Awhile back I did a write-up on Robert Frank’s seminal book The Americans. You can take a look at it On My Bookshelf. I discussed why the book was such a landmark and how it belonged in every photographic library. Haven’t changed my mind on that!

Anyway, the other day I happened to be on the Internet and stumbled across a quote I hadn’t seen before.

“Black and white are the colors of photography. To me they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected.” – Robert Frank

Just think about that for a moment. You could say that’s a pretty “black and white” kind of description of photographic reality! But the fact of the matter is that there is something very real in the translation of a scene and whatever it happens to contain into a black and white photograph – especially if it has been made with film and printed on an emulsive paper. That’s my opinion and all the recent (and past) shows I’ve seen have done nothing to dissuade me from that thinking. Believe it or not, when I was a teenager I tried my hand at color for an entire summer. Shot Kodachrome 25 and Agfachrome. I even bought a second hand Agnecolor processer and made some Cibachrome prints in the tiny darkroom I built in my parent’s basement. The thrill wore off pretty fast though as the results reminded me of post cards.

I really have tried to improve myself over the years and be more open minded, but I still pretty much feel the same way. Extra large color prints really don’t help me either.

Some of the most beautiful photographs I have ever seen were 4×5 contact prints of portraits made by Minor White. And all I have to do is look at a few of the many great books I own … Henri Cartier Bresson, Ragnar Axelsson, Aaron Siskind, Paul Strand, Ansel Adams, William Clift, Manual Alvarez Bravo, Edward Weston, Brett Weston, Lee Freidlