Subject matter can often influence the photographer's decision as to whether they should use black and white or colour in their work. Using a theme of your choice, investigate appropriate examples and respond in your own way.

Saul Leiter

_Saul Leiter started shooting color and black-and-white street photography in New York in the 1940s. He had no formal training in photography, but the genius of his early work was quickly acknowledged by Edward Steichen, who included Leiter in two important MoMA shows in the 1950s. MoMA’s 1957 conference “Experimental Photography in Color” featured 20 color photographs by Leiter.

After that, however, Leiter's personal color photography was, for the most part, not shared with the public. He became better-known as a successful fashion photographer in the 1950s and 60s. All the while, Leiter continued to stroll the streets wherever he was (mostly New York and Paris), making photographs for his own pleasure. He printed some of his black-and-white street photos, but kept most of his color slides tucked away in boxes. It was only in the 1990s that he began to look back at that remarkable color work and start to make prints. His sense of color and densely compressed urban life represents a truly unique vision of those times. Other street photographers who worked in both black and white and colour include Garry Winogrand and Joel Meyerowitz.

Light on water

The image on the left is by Ralph Eugene Meatyard and is part of a series of long exposures capturing the play of light on the surface of a lake. The image on the right is be Eliot Porter. The photographer has captured the reflections of the surrounding landscape on the surface of a puddle. Porter is less interested in the movement of light than is Meatyard. Rather, his concern is with colour harmonies and texture.

Movement

The image on the left by Ernst Haas records moving traffic. The blue tone of the road is enhanced by the deep shadow that spreads across it, providing a lovely contrast to the subtle but all important peach and yellow blur of the cars. Francesca Woodman's image on the right is also interested in movement but the whole focus is on the gesture of the crouching woman set against a blank wall and barren room. Colour in this image would be superfluous to the photographer's intentions.

Form

Sometimes, colour can enhance our understanding of the form of an object or a still life. At other times, a tonal representation of shapes in black and white is all that is needed. The image on the left is by Imogen Cunningham. The one on the right is by Jan Groover.