Ajaye

In a time where digital photography makes color ubiquitous, black & white photography seems like a curious anachronism. Yet black & white stays with us and remains relatively popular. Color film went mainstream in the 1930s with the introduction of Kodachrome & Technicolor, but black & white has stubbornly persisted not only in newspapers but also as an expressive outlet for many photographers who choose to shoot photojournalism, weddings, portraits and more by converting color digital files to black and white. But is black and white a gimmick? Given that humans see in color, is converting a photo to black and white an act of self-importance? A way to make an image appear to be more significant than it otherwise might be in color? To engage in a debate of whether black & white or color is better is probably a waste of time— both have their merits, and preference is ultimately subjective. Obviously, I wear my preference on my sleeve with my body of work here. I'm definitely not going to write a self-righteous manifesto on the superiority of monochrome, though. All I will say more on the matter is that it seems very appropriate for the work that I'm doing here.