Black and White or do it in Color?

That is a question  I find myself asking when I first think about a image.  The choice is stark  and there is a romantic notion that is associated with the Black and White shot.   One person I talked to said whenever he felt the shot was weak or blurry he would move it to black and white because then its "artsy".  I listened to another photographer on a podcast who primarily does fine art photography says that all his shots are converted to black and white unless color is overwhelmingly needed to make the shot.

 I think there is certainly a artistic nuance more pronounced when you   post a black and white over a color one.   Black and white  forces you to look at the bare elements and  pushes your imagination.  I find that  I lean toward the feeling that black and white should be the  skeleton upon which you build you color imagery.   This helps me to think more in terms of tones and structure.  Color to me should only be presented when it adds to the shot and subtracting it from the shot will take away from the full meaning of the shot. B&W simplifies the expression and  asks the viewer to  really evaluate what is going on.

Its definitely a medium I need to work in more in the coming year. One of the most challenging notion when you convert to black in white is how you do that process.  High contrast  or low grey-level. Its really about interpretation and what your trying to say with the image, often times I end up with several versions of the shot. its definitely an art and I think the most disappointing thing  you find is when people are like, can I see the color version?

 Split and Duo toning are another level of introducing color without  aiming for fidelity but feeling.  I think there is place for this but right now I am just working on the basics.. We will learn to jump higher once I can reliably tell you how high I can jump.