Happy Valentine's Day + Great Portrait

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

Happy Valentine's Day. That was an excellent portrait of Nate this morning (and now I know what the connection was for yesterday's post). Your grey scale in that photo was off-the-charts, so varied that the tones in his hair (near where it is parted) almost look blonde as "in color". And it goes without saying that you always know how to pose your subjects.  :)  Once again, that photograph could easily be a full page in a magazine, perhaps one like GQ. As for the use of black and white in portraiture, keep in mind that some of the greatest pop-culture portraitists, like Annie Liebowitz and Richard Avedon, shot primarily in b&w. The reason is again, as mentioned in earlier blogs, because black and white reduces the subject to Pure Image. This is my own theory and not one I have picked up anywhere, but I think that color - in some instances - can create a "look of the Everyday" to a photograph. We see in color, and most of the photographs we take, and see, are in color, hence objects in color have an everyday look, like real life.

Now, as you know, this in no way invalidates color photography, which is magnificent when used right, and even when just used for simple snapshots it can be quite beautiful and create lasting feelings and memories. But if you notice all the old photos I "like" on the FB pages for LA Relics and Valley Relics, they are all in black and white, and as such, they evoke something, a "past", an "era", something unreachable, something forgotten.......and that is because, with no color, they are reduced to Pure Image. The objects in old photographs thus become symbolic in a way, and act on the memory in a certain way.

Portraits shot in black and white will thus act on a subject, and especially the human face, in the same way. There will be an evocation of a time and place, in addition to the picturing of the subject him or herself. Imagine if Dorthea Lange had shot her famous Dust Bowl depression-era photograph of mother and child in color (and I am not sure there was even color film then), but anyhow......that photograph, one of the most famous in American photographic history, is evocative above all other qualities.

All of this I point out just to say : keep shooting portraits in black and white. Do it as you feel the subject calls for it. Obviously it goes without saying that your color portraiture has been fantastic as well, and color schemes and saturations add all kinds of feel, style and emotion to a picture, especially for fashion or to create a mood.

Color and black & white are equally valid, which also goes without saying. Just keep experimenting with both, and use black and white when you feel the subject of the portrait warrants it.

Well anyway, a great photo of Nate.  :)

Today for me was mostly the Same Drill as yesterday : a long push around the 'hood with Pearl this morn (no Kobi this time, it's kinda hard to carry him and push at the same time), and then a hike this afternoon, this time at Limekiln.

I only saw one post, for PRS guitars, and I imagine you were probably working on your own video.

I hope it is coming along well, and I hope you had a good day.

See you in the morn. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)