What ever happened to Black and White?

[L David Tomei]

Perhaps I'm about to expose my ignorance but I was going through gallery postings back in 2004 here on RFF. I noticed something that has me curious. B&W images were actually black, white and grey. I then returned to recent gallery postings and monochrome images are generally brown and white (I'm sure there is a technical term like "warm"). I very much like brown monochromes and a number of my own images reflect this.

However, when did this preference emerge and how did it happen?

David

 

[Chris101]

It could be a couple things David.

The calibration of your monitor determines the colors you see, and it could be calibrated on the warm side.

The other issue is scanning B&W negatives or prints in color, which leads to a color cast, that is often warm.

Do all B&W pictures look warm to you - if so, then the culprit is likely your monitor. If some look colored and some look neutral, then it's how the image was made.

And of course you cannot discount the choice of the photographer.

 

[tlitody]

There has been a lot of chat about warm tone papers in various photography sites over the last few years. It's just a trend/fashion. In 5 years time it'll probably be cooltone and in another 5 years neutral. It's all about everyone trying to be different but actually going round and round in circles.

 

[L David Tomei]

It occurred to me that my monitor may be off, however, the monitor seems to be reasonably accurate - B&W looks black, grey and white. I have a lot of digital monochrome conversions and I often like the "warmer" tones (brown as I crudely put it). I haven't done any statistical analysis but in general, "B&W" images are far more often brown tones than were B&W images posted in (e.g.) 2004.

I did darkroom work for 43 years and I used to like toning prints, getting a bit more cyan and blue, or sepia. But today I feel that there has been a major shift in preferences regarding tones in monochrome photographs.

David

 

[Pickett Wilson]

I find a warm tone B&W photo more pleasing than something neutral. We used to do it by choice of paper, now digitally. I always preferred warm toned papers in the wet print days. Matter of preference.

 

[paulfish4570]

could be a lot of bw400cn pics. since the film is c-41 process, it often is scanned by labs/drugstores with a brownish shade ...

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Paul has a point. I actually like the look of bw400cn printed digitally in RGB.

 

[johannielscom]

'Beyond 2004' probably marks the introduction of the LCD monitor in family homes.

It's not just your monitor that can be mis-calibrated, it can also be anyone else's.

 

[Chinasaur]

I second the photographer element. Some people describe what I like (smooth grey tones) as "muddied". I see some of their work as garish and contrasty and nasty. Some of my "look and feel" also has to do with learning how to shoot and develop B&W film. And also finding my own way in B&W.

So I hear what you're saying, but I also don't see that the images presented are polarizing one way or the other. Seems like every day you can find images that run the gamut between high contrast and not.

Are you seeing this in the gallery shots or in the random everday "cat" shots people post?

 

[L David Tomei]

Even as post-apocalyptic chemistry constrains the photographer, digitization restores much more freedom than some of us had for decades. None the less, many if not most monochrome images are not in simple grey scale, but rather in some colour. It would imply to me that there has been an aesthetic drift in photography regarding what a B&W image is supposed to be.

Again I should note that I very much like the freedom that digital technology has introduced. For now, however, my monitor is generally accurate enough to distinguish a brown vs a neutral grey image coarse though it may be.

 

[L David Tomei]

I second the photographer element. Some people describe what I like (smooth grey tones) as "muddied". I see some of their work as garish and contrasty and nasty. Some of my "look and feel" also has to do with learning how to shoot and develop B&W film. And also finding my own way in B&W.

So I hear what you're saying, but I also don't see that the images presented are polarizing one way or the other. Seems like every day you can find images that run the gamut between high contrast and not.

Are you seeing this in the gallery shots or in the random everday "cat" shots people post?

I agree with much that you say. True B&W containing neutral grey scale looks dull to me. In fact, a kind person complimented a photograph of mine saying it was difficult to get such pure white. Actually, there was no pure white in the image since it had cyan and blue added to make whites look whiter (like laundry).

Regarding the source of my impression, after spending a long time designing and developing digital imaging systems, I am now retired and probably do some of the "cat" shots to which you refer. None the less, as I pointed out in my first post, I had been simply going through gallery shots from 2004 and had the impression that there were fewer "warm" to frank brown monochrome images than in the recent past here on RFF.