blight

[herron]

....And for depicting blight, etc. b&w is the only way to go as color makes even it look good.

Ron Head
Kalamazoo, MI

OK...I've said before, my mind works (when it does) in strange ways. Kamera's comments from another thread (above) made me wonder...can we really make blight look better in color?

Anyone have any submissions to test the theory?

[kamera]

When I took my first photo class way back when, one of our assignments was to take shots depicting local area eyesores and blights. I got a D on the assignment...and that was a goodwill gesture by the instructor because I had picked out some very sore environmental sights.

But I used color film. And the general concensus of viewers was..."oh, what pretty colors".
The colors totally overshawdowed the blight.

I went back and retook the exact comps but in b&w, and had to admit myself what a difference it made. The lesson learned for me was that to make the strongest impact in certain pictures and especially eyesores and touchy documentaries is to use b&w film.

Ron Head
Kalamazoo, MI

[herron]

OK...I'll try some in color anyway! What do you think?

www.mamiya35collectors.com/A restoration.jpg[/img]

I can't decide if they're getting ready to restore this building (the whole block needs some help), or if someone is gathering reclaimed brick!

www.mamiya35collectors.com/A window.jpg[/img]

I thought it was interesting, how some of the neat, carved lintels had been removed from this classic old window. The area the house is in has been in major decline (read that abandoned and nasty) for years...not the kind of area people went into after dark.

Lately, however, all the really bad, unrestorable buildings have been razed, and there is actually a developer working on cleaning things up. This particular home is one of the lucky ones that will be renovated.

It remains to be seen how well the neighborhood will come back...but this is not far from two urban colleges, and a giant medical center, so the prospects are encouraging.

I might come back in a year, to see how this window looks then!

www.mamiya35collectors.com/A doorwayB.jpg[/img]

This building is abandoned...but over the years folks have tried to redeem it. I guess that's where the pastel paint colors came from! I really don't think this image would have worked as well in black & white!