There’s a popular photo trend/game/challenge circulating social media. There are variations. I’m guessing people alter them as they like. For instance, mine was Seven days. Seven black and white photos in your life. No people. No explanations. I was supposed to tag someone new each day.
I saw people with explanatory captions. I saw some labeled ‘no faces’ instead of ‘no people’ as well as ‘daily life’ and I saw some who tagged seven people every day.
I read Manja’s post about it before I began and then Ally Bean’s post about it once I’d started.
Prajakta tagged me in hers, here on WordPress, and I told her I would play on Instagram.
It was difficult. I definitely considered it a challenge.
If I use a black and white filter, it’s because I don’t like the color in the photo. I maybe find it distracting from the subject. For instance, since my family and I run from shades of paper to caramel, hair from platinum to auburn, never mind the clothes, I typically order our portraits in black and white. It provides a better sense of uniformity.
Generally, I see black and white as a potential method to improve a photo I don’t much care for.
I love living in a colorful world. I totally identified with Manja’s “Who took my green?” This exercise led me to study my previous Instagram photos. I really like to click all the green growing things.
Also, when doing black and whites, it seems structure and contrast are more important and that’s hard for me, too. I didn’t get a lot of definition.
As you may have noticed, I don’t post current pictures of my kids’ faces on public sites, even still, I do photograph, or edit to post, faceless versions of them and it was hard not to use some of those.
The worst part was ‘in my life’. In my life? I can think of nothing duller. I love my life, but it’s not screaming for photo opportunities. I have one of those lives where the fun is dialogue, music, action — it’s definitely in color and at high speed.
My life in pictures-no-people is shoes, car, coffee, book, laundry, dog, cats, stove, tea, and bed. I have plenty of that on Instagram already.
So I chose odd stuff. Oddballs, I think Cee would say. I only like one better in black and white. The first one. The rest, I prefer their color versions.
I’m glad Prajakta tagged me, because it did make me think. It gave me a newfound sense of gratitude for color, and a greater appreciation for people who do black and white photography well.
joeyfullystated 
I prefer color most of the time as well, although some of my concert pictures actually look better in black and white. Nicely done, Joey.
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Thank you 🙂
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These are great! Black-and-white takes the focus off the colors and puts it on the shapes and the subjects. The colors can be distracting, such as when the colorize an old movie or TV show. They added color to a bunch of “I Love Lucy” episodes, and while it’s the same episode I’ve seen thousands of times (or so it seems), the color is distracting. Taking the color out doesn’t have the same effect.
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So true. I like my I Love Lucy in black and white, too.
I’m glad you liked the photos, John. Thanks for chimin in!
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I like your collection! I have really come to appreciate B&W photography and avoid colour a lot more these days. I’m sure that says something about where I am at in life, but I am not sure I want to know what it is…
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Hmm… I dunno either. I’m glad you enjoy it though 🙂
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You got some great shots. The graffiti actually looks pretty cool in black and white.
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Thank you. I’m glad you like it.
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I’m a huge fan of black and white photos – I have a good many about the house but I’m lucky to get a good colored picture myself. I love the lamp. We actually have one like it on our lower porch and I love the light from it. Very moody.
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Oh very nice 🙂
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Lovely and interesting photos, Joey! I also like B&W but prefer color in general. I was recently asked by a friend on FB to participate in the B&W photo challenge last week—just finished yesterday. I was thinking about sharing them on my blog.
Enjoy your day! 🙂
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Manja suggested I share them on mine, and I do suggest you share yours. I liked seeing what other people did, and I’d like to see yours 🙂
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Thanks. I’ll share them this week. 🙂
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I love the first one best, too. It brings to mind those moody film noir movies.
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Agreed 🙂 Thanks!
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This are nice photos. I like black and shire but I almost never think to save an image that way. I work hard to try to capture the colors I see. Anyway, thanks for sharing your seven.
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Thanks for looking 🙂
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As much as I love bright saturated color I have a soft spot for black and white. When we got TV it was black and white so that may be the start of my fancy. I just find a sense of comfort in that whole world black and white. Kind of a film noire thing. I am sure I will enjoy your vision.
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I love color imagery too, but appreciate and love black and white too. I have never really found “my” b&w recipe in Digital. I find myself trying to make mine look like my Dad’s from 60’s and 70’s.
I did a 52 week Monochrome challenge a few years ago it was tough because in many cases I preferred the color image to the b&w one.
I loved the vintage camera and the curly fern like plant images. Congrats for seeing the challenge through.
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I don’t think I have a B&W recipe, but I just love that you’ve tried it and come out a color lover as well. When B&W works, it’s grand, when it doesn’t, it makes me feel sad.
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I turned down the challenge. All of my B/W pics are of faces, it seems. I could filter some color shots with photoshop, but it feels like cheating ?? I had to look up that old Kodak Duaflex…similar to a Brownie box, which my family had. Very cool.
Smart to do them all at once, good idea from Ally B. I like the old building in the center shot…looks like a university building.
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You’re smart. Now I’m as smart as you with regards to the B&W challenge 😉 I know, Ally’s was THE BEST.
That building is the Scottish Rite Cathedral downtown.
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You summed up this challenge very well. I’ve been tagged by a few people to do this challenge, but it doesn’t interest me for the reasons you mentioned. My life is in colour. I like colour.
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Yes, I’ll skip it with a gracious thanks but no thanks next time 🙂
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Like you I live in a colorful world and I would miss colors a lot in a black and white world. But I also like some black and white photographies. Some great buildings or pieces of architecture look even greater in black and white. I’m thinking of the Eiffel Tower or the Iron Building in New York City, for example. But for our life, we need colors for sure.
“..dialogue, music, action — it’s definitely in color and at high speed.” LOVE that!
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Thank you 🙂
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You say it best at the end: newfound gratitude and appreciation is right. I like your #1 and #6 which is green but still has a life in b&w. For the graffiti I miss colour badly. Thank you for linking to me and delivering your photos on here as promised. Such challenges are useful, we learn by trying.
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Thanks for linking to my revised rules post about doing this challenge. Like you, I’m glad I tried it, but am not sold on B&W photos. While I understand in my brain about how wonderful and intriguing B&W photography can be, my heart likes it some color. That being said, I really like your first photo. The the linear contrasts with the round light are way cool.
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Thank you so much, I wish I’d read yours and modified my own before I started. I really liked the direction you took 🙂
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Thanks. I think you did great following the rules. Next time you break them, too.
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Next time, I pass 😉
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I very rarely turn my photos to black and white, but I admire the photographs of those who shoot exclusively that way.
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Me too. I appreciate their sight even more now.
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I enjoyed participating in the challenge. It was big time different for me, I never work in black and white, so that was kinda fun.
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Good! I enjoyed seeing your photos and I’m glad I tagged you 🙂
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Oh, this must be what my daughter was doing. I may go back and look.
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The vintage Kodak camera. Love!!!
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Thanks!
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