Some subjects just seem to work much better when you step away from the power and snap of color and back into the world of black and white. While black and white photography certainly still plays a major role in art photography, it has clearly lost its sway in the mainstream media culture. Black and white cinema - only, if at all, in small art theaters. Not in magazines, not on my iPod or iPhone, nor even on most PowerPoint presentations that seem to drown us. Of all the electronic gadgets that I surround myself with, only my Kindle clings to black and white - and even there Amazon promises color will soon arrive.
This past weekend the Experimental Aircraft Association brought its lovingly restored WWII-era B-17 Flying Fortress to the Leesburg Airport. The B-17 was a legendary plane in the hands of the US Eighth Air Force flying from England across Europe and dropped more bombs than any other aircraft in WWII. While the toll on crews was heavy, this aircraft continued to fly and bring crews home even after suffering unbelievable damage. My "Bucket List" includes a flight on this, but the $500 a flight cost will keep it in the bucket for a while.
I shot, as I always do, in color, but the more I looked at the images the more they called out for something else. I reached for my favorite tool for rendering black and white, Nik Filter's Silver Efex Pro. This plug-in - Photoshop, Aperture and Lightroom - gives you access to a wider range of options. The top photo is a dark sepia and the second image is something called "Wet Rocks". I particularly like the second effect as it seems to capture a little of what it must have looked like flying across the unfriendly skies of Nazi-controlled Europe.
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