Black and white: creating that degree of warmth

By Avishek Ganguly

Photography has its own aspects to portray and give life to myriads of moods, emotions, scenes and situations. It is an art in itself which teaches us to understand and get a feel of the world around us. Since childhood, I have been interested by photography and after I got my first camera, I turned it into my favorite hobby.


Now coming to the main subject, the color styles of photography. Everyone loves to experience with photo styles. Be it changing the white balance to using some red eye reduction, the camera person tries to make his or her photograph unique. The same goes with color styles, which can give a completely new dimension to each photo. For me, black and white images are the favorite. Nothing perhaps creates more visual interest and brings out the inner character of the subject than a photo taken in black and white mode. Whether it is capturing busy streets or a trait in a human character, black and white can be used wonderfully to capture some subtle yet delicate nuances of life.


If you ever come across some old photographs, say of the pre independence period, you will see most of them are in black and white. In fact, one of the main aspects that make it my favorite color style is the nostalgic feeling that it attached to it. An old photo in black and white tone speaks a lot than normal color styles. The same holds true for capturing human moods and shades. By taking a snap in B/W, you can incorporate a degree of drama and warmth into the subjects of the photo.


While taking a landscape photograph, most of us tend to take it in the normal color mode. Well, change it to sepia and see how distinctly the mood changes. A friend of mine once took a landscape photo of Dashashwamedh Ghat in Banaras in black and white and it how well it complemented the vivacious yet holy mood of the city. The same snap, if taken in normal color format, would not have looked so grand.


Indian photographers have always experimented with B/W. One of the greatest Indian press photographers, Kulwant Roy has been credited with creating some of the best black & white snaps of the pre independence years all over India. To ace photographer, Raghu Ra too, B/W offers a distinct identity to a photo which can enhance its meaning which sometimes go unnoticed with the naked eye.


To sum up with the words of Rai, “a photograph has picked up a fact of life, and that fact will live forever”. This is exactly what one can do by preserving the nostalgic moments through black and white.