Street Corner Theater - in color and black and white

I am trying something that’s different for me. I don’t shoot much black & white anymore. I think about the colors in my photos and whether or not they work as part of the composition. Recently, I’ve been working with a friend and poet, Steve Dalachinsky, on a project which I expect will reach fruition in a few months, at which time I’ll have much more to say about it. Working with him, I’ve needed to switch my mind from color to monochrome, and in looking at and thinking about the photos I’ve made with him, I see there is an alternate way of looking at things, that the textures and density of the image is very different, and the way we respond to the image is different, too.

What does this mean for me right now? It means that I’m going to try something. I am looking at my photos twice and evaluating their impact in color and monochrome. Since it had been a long time since I did anything serious with B&W photography – last using Tri-X and Pan-x in the early part of this century – I wasn’t sure how the project with Steve would turn out, and really, I won’t know until it’s completed; I don’t know how this experiment will work, either.

I’ve selected some street photos and processed them in both monochrome and color. I’ve treated each one without thinking about how it looks in the other format. I’m posting them together, just to see what I see. I already know that some photos are meant to be viewed in color; for some it is simply a matter of different, not necessarily better or worse; some of the photos have a stronger impact in their monochrome version.

I’ll keep thinking about it.
Take a look and if you find it comment-worthy, let me know. Clicking on an image will open it up larger. right click or command click to open in a new window or tab.