Beautiful Black and White
Black and white still has a sense of mystery and beauty where the subject and shadows play to make one heck of a picture that can last for years. Life in black in white used to be the norm and the style does have a strong following of staunch supporters. One problem facing this art is that there are almost no more developers who use the age-old method of developing prints, replaced by automated robots that nowadays do the printing. One thing black and white developing had of the old days was longevity, which resisted water and lasted years.
Adjusting the contrast of black and white pictures tends to make the drama of the shot come to life or fade into shadows of light and dark. Shadows tends to diffuse the subject, placing it into a new perspective, making life a bit more interesting.
Today’s prints are somewhat fragile, not able to handle water or moisture.
The old days of exposing photosensitive chemical coated materials to the negatives, soaking in the many solutions that resulted in the finished products are gone. Some artisans still use the technique but materials and chemicals are getting harder to find day by day. There can never be a replacement for the black and white photos of the past, the shadows playing tricks with the eyes as if it was a true living image, without the bias of color and all people were simply, black and white.