hand light

Why is Black and White So Beautiful?

Color is beautiful in photography, but for me, I think monochrome is more beautiful.

Why is this? My thoughts:

In praise of abstracting reality?

When shooting on my Lumix g9 in color vs high contrast gritty monochrome:

The monochrome looks more abstract, interesting, and artistic in my eyes.

Do we desire to perfectly depict “real” reality, or something else?

A fun thing when shooting 4K video footage on my Lumix g9 and 12mm f/1.4 Leica/Lumix Lens:

It looks very real, like very real life.

In fact, it often surprises me just how real my videos on the Lumix look.

To love or disdain the real?

When we watch a movie or play a video game or experience art … certainly we are looking something which is ‘hyper-reality’: exaggerated reality to the next level (my joy of watching Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle). Also the joy of watching Dragon Ball Z, Hajime no Ippo [boxing anime]. Exaggeration is what makes media and art work more fun and interesting.