I see in color, but I prefer to process my images in black and white or monochrome. Monochrome affords me the opportunity to shoot in harsh light when color doesn’t. It masks the lack of color contrast in our woods in Central New York. It helps me concentrate on light and shape. It eliminates the need to process mixed lighting indoors. It allows me to dodge and burn landscapes more aggressively than traditional color photography. It also helps hide some of my inadequacies in white balance and color processing.
Look, for instance, at this image that I captured yesterday, while driving between patients:
Granted, it is mostly unremarkable. It was really only a test shot to see if it was worthwhile under more satisfactory conditions (it isn’t). But it was shot at approx 1200 in the early afternoon, handheld in harsh and bright mid-day sun. This is the condition that is typically handled by black and white processing a little better.
I can get the water darker and – by removing the monotonous yellow/green tones from the foliage – the eyes can focus on the shape and shadows a little more. Still, very rarely will I ever find a composition mid-day that I would hang on a wall unless I were to do something a little different. Something like this:
I have been tinkering around with faux infrared processing recently and have become smitten with the idea of obtaining a true full-spectrum and IR-capable camera for middle of the day photowalks and exploration. I love how soft and ethereal the images can look and how unique they can be. I really, really want to get one and one can be had for the price of a new lens. The question that I ask myself though is this: Would it be a phase or something that I would use for years?