Pennsy Portraits

Black and White

I have nothing against color photography, but there is something about classic black and white photographs.  The essense of tone, composition, form, and texture seems to make for stronger graphic images in black and white than in color.  It may be a case of less is more.  Although most of my own photography is in color, I did spend time in high school and college dark rooms working in black and white.  I do have some envy when I see contemporary photographers working in large format black and white.

For the Pennsylvania Railroad, black and white photographs convey the massive forms of the locomotives, the textures of the landscape, and the qualities of light.  Railfan photographers of the 1940s and 1950s often shot in black and white not for artistic reasons, but for more practical ones.  For those wishing to get published, black and white was still the state of the art in magazines and books.  Color film and slides were available, but were more expensive and generally had slow speeds that made photography of moving trains impractical.  The early railfan photographers may not have used black and white for artistic reasons, but we can certainly enjoy the artistry of these photographs today.

For those with an appreciation of good black and white photography and an interest in the Pennsylvania Railroad, my book Philip R. Hastings - Portrait of the Pennsylvania Railroad is still available from the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society at:
http://www.prrths.com/Lewistown%20Archives/13%20LIST%20AVAILABLE%20BOOKS.pdf