Is our world black and white?

It is strange to believe, but in a way the world around us is not colorful. It is consisted only by black and white! A full gray scale! In this case we have to wonder: What is it this we see? Where are the colors? The answer is: "There are not colors. Just impressions!" The frequency in which the light travels and comes to our eyes after reflecting on an object creates the impression in our brains of what we call "color". Higher frequency (about 790 terahertz) creates the impression of "warmer" color (deep red), the lower frequency (about 400 terahertz) creates the impression of "cooler" color (deep blue). So, no matter how peculiar is in our minds, the world is made of black and white and the rest important work is made by a combination of physics and chemistry.

Black and White photography is helped by the first decades of 20th century, when color films didn't exist"; so our eyes got used into shaping feelings in front of this colorless pictures. But, it is only that? I think it is not as simple as that. The absence of color helps us focusing our attention in most important things, like shapes, contents, balance. So, our mind is somehow "pushed" into focusing only on important things and not being misled by colorful "toys".

Keeping this in mind, there is an excuse why in my color photos I prefer color to be discreet and inconspicuous. My strong belief is that strong and highly saturated colors on photos are mostly impressive for children or childish fellows, that's why they are very popular as postcards in tourist sites. On the other hand, Black & White or smooth-color photos impresses grown up and educated people.

All these, of course, may change after some years, when our "taste" and concerns will change. Till then let's enjoy the world the way we prefer!

Takis Latas