{Guest Post} Back in Time by Tracey Clark

 Oh my goodness... I'm so excited.....the super talented...always inspiring....  Tracey Clark is here to share with us today! Woo hoo.... Be sure to check out the surprise below her beautiful words and images.

Take it away, Tracey.....

My love affair with photography began in black & white. Before the digital age, you had to make a decision what kind of photograph you wanted to create. For me, it was always black & white. Roll after roll, shooting with a monochromatic palette, I began to actually see the world around me translated through the absence of color. It helped to hone my photographic eye. I became a stalker of light, of shadow, highlights, shade, shape, curve, space, composition and expression. When you remove the color from the image, each of these things becomes even more important. 

Since then, I’ve come to embrace the digital age and have learned to love (and depend on) seeing the shot in color first. After the fact, with the click of my mouse, I can change it on a whim. It’s changed how I see the world. I still see all of the things I saw before only now I have the luxury of choosing how to proceed. Color or black & white? And I usually make my choice on a shot to shot basis. Now, every shot can ask for something unique. Each one tells me what it would like to be. I listen and follow along.

Even still, I am 100% certain that laying my photographic foundation in black & white made me the photographer I am today. I’m not so sure I’d be able to see all of the elements I see, all of the things that make up a strong image, if it weren’t for the monochromatic practice. Would I still know the way the light shapes things and bring them to life, the importance of gesture and expression, the way every part of the frame is a narrative? I’m not sure. I just don’t know if color makes you work hard enough to not only see those things, but also to put them to good use in your images. I guess at this point there’s no real way to tell but I can say that with Picture Black & White, I am eager to shoot with black & white in mind again. I am looking forward to the challenge of going back to basics, of revisiting my beginnings, and reminding myself of where and how my passion was sparked.

Why is it that black & white images from the past stir our souls? Is it just a coincidence that all of the black & white images I cherish feel timeless, classic, and true? I doubt it. Black & white isn’t just where I began in photography; it’s where many of us began experiencing photography, whether by shooting or just by looking at early images. Black & white photography is a part of our history, part of who we are. And no matter how much amazing and awesome technology there is to help us capture life in living color, traveling back in time to where it all began will never get old. 

.....

Thank you Tracey... I adore your B&W imagery.

Fabulous News

Tracey is offering 3 lucky winners a spot in her upcoming class, Picture Black & White. 

To enter, leave a comment below sharing your thoughts/ideas/experience with Black & White Photography. Be sure to enter your email address in the info box.

The lucky winners will be announced tomorrow evening (May 2nd).

Update on May 2 by Kim Klassen

Thanks so much for your wonderful comments.The winners have been choosen... 

Congrats to Deanna Swauger, Jo Nelson & Donna Hopkins. 

It's not too late to sign up for the class.... pop over to the registration page to check it out.

Comments

[Jacque]

I haven't done black and white photography since college....I loved it! That was in the early 1980's, so it has been awhile. I would love to try it again in the digital age. Color is wonderful, but black and white photography is the essence. I loved studying the Ansel Adams method, and the challenge of not depending on color for interest. I would love to take this class!

[Roxi]

I love B&Ws but never seem to have the right photos for it, or I don't process them well. This would be a fabulous opportunity since I just a bunch of newborn pics of my first grand daughter!

[Diana]

B&W is where it all started for me (in the high school journalism photo lab). Even after all these years, the essence of black and white photography still stirs my soul. It would be a privilege and an honor to celebrate the nuances of B&W with Tracey and other seekers of the light. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Appreciated!

[jenny]

There is definitely a time for color photographs. But when the moment speaks for itself, nothing is more moving than a black and white image. To me it removes all distracting elements and makes you feel what is happening. I love photography that makes me feel. Would love to win :)

[KatyS]

What a wonderful opportunity to explore B&W photography! I love the nostalgic or edgy looks you can achieve with B&W photos

[Donna]

I just LOVE B&W photo! They are mysterious, as if they had their own little secret. Would love to learn more about it :)

[Eileen Sottovia]

This post really got me thinking about how basic principles of art hold true in all mediums. I will be starting to teach a drawing class to my painting students this Friday and your words made me think how important and helpful it is to work in black and white to be able to understand the basics without the distraction of color. It seems like we will be taking a step backwards but the knowledge will help us to leap forward in our artwork.

[Marita Poll]

Love the truth that B&W brings to an image. Removing the color really does make all the difference- I see this so often. Would love to learn more...

[Tracy]

I have always loved b & w photography! So classic. I remember taking a photography class in high school and developing the b & w...just magic!!! Great giveaway!!

[Kelly]

Hi Tracy,
I think for me I learned to appreciate B&W photography very early on....even before I even knew I'd own a camera some day. As much as I love color photography, a b&w will forever capture my attention. It shows details I think are missed in color. Thank you for your generous offer in you class.

