The point of this? Well, just because the unsophisticated can not tell the difference does not mean there isn't one. Actually you can shoot good monochrome images on color film, but they would look awful in color. The whole process
starting with conceptualization is different with color and B&W. Which is why my color work has always been so-so. Of course, if desaturating your color image makes you feel artistic, go right ahead.
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Bruce Dayton wrote:
That is an interesting observation. There are several possibilities... people don't have the opportunity to shoot B&W - they could be all digital (myself included). People don't normally shoot B&W so buying the "right" film and getting it processed are too much of a bother. People are so comfortable with the digital conversion that they don't want to bother with the actual B&W process.
One can say that for displaying on the web, the difference between a real B&W image and a converted one may not be that much.
I've never had a client who wanted a shot in B&W care one whit that it started as a color image. I'm sure there are some fine art type prints that would matter, but the masses probably don't care too much.
A funny, but probable gallery that was entitled "Digital" would likely have as many film shots that were digitized in it, as this one has color images converted to B&W. The digital darkroom has certainly had a big impact on the industry.
-- graywolf http://graywolfphoto.com/graywolf.html