B&W and Color Together?

[willie_901]

I didn't want to hijack Bill's thread on B&W and color. So,I started a new related thread about what could also be an unanswerable question.t

I'd like to know how people feel about mixing color and B&W images for a themed series of images published in a gallery installation or on a personal web site.

Sometimes I think it's distracting but I wonder if the images are strongly correlated by the project theme it shouldn't matter. In other words, I cannot make up my mind.

I'm interested in learning how others feell about mixing B&W and color photographs for a thematic project.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I do not mix it in the series. Most of the time. Trying to keep it apart in albums as well.
I do mix on Flickr. It is unrelated images.

 

[Corran]

While going fully one way or the other can make a show stronger in consistency and vision, it's not a requirement. In the two big shows I've done, I've mixed b&w and color and did so intentionally. I think we all know some images work best in color, some work best in b&w - why should we throw out the stronger "version" of an image to satisfy some idea about consistency?

I would perhaps consider it a bad idea to only have one or two images out of 20-30 in a show in opposition though, but as long as its balanced I don't see a problem. In fact, depending on the subjects and themes it may even play into the purpose of the show. Example: one show of mine included photos of a historical site that was being torn down. Most of the images of it prior to deconstruction were in b&w - perhaps a visual cue to the historical significance and life of a structure over a century old. Images of it torn down and destroyed were mostly in color - a nod to the current-day plight of the building.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I've been doing it for years. Segregating images by technique is an amateur concern. What matters is the subject.

 

[Bill Pierce]

In general, I think that if it's a show about a specific subject, it's best to have a uniform presentation, either b&w or color. If it's a show of a variety of your pictures, in a sense a show about the fact that you are a somewhat accomplished photographer, then anything goes - color & b&w, big & small - just a collection of your better stuff.

(BTW, not terribly important, but I think the same holds true for a box of prints in your living room. I have boxes of prints of individual family members, including the dogs, over their lifetimes. Since a lot of these collections started with b&w film shots, the later digital images get printed in black and white to match the earlier shots.)

 

[peterm1]

While I agree strongly with the proposition that some images generally work best in color and others in black and white I do sometimes find ones that work well in either medium depending perhaps upon my mood on the day. In that case I will sometimes create and publish both versions. Examples.

Cafe - Light on a Dusty Window - A Study in Green by Life in Shadows, on Flickr

Cafe - Light on a Dusty Window by Life in Shadows, on Flickr

Skyline Impressions South Bank Melbourne by Life in Shadows, on Flickr

Skyscraper Impressions by Life in Shadows, on Flickr

 

[Oren Grad]

Perhaps of interest in this context - Ctein and Laurie Toby Edison did a collaborative project where they mixed color and B&W within the same mat and frame:

http://ctein.com/collaborations.htm

 

[jsrockit]

My opinion changes often regarding this. I have been sticking to color only lately. BUT...boredom might have me using some B&W again. I have mixed in the books that I make. Honestly, I do not care if people mix as long as the images are worth looking at.

 

[kbb]

Next to a strong mono print, color looks artificial and ephemeral. Next to a strong color shot, mono seems dull.
I've never liked mixing mono and color myself, but would not rule out that someone else could do it successfully. Anything is possible...

 

[airfrogusmc]

I think it depends on the project. I have seen it done really well and seen it not work so well.

Just depends on if the images are working together.

 

[charjohncarter]

I don't know where I stand on this, but it could go on forever: do you mix C-41 with slides or color digital (let alone B&W). Or do you mix large prints with small; framed or unframed, etc.

Personally, I'm from the order school. So, no mixing, but I've seen mixed gallery presentations that I have greatly enjoyed

 

[Godfrey]

The technical detail of whether you mix B&W and color images in a single work isn't important. The question is: What is the work? How do you best achieve it?

Capriciously changing rendering style from piece to piece in a work generally doesn't make the work feel like a coordinated whole, if that is your goal. But some works benefit from the careful counterpoint of one style against another.

Think of a photographic work as a musical composition, perhaps like a symphony with three or four movements. Each movement typically has a different theme, and within a movement there are changes in rhythm, tempo, etc, highs and lows to give the listener moments when their attention is drawn with high energy, and moments when they can rest to be ready for the next high energy section. The artful weaving of these notions together into a whole is almost exactly what you need to do with your photographic work, transposed into the visual space.

G