it yet though.

This was a rather ordinary color photograph. It didn't come alive until I desaturated it.

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Wow! Did you learn from Ansel Adams?

B&W triggers your mind with "wait, something is different here, what is going on?"
Schindlers List in B&W makes it historic and more jarring. The absence on color washes away anything of beauty or enjoyment. B&W is a perfect effect to portray a future dystopian society.

Side note: When I bought my first 'real' camera (Mamiya Secor 35 mm from a professional photographer who was upgrading), she told me to shoot B&W for a year to help understand framing and composition of the photo rather than just shoot a 'pretty picture'.

Once upon a time, I came across this display of color photos from WWII. I found them to be very thought provoking, and I think the use of color film was paramount to the mood of the photos.

https://www.boredpanda.com/women-at-work-ww2-restored-color/


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But I like Black and White, too. Here's some from Ansel Adams. (The woman is Georgia O'Keefe)


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Polarised thinking, or appealing to extremes, is a mode of thought that some people use to simplify the world and make it easier to think about. It's really common, and you'll frequently find it within people at the political extremes.

You will probably have come across the guy who instantly reverts to a straw man argument if you say something he disagrees with - twists it, takes it to an extreme, then vilifies that caricature of what you said.

Some people like to do this because it makes it easier for them to pick sides. You're either with them or against them.

"The world looks better in black and white" sounds like it's saying the world would be simpler if things were always black and white.

Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

I've got three words for you. "James Wong Howe".

Trivia: Paul's song 'Kodachrome' was banned from public airplay in both the U.K. and Australia. Radio stations over there are publicly funded via license fees, and part of those rules prohibit any content that mentions a commercially-available product. I think the Kink's tune 'Lola' was also banned due to the mention of Coca-Cola in the lyrics...

Robert Frank was a gifted photographer who also had an eye for the often overlooked drama in everyday life.

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Margaret Bourke White

Check out #10

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2019/08/photography-of-margaret-bourke-white/596980/

Enjoy street photography as well (looking at it more than doing it as doing it requires more than just a good eye) and agree on the idea that color is distracting from the emotion of the subject.