Congeniality II . . . by Andreas Manessinger
On January 18, 2008, I was at a Jazz concert in Klagenfurt’s premier Jazz club “Kamot”. The band was the just newly formed “Alpe Adria Jazz Quartett”, and they made a fabulous performance of own works, intermingled with the odd Thelonious Monk. My friend Wolfgang Platzer, organizer of the event, had lent me his Nikon 80-200/2.8, and I was in photographer’s heaven.
Black and white is so perfect for music… escpecially jazz.
That’s a good question, Andreas. I’ve often wondered myself why some photos and specific subjects just work so much better in b/w. I think it has something to do with the history of photography, being primarily b/w for so long. I think there are certain things we almost expect to see without color in a photograph — jazz musicians being one of them. Street photography is an entire genre that is generally associated with b/w, but there are no rules stating that a good street photo can’t be in color.
I don’t know why, but it’s easier for me to consider a b/w photo to be “timeless” than a color photo. Again, probably just something that’s been engrained in the human culture. And I hope it continues to be that way.