[Larraine Formica]

What interesting and beautiful photos! That's what I love about black and white photography - it breaks down to the elemental. I've loved photography for years - when I used to read my parents Life magazines. I still remember a photo story about a young couple who were heroin addicts. The pictures showed young people who had been ravaged by drug usage and constantly in search of a fix. A few years later I discovered Ansel Adams. From the ugly to sublime! I've only started getting into photography a few years ago. My husband tells me that I have a great eye. Maybe so. I would like to be better. Thanks for considering me for this course.

[nikki]

I think Ted Grant said it best, "When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in B&W, you photograph their souls!" would love to be a part of the experience! Thanks for the opportunity kim! xo

[Erika]

I love the texture and pure emotion in black and white and use it frequently in my processing. I am always trying to learn as much as possible and would love a seat in this class to learn a lot more about Black and White.

[robin]

back during, film days, i too often made the decision to shoot in black and white. it wasn't an eye thing. it was a feeling thing. i loved how my subjects turned out in black and white. i love tracey's story and her b & w days...and how it helped her grow and blossom on her journey. thanks for sharing this today. you two, kim and tracey, are amazing.

just BE.
robin.

[Michell]

Winning a spot in Tracy's class would be super sweet!!! I grew up surounded by black and white photography and love it. During high school and college I spent many years in the dark room, an experience I will be forever grateful for. Somehow stripping away the color seems to tell the story better and create a more intimate portrayal. Thanks for a chance to win a spot in Tracy's class. I've taken a couple and they are wonderful.

[Zoe]

I love b and w photography and would love to learn how to do it properly rather than m'y current trial and error method of converting colour shots. Sounds à fabulous course!

[susan ogden]

OH!! i am on a black and white quest! A few weeks ago i realized that i do not know how to “SEE” in black and white. Having been born an artist, color has always been very attractive to me, and now, moving to photography, i sense i am missing something every time i see a shot from several of my friends on Flickr that shoot such amazing pictures in Black and White. I stare at them, analyze them, ponder them.....trying to figure out “HOW do they DO that!?” How i would LOVE to wrap my head around beautiful and timeless black and white shots!! I try SO hard to replicate what they do....and still fall short each time. Thank you for inspiring me to keep pushing forward and trying....it truly is an art form, and one that although it eludes me now, i know that i will someday conquer it....i am determined to learn this art!

Susan

[Linda Kittmer]

I love black and white photos and especially portraits. There is something amazing about stripping away everything else and just focusing on the personality in the image.

[Kimberly]

I love B&W photos. There is such a classic feel to them. No colors to distract your eyes. I do find it is tricky to know when B&W is a better option than color though.

[Shanna Bradbury]

I adore black and whites, and would love to learn more on how to get the perfect BW each and every time. There's something so classic about them! Please pick me!!

[Shelley]

I think the key to black and white photography is understanding the lighting and seeing shadows, and this is something that I am challenged by. I would love to explore the art of Black and White photography to try and gain a better understanding of lighting and how to spot it, because sometimes I really think I'm lost. Love Tracey's classes - she's awesome.

[Marrianna Dougherty]

I took my first photo class at a community college in Prescott, AZ, USA, in the Sjpring of 1983. I absolutely loved shooting and developing film and working in the darkroom. I had a marvelous Nikon 35 mm camera with various lenses. Then I purchased a used Minolta Twin Lens Reflex camera that was incredible. I later had a 4x5 view camera that was also fun. I used a pinhole camera for some of my non-silver work. It's been a long time since I've even thought of redoing my digital images into B&W. The workshop sounds like it could be a valuable tool to add to my digital skills.

And I still shoot flowers almost 85% of the time I'm shooting.

Marrianna in Flagstaff, AZ, USA

[Lynda]

B&W has always been my first photography love... this would be awesome to win...

[Kathleen]

Tracey, I would love to take your Black and White Class and finally learn how to add the correct tones to make an image pop!!!
For me Black and White Photography was the beginning for me as a young girl, so to go back and visit this type of photography will be so much fun.

Regards,
Kathleen

Roselady1@comcast.net

[lawyerlyn]

Shooting in black and white is one of the things I want to learn.so this class would be perfect for me.

thanks for the chance to win!

[marie palcic]

black and white takes me back to a time of innocence. because so many of my childhood memories come from pictures and silent movies that my parents took, in black and white from the early days, it feels like i grew up in the old days :)
b/w seems to stop time, add emotion to every image especially portraits. i just started trying to see in b/w for landscapes/scenery and find it fascinating. i would love to take a class and learn more!

[Beth Pollock]

I began in b&w photography back in the days of a non-digital world. I took all the classes in college that was photography related and even learned to develop my own work! Ahh, the dark room is still my passion, of course after taking the photographs. But I digress, b&w photography makes you stop and really look at the details of the world, filter out the colors and it is amazing the things you can see. there are no colors to distract from the subject of the shot, you are really focusing on the intircacies of the subject and that is an entirely different world than the one of color, meanings, nuances, ...
I love black and white photography it's beauty is unparalleled.
thanks for this chance to win a spot in your class, good luck to all!
Hugs,
Beth P
http://elisabethpollock.blogspot.com

[Tiffany]

Thank you so much for sharing! I'm always experimenting with B&W and love how certain details are brought out even more than in a color photograph.

