monochrome? when? why?

i just learned photography since i got my dads pentax me super and now i got a dslr pentax kx. And i still dont get it with monochrome. i have never use any b/w film and rarely take a mono shot with kx.

so my question is, when do you take mono shot? why is it better to take (at that time) then color?

thank you

I really must get around to trying that one day.

All you need is a developing tank, chemicals, and maybe a light-proof bag if you don't have a daylight dev tank or a darkroom. I time the various stages with a standard wristwatch and it works perfectly.

well i shot many times and still cant figured it out which one to convert to bw, still thinks color are better for every condition..hehehe

@dangermouse it surely will be fun to develop our own film! but i didnt know how to get the equipment needed..

The images you think are not any good might be, You won't know until you see the end result. As i said before just experiment you will be suprised.

I'm not sure where you'd get the chemicals from where you are, the dev tank should be easy enough to get hold of. I bought some conical flasks from a laboratory supplier to mix the chemicals in, as I only need small quantities at a time with the tank I use.

Take a look at the link on the "zoo photography" thread. That will answer why.

Black and white photography is where I started. Printing in my own darkroom, colour was way too expensive for me and when I did try it out it was so slow and unsatisfying.

However, the art of making black and white prints kept me happy for decades and, eventually, I became quite good at it. There are people I know who were much better. It's messy, time consuming and a pleasure all of its own to disappear under that red light for a day. Eventually I would emerge into the light, blinking like a mole, with a clutch of prints that still needed washing, drying, spotting....

However, now I do mostly colour because that's the way we see the wrold and it's no difference in digital photography. I make black and white or colour images as I think the subject demands. Black and white is the stuff of dark drama, shapes, tones and textures...for me at least.

Colour is the world of reality or fantasy as our imaginations dictate and can be brash or ethereal, or any other mixture.

There is a certain charm though to toning prints with real chemicals, or even food dyes, or doing the special effects in the camera or darkroom instead of Photoshop. If you feel inclined to have a go at traditional techniques, then go for it, but it's not something you can just excel at without a lot of experimentation and practice.

Buy a book with photos by people like Ansel Adams then you will see the power of monochrome photographs.

Unfortunately, good mono photography is more difficult than good colour photography. Stripping out the colour requires greater emphasis on the composition.

G

I find that industrial stuff and architecture tend to make the best mono subjects, mostly as it seems to work well on texture and detail. Rocky terrain also works for much the same reason.