THE POWER OF
BLACK AND WHITE CULTURE ART PHOTOGRAPHY FAMOUS QOUTES BY CAITLIN WONG & KIRAN RAI
BLACK& IN CULTURE
&WHITE IN CULTURE
Black and white in culture
W
Interd
We are... “
The task that remains is to cope with our interdependence to see ourselves reflected in every other human being and to respect and honor our differences. -Melba Pattillo Beals
dependent
.
Yin & Yang
OPPOSITES ATTRACT “You couldn't have strength without weakness, you couldn't have light without dark, you couldn't have love without loss” ― Jodi Picoult Yin-Yang are opposites:They are either on the opposite ends of a cycle, like the seasons of the year, or, oppositeson a continuum of energy or matter. Thisopposition is relative,and can only be spoken of in relationships.For example:Water is Yin relative to steam but Yang relative to ice. Yin and Yang are never static but in a constantly changing balance.
“When summer is over, winter becomes sad too, because opposites often admire each other secretly!”
-Mehmet Murat ildan
T
n
Mutual consumption of Yin and Yang Relative levels of Yin Yang are continuously changing. Normally, this is a harmonious change, but when Yin or Yang are out of b tates ible s s s o p ur The fo : alance a of imb ce nderan l .Prepo in ) of Y s s e a c x (E rance n eponde r P . ang c ) of Y s s e c e x (E ess .Weakn of Yin ) y c n e i (Defic ess g n .Weak of Yan ) y c n e they affect each other, i (Defic and too much of one can eventually
weaken
or
consume
the other.
Yin & Yang
THEORY AND
Yin Yang is the fundamental principle, and the most important th Combining the two, we have the four stages of Yin and Yang...
yang
utmost yin yang within yin
The Eight Trigrams were combined to form 64 hexagram
D HISTORY
heory in TCM, underlying all physiology, pathology & treatment.
ying
n utmost yang yin within yang
ms, symbolizing all possible phenomena of the Universe
BLACK AND WHITE IN PHOTOGRAPHY
“
To see
in color is a delight for the eye but to see in black and white is a delight for the soul.
“
– Andri Cauldwell
A CAMERA IS AN EXTENSION OF THE EYE
“
photos represent the vision, or the essence, of the artist rather than reality.
BLACK AND WHITE IN PHOTOGRAPHY Black and white, in addition to being a beautiful medium in its own right (he uses words like mysterious,nostalgic and dramatic to explain its appeal) is a step removed from reality. Add in changes in tonal values achieved in post -processing, the surreality of long exposure photography techniques and the manipulation of light (also in post-processing) and you finish with a photo (or a work of art, depending on your world view) that is an expression of the artist, rather than the original subject. There are many ways of expressing yourself creatively in photography, and black and white is just one of them,but it certainly is a powerful medium. Trends come and go. Whether it’s the fast film, high grain techniques popularised by Robert Farber and Sarah Moon in the seventies, or the Photoshop based techniques of modern times such as using texture layers or HDR, most of theseare ephemeral. They won’t be remembered as anything more than dated trends in decades to come. But black and white will endure.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY? Sometimes, colors can be distracting and may even make the photo look complicated. It can be hard to focus on the subject because of too much color. But when it comes to black and white photography, the subject is much easier to focus on. Black and white keeps you focused on the actual composition and texture of the photo. It allows you to focus on shapes, light and shadows, lines and perspective. That is why some photos look definitely more convincing in black and white. Black and white photos have a classy and exquisite feel about them. They have an aesthetic, artistic look that is hard to produce in color. They definitely look timeless!