Autumn In Black & White

Creating photographs of autumn colors in black and white may sound like an absurd idea. Besides the paradox, isn’t black-and-white photography best deployed in those instances where the subject lacks strong colors? And isn’t black and white’s ability to exaggerate drama—unfettered by the need to present a realistic rendition of the subject—more suitable for bold and moody scenes with dynamic light? Photographs centered around fall foliage tend to be of forest settings, which are often understated and soft. And finally, wouldn’t you be simply missing out?

Thankfully, in the digital age, the latter is the least of our concerns. There is no need to set out in the field to create black-and-white photographs. It’s not even necessary to conceive of black-and-white photographs in the field. When working in digital, there is no practical technical advantage in capturing images in black and white over converting color images to black and white in post-processing. You stick to color for capture. While browsing through your archive, you can safely try out black and white using software. Several offerings include sophisticated tools for translating colors into tones with a level of control exceeding what the most proficient darkroom practitioner could muster with a black-and-white film. By