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Re: Kodachrome

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"...he use the same rudiments of harmony..."

I've been trying for years to forget what I was taught in several highly regarded art schools. The need for "harmony" is something I hope never directs a composition that I am working on. However, I am sure that at some subconcious level, there is part of may brain that is reacting to this very issue. I am more interested in what the subject needs than what is "harmonious" within the frame.

"Whatever I did “seriously’ for myself was b/w."

I used to do a lot of black and white because I could afford it, and I didn't understand how to use color in a photograph. If you would like to see some of my black and white photos go to:

www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=138425

Then I found out that color was much harder to do than black and white. B&W has all the controls you could ever want. Filters, film development, paper choice (with contrast controls), chemical alterations, toning, etc., etc.

Color on the other hand has very little that you can do to affect the outcome of the photo. It is much like a hiaku poem in that you have a limited set of controls and must play strictly within that set boundary. Success is much more difficult and requires greater concentration and deeper seeing (for me - only) - I find it much more challenging than B&W.

"...what whatever photography has interesting has a b/w structure..."

Yes, that is probably true. Any of the color photos would have worked as black and white - but, I don't think they would be nearly as interesting. For me, B&W is like a skeleton waiting to be "fleshed out" with more information - in this case color.

Maybe it's the difference between an etching and a color lithograph - both have their aesthetics, but, when I was working in print making, I always found lithography far more interesting because there was an entire color world that could be explored.

Unfortunately, the color photos you looked at were composed to be seen big. They just start to work at 16x20 and don't really open up until they're about 36 x 40. Then, all of the little details become apparent (and important), and the spaces work within the photo to give the eye places to explore individually.


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