[Serendipity is Sweet]

I'm not all that far into my photography journey. I have been studying for almost a year and know I have a long way to go. But it's safe to say I am obsessed with all things photography. One thing I find that I am always drawn to is black and white images. I love how they seem to remove all distractions and tell a timeless story. They can be so very powerful and moving. Black and white photography is something I have only begun to experiment with, but I would love the opportunity hone my skills with the guidance of a pro!

Thank you for the opportunity to enter your giveaway!

[Ami]

My affair with Black & White began in the 1950's with the Brownie box camera that I received for my birthday. All of the film we shot then was black & white. I still love the photographs from that era. I would be honored to take the class.

[Sue]

I began shooting black and white with my Brownie Hawkeye many years ago. My dad and I set up a darkroom in our basement and we enjoyed creating b&w images together. How I wish he was here today to see how my photography has evolved. I still love creating black and white images!

[Laura]

Great post!

[Irene Theriau]

Black and White, what can one say. It all started there, and we have grown to love colour. Now it's time to learn, explore, and create again in Black and White. Thanks for sharing your post, and thanks for your give away. Cheers! Irene

[Melissa]

I would love to take your class about B&W but I can not afford it right now - I have always loved B&W but I never am satisfied with my results - I love the simple look and the fact that you are drawn right to the subject - I would love to learn more
Melissa TMisangel@comcast.net

[Lee Anne]

I love black and white photography; the varying tones add such drama and expression. I am just getting back into photography after a long stretch of avoiding buying a digital slr and using only point and shoot. I think I could really use this class, to help me further explore and develop my skill in black and white photography.

[anne hartman]

As much as I love color I have always felt that a black and white image evokes a certain timeless energy and a need to know more. I would love to learn how to master light and shadows. Thank you for coming to visit and leaving us with the inspiration to try something more.

[Cheri]

Wow! Such a generous giveaway. Thanks for the chance to win a spot in this class. I would benefit tremendously from this. B&W is classy and classic.

[susanna suchak]

Oh Tracey! I am just a newbie to digital photography and am struggling. My husband shoots medium format and is aiming to make that his profession when he retires from social work in a few years (http://www.mythiclandscape.com ) but me...meh I just have a rinky tink digital camera. He says I "have a good eye" for texture and composition. But I know that I need to express my own "sense of the world"...document my own reverence (that's what he calls what he does with the camera). I know I won't ever be in the same league much less be able to operate the complicated camera that he does, but I think I'd like to giver a go... Can you help?

[Melinda Hunter]

Black and White is just pure class. Enough said!

[Susan W]

As I'm reading this, I'm looking through my office window at the pretty, puffy, clouds in the sky and I can see what you're saying about seeing in black and white. I truly would like to learn more and hope you consider me for the class.

[Anne Love]

I love back and white photos would be thrilled to learn how to do them right!

[Lynette Batton]

Black and White will always be classic, it often adds to the story. I've loved B&W film with my Minolta SLR. Now that you brought it up I should go back for a couple of shoots.

[Diane]

How exciting I would love to learn more about black and white photography.

[Melanie]

Black and white has so much character! Just beginning to delve into b & w more now. Would be awesome to learn more through Tracey's class!

[Yolanda]

I would love to win this, I love black and white. How fun

[Lisa d.]

I'd love the opportunity! I would love to learn past black and white conversion!

[Brenda]

This past weekend I was visiting my 90 year old friend. Her grandfather was a sea captain and had passed on to her a beautiful
old view camera which he had taken tons of lovely pictures with all around the world. My friend(Phyliss) brought out this box of
beautiful black & white negatives all in great condition and I spent hours holding them up to the light, bringing me back in time...That's the amazing thing about black & white photos...they freeze those moments in time...
I'm hoping to
print a bunch of these old negatives for my friend as they mean so much to her and I I hate to see such great history and memorabilia sit in a box unused and unprinted.

That same evening my friend (knowing how much I love photography) gave me that beautiful view camera that her grandfather had used and I will treasure it always...

Would love so much to attend the black & white class!

[tawney]

Although I 'know' b&w requires rigorous attention to both form and value I admit that I've not applied myself to thinking b&w when taking pictures. I need some structure it would seem.

[Deb]

I want to dive right in. Something is missing in my black and white photos. I'm looking for the spark that will ignite my creative mojo! Sounds like a great class and teacher!

[Anne Hargreaves]

One of my (many!) photographic heroes is Ansell Adams. I would love to be able to produce such stunning images. I'd love your class too, I'm sure.

Anne