Black and White Photography

Recently, I posted some photos in black and white. 

This is a photo that I struggled converting to black & white.

Truth be told, it’s a struggle for me.  Black and white images always appear more artistic and give me a sense of sophistication, but I feel that I'm robbing the image of its reality.

The original color image was converted with a click of a button.

Simply because it’s what I see - in color.  It almost feels like I’m cheating by converting it to black and white. But then I see images from famous photographers like Frank DeMulder or Sally Mann and they post in black and white all the time.  Trust me, I'm not comparing my photos to their caliber, but they obviously have a comfort in converting their images into B&W that I envy.

Beautiful black and white image, with tons of detail.

I mean, I literally go back and forth.  I've even gone as far as taking polls on social media — the popular vote is almost always black and white.  I'm learning to get out of comfort zone and experimenting with techniques that will eventually be second nature to me.