Colour and Monochrome - a creative digital tension

Although I mostly photograph for the purpose of producing black and white prints with film, I also have a growing collection of digital colour images.

When Im out with the F3 or the OM1s I’m using black and white film, no confusion, no ambiguity, its mono or dont take the picture. And you learn to cope with not having Velvia to photograph that amazing sunset!

However, when Im out and about with the D2X there is a creative tension that is constantly surfacing in my photography. In short, my digital work lives in the space between colour and monochrome, not in conflict, but in conversation. And for a film devotee it can be frustrating to have that choice. Choice is my nemesis!

I use colour when I see colour first. When the emotional or compositional weight of a scene is the colour, not an afterthought, but the reason for the photograph. Colour demands its place when it defines the atmosphere, the moment, or the subject’s character. In those moments, it would be dishonest to strip it away. So I photograph the colour, the form and composition both come after.

Monochrome, though, is not a fallback. It’s not about nostalgia or a stylistic shortcut. Its not about converting a failed colour photograph to black and white to try and salvage a poor image. For me, black and white is essential. It strips a photograph to its bones, light, shadow, form, gesture. It can reveal what colour can distract from. Monochrome photography invites a deeper clarity and a different kind of emotional truth. It’s not about the past; it’s about essence.

When I shoot with digital, despite trying, I just cannot impose a single rule on a project or a body of work. I respond to what’s in front of me instinctively, but not impulsively. Sometimes the tension between colour and monochrome is unresolved until the final edit. Sometimes; it never is resolved and that’s part of the process too. But I do try to avoid that scenario.