Three Wheels

Black and White or Color?

Three Wheels, Black and White, Steamtown

Having just completed teaching a three-day intensive Black and White photography workshop on Block Island, I saw the world in tones and composition. Black and white photography can tell a story via light, composition, and treatment of subject. Hence, all of my visualization and post processing was directed in this vein.

Until “Three Wheels”, Steamtown.

The image is a bit of a departure for me, a path that has made itself present in the recent past. Instead of straight documentary (and there were some of those, too), there is a conscious intention to isolate only part of the object; the three train wheels adorned with lines of rust drip in this subject of industrial decline.

Over the winter, I was inspired by the work of Anna Audette, featured at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme Ct. Anna highlighted shapes, layers, and color in her paintings of abandoned industrial subjects. The whole was never the intent in her compositions; it was always a homed in visual crop that touted the metaphor of the ‘forgotten’.

The initial Lightroom and Photoshop edits were heightened in Silver Efex Pro which brought out texture and contrast in a wide global tonality. I loved the way that black and white heightened the simplicity and rhythm of the composition. I know that in certain situations, the story is overcome by the intensity of color, which can act as a distraction. I also know that learning to see in black and white strengthens the underlying structure of an image without the reality of color.

However, in looking at the original color file, the warm light of a mid-winter afternoon added a layer of richness. The warm tones evoke a feeling of nostalgia for things past. This spirit has always been my muse like a second soul.

Three Wheels Color, Steamtown

My final print which will be exhibited at this years Wickford Art Festival absolutely sings in color! I will have both prints with me so you can make your own evaluation!