Goswami nix

“In the '70s, in Britain, if you were going to do serious photography, you were obliged to work in black-and-white. Color was the palette of commercial photography and snapshot photography.”

“One sees differently with color photography than black-and-white… in short, visualization must be modified by the specific nature of the equipment and materials being used.”

“In black and white there are more colors than color photography, because you are not blocked by any colors so you can use your experiences, your knowledge, and your fantasy, to put colors into black and white.”

“Color tends to corrupt photography and absolute color corrupts it absolutely. Consider the way color film usually renders blue sky, green foliage, lipstick red, and the kiddies’ playsuit. These are four simple words which must be whispered: color photography is vulgar.”

“Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretive.”

“There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery.”

“Which is probably the reason why I work exclusively in black and white… to highlight that contrast.”
***de

“Let’s assume that all the cassettes of monochrome film Cartier-Bresson ever exposed had somehow been surreptitiously loaded with color film. I’d venture to say that about two thirds of his pictures would be ruined and the remainder unaffected, neither spoiled nor improved. And perhaps one in a thousand enhanced.”

“Black and white can transform a scene into something magical.”

“Perhaps I am old-fashioned, but black and white films still hold an affectionate place in my heart; they have an incomparable mystique and mood.”

“With black and white photography, what you have to say counts more than the way you say it.”

“In the history of photography, we have many masterpieces in terms of black and white books. You have Bresson's ‘Decisive Moment,' Frank's ‘The Americans'… many masterpieces. But there is nothing to this caliber in color. Well, I think I'll waltz with my muse and hope that I might be able to produce something on this order in color.”

“I work in color sometimes, but I guess the images I most connect to, historically speaking, are in black and white. I see more in black and white – I like the abstraction of it.”

“The world is in color, you have to work at black and white.”

“I think it’s because it was an emotional story, and emotions come through much stronger in black and white. Color is distracting in a way, it pleases the eye but it doesn’t necessarily reach the heart.”

“When I shoot a photo I already know if the final image will be black and white or colour – it’s a matter of what expressive language you want for that project. Of course, some images are more suitable for black and white, especially high-contrasted images.”

“Black and white photography has the potential to make any photographer a better photographer.”

“Black and white is abstract; color is not. Looking at a black and white photograph, you are already looking at a strange world.”