Even the elements that are normally considered an annoying limit of photographic technology such as film grain, tone and texture take on their own role as character building elements of a black and white image. Experienced advocates of black and white place as much emphasis on meticulous work in the darkroom printing the image as on taking the original photograph.
It was with these considerations in mind that I decided to have a go at black and white. I was faced with some hard decisions. Just how much contrast is needed? Will a more pronounced grain improve the atmosphere or ruin it? I created countless variations.
With basic black and white under control I decided to have a go at hand colouring the photographs, a technique historically developed to bring colour to a medium where it did not exist, but now regarded as an art form by itself. I carefully applied coloured tints to emphasise specific areas of the images.
I quite like the results, but would I give up colour photography? The quality and appreciation of any image is somewhat subjective, in many ways more so with black and white where the final photograph is a matter of personal interpretation rather than accurate rendition of an underwater scene.
Black and white is a great medium for those wanting a low cost introduction to underwater photography. No expensive strobes to buy and no artificial lighting and flash scatter to worry about. Personally I prefer to stay with colour.
By now some of you may be looking at these images a bit suspiciously. Having been philosophical about the purity of a black and white image I think it is about time I let you in on my secret. All these images were actually taken as colour slides, most of which appear elsewhere on my web site.
I started with full colour scans of the slides and removed all colour information to make them black and white. I then applied various digital effects and painted in colours. I used computer skills rather than darkroom skills. My earlier text was deliberately ambiguous. I didn't want to spoil the surprise.
I think I achieved some interesting effects, and maybe some of the images look better as a result. But at the same time I think the originals hold their own as colour images. Here I stand with a nice big black and white target painted on my back.
There are too many people out there being pretentious about black and white. Along the lines of “because it is black and white it is an art form rather than just a photograph, so it must be better”. This twists an element of truth. Some photographs transcend being mere recordings of a scene to become an object of art, but this is not a prerogative of black and white photography and applies equally to colour. Whether black and white or colour a good photograph needs stand up by itself.
There is certainly a role for a limited production of black and white photographic art. But would you buy a wildlife magazine if there were no colour? The retro look has become a minor fashion, but many years ago colour photography and printing were developed and virtually took over because people wanted to see what things really looked like.
Fashions change and can easily be killed by a plethora of low-grade imitations. Appreciation of the work of photographers specialising in black and white is often based on its rarity. If all of us were doing it the magic would be destroyed. Some of the black and white specialists would still be at the top of the pile. But others would be lost in grey mediocrity, their previous uniqueness buried beneath a pile of images that stand up by themselves without having to lean on pretensions of purity of shade, texture and form.