Kodachrome, it gives us those nice bright colours
Gives us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, oh yeah!
Paul Simon, Kodachrome
It’s probably many years since any of us used Kodachrome to capture those ‘nice bright colours’. But digital photography allows us to achieve similarly cheerful results. It also, of course, allows us to opt for a purely greyscale monochrome palette.
Sometimes when I take a photo I know that it will look better in monochrome. Nevertheless I always shoot in colour to give me options (and because I feel I get a better ‘look’ post-editing with Nik Silver Efex than I do with my in-camera settings). On other occasions I take a photo in colour and realise that it will look better in black and white, or perhaps that it will look as good but different.
Sometimes though the colour IS the subject and I wouldn’t dream of converting it – or would I?! That’s the Monochrome Madness challenge set us by Margaret this week. Can we make a strikingly colourful photo look as arresting in black and white? Or is that indeed madness?!
For this exercise I tried to select photos that I felt would work even when their colour is removed. The secret to a successful monochrome conversion of a vivid colour photo, I would argue, is that the image must be not only colourful but also have a lot of contrast. That is necessary if it is to remain striking when the colours are stripped out. Texture is also helpful in retaining impact when colour is gone.
I’m using the ‘image compare’ block for landscape orientated shots, and columns for the portrait orientated ones. Use the slider to see the original bright colours and judge for yourself if the monochrome versions are successful. Let me know in the comments which ones you think work, and of course which ones don’t.
And my own view? I reckon most of these shots look better in the original colour, but that doesn’t mean that many of them don’t look interesting in monochrome too.
My feature photo was taken in Sagada, Philippines, and edited with Photoshop Elements to create the ‘half and half’ effect
Near the Peace Pagoda, Pokhara, Nepal
Bougainvillea in Monteverde, Costa Rica
Hibiscus, Marsaxlokk, Malta
Peacock, Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka
In Selvatura Park, Costa Rica
Lilac-breasted Roller, Chobe National Park, Botswana
Little Bee-eaters, Souimanga Lodge in the Sine-Saloum Delta, Senegal
You may remember these Little Bee-eaters from my recent ‘B’ post; I thought it would be fun to include them in this one too!
Sunset from Lagarta Lodge, Costa Rica
Sunset by the Narayani River, Chitwan National Park, Nepal
Part of the Taj Mahal complex, Agra, India
In Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India
In Narlai, Rajasthan, India
Roof detail Sanjusangen-do, Kyoto, Japan
Fishing boat in Marsaxlokk, Malta
6 Comments
bushboy
Using the colour photo to compare is a great idea Sarah, Some look slightly better in B&W
Alison
Interesting topic Sarah. I thought the objects like boats buildings and people work well in black and white, even the sunset. Birds and flowers are a difficult one, especially birds as they have such beautiful colouring. Anyway another great gallery
Sue
An interesting exercise, this, and the monochrome conversion succeeds well in some of the shots giving an impression of vibrancy
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Sue 🙂 I’m glad you felt the vibrancy came through in some of them.
margaret21
I think the portraits – whether of people or birds are successful in black and white, and hold up well against their colour originals. Also the architecture, boat etc. The flower ARE interesting, and I enjoyed noticing their textures more clearly, but yes, flowers like a bit of Glorious Technicolor, don’t they? But this is a lovely selection. Thanks Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
Many thanks for the considered comment Margaret 😊 I agree about the portraits of people – any face with a bit of character will look good in black and white. And these particular bird shots I think work well, though others I tried did not. I was happy with the boat too, because it has such a strong shape. Maybe the header flower is OK too, because of the raindrops? The others less so, and I only felt one of the sunsets was successful (the one with the boatmen silhouetted). Thank you for such an interesting challenge theme!