We didn’t have any member entries this week, so I decided to mix things up a bit. Usually we think of enjoying garden photography in vivid color. We commonly overlook the fact that many things such as tone, texture, and contrast may be shown better in black and white! Many cameras these days, even cell phone cameras, have a B&W option, or the ability to convert color photos to B&W. For even more options, inexpensive computer programs are available. Here are just a few examples. The dahlia and hibiscus flowers were shot in the demonstration gardens at our Extension office. The fern was taken awhile back at Hidden Lake Gardens.
Monroe County Master Gardener Association 
Photography is all about preserving images we see. The human eye is fortunate to process these images in living color, and it comes as a surprise to view familiar objects in any other form. I am of an age when black and white was the norm. It’s not that color film wasn’t available in 35mm…it was expensive and didn’t work in my venerable Brownie 620 box camera!
Sue is correct about the tone, texture, and contrast elements of BW photography. I would add the dimension of light as being a necessary ingredient if this medium is to be used properly. Broad, sweeping panoramic landscapes, dramatic portraitures and gritty harsh scenes are what we normally associate with this medium. Composition becomes increasingly important, as the crucial element of light has to be worked in to introduce shadowing and accentuate the degree of contrast, that in turn develops the tone and texture of the photograph.
The first shot is highly sculptural because it is in BW…the strong lighting that would have otherwise washed out the color, accentuates the leaf structure because it plays on contrast and tone to provide definition. This is a very effective shot, whereas the other two are probably better viewed in color to appreciate their beauty. They have minimum contrast and definition…in the case of the hibiscus, almost totally washed out.
Why is this so? Is it because we have lost the ability to process images in any other than their real life colors? BW photography requires more of the viewer and a certain degree of imagination to compensate for the lacking familiar color. Mood is generally captured far more effectively in BW, because the composition plays on light and contrast…and the overall visual processing is slowed down. A good photographer uses this advantage and it can be elevated to an art form as opposed to a snap shot.
As Sue pointed out, these are manipulated digital photographs and were not “composed” in BW. To see more of the effectiveness of this medium, go to Sue’s photography site and look at her latest portfolio of dune grasses which features some interesting contrasts of lakeshore and sky. And one has to look no further than Georgeann’s recent early morning camping shots to see how effective the diffusing effects of the mist and low light can be. These were actual photos taken under poor light conditions that accentuated contrast as opposed to color.
http://www.sueryanphotography.com