B&W or colour in street photograpy?

My Internet connection has been dead for the last two weeks (due to a cable fire here in Stockholm) but here is finally a post. I will try to be more frequent in my updates of the blog from now on. The last year has been kind of busy and I will be in a bit of transition the coming six months or so, but I will do my best to update the blog every week.

There are many opinions about black and white vs colour in street photography. My current opinion and my personal editing style is that each photo is unique and deserves a solitary decision if the photo should end up as b&w or in colour. There are street photographers that seriously mean that a “real street photograph” should be in black and white and shot with film. The film vs digital discussion I will leave for a later post, but I will strongly argue against the first statement. Real street photography is not defined by b&w or colour that is just nonsense. Some “purists” (that of course shoots with a vintage Leica loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400 speed film) mean that because some guys that “defined” street photography back in the 40’s and 50’s were using b&w film for creating their street photos, it must be the norm in this style of photography. For starters, street photography is not defined by some old street shooters of the past, it’s not static, it’s alive and kicking, still developing and the definition is still open for interpretation. Nothing is carved in stone when it comes to street photography. Find your style, find your way and find the gear that works for you, don’t limit yourself if you don’t want to be limited.

I tend to bring most of my street photos into black and white, but not because it has to be that way, most of my work just feels right in black and white. But some 20-25% of my work will end up in colour. If the colour adds to the feeling or the interpretation of the photograph I will leave it in colour, but if it just distracts and don’t fill a function I will go for b&w.