A week without color

I've been dreaming of a  of"Black & White" week for a long time.  Monochromatic photos move me more than any other type of photo.  Probably because they're stripped down to the basics.  Anything that might cause you to be distracted is removed and the emotion is the main attraction.  But this little quality is also what stops me from doing more conversions.  I question myself more.  Is the photo worthy?  Does it still translate? Am I forcing the emotion?

For me, I know right away if a photo demands to be converted.  Extreme sadness bawls for Black & White.  I still can't look at this photo & not start to cry.



Joy & laughter bubbles up until you must erase its color tones.




The ordinary can be whipped into glamorous with a few clicks of a mouse.


And in a pinch a photo with high noise & blur can be saved by converting it to Black & White.


But I think a lot of people struggle with going colorless.  I know I do.  I'd like to get over my conversion insecurities & convert with confidence!  And to do that, I need a week to practice.

If you're bored with color or want some practice, suck out all your color too!  Join the group!  From Monday (1/24) to Friday, I'll be shooting at least one photo to be converted into some form of Black & White.  I don't save a bunch of photos, so I will have to photograph specifically for this project.  I'll think of it as practice & motivation.  Digging into the archives isn't going to help me.  But I won't call the B&W police if others decide to flip through their past (Cheaters.  I'm joking.  Sort of...)  Each day, I'll submit at least one to the Week of No Color Flickr pool.  Shoot for emotions.  Shoot to create something glamours.  Each day, I'll feature the best of the best on my Facebook page with a public pat on the back (we could also use more pats on the back).  Rules do apply: Take at least one photo a day to be convert into a Black & White, Sepia, duotone, etc.  No color.  No bits of color.  Nothing!  If you post to the group, I might link to your photo.  What's the harm in that, really?  "Like" the page for updates.  And most of all, take off your rose-colored glasses because we're about to go monochromatic!

-Erika

p.s.  I'll delete the group on Saturday.  That way you won't have a random dead group hanging out in your Group list.  I hate that.  I'm too lazy to clean my groups.  So I should be mad at myself & not the group's creator.  I'll do that after the B&W week.

Who am I kidding, I won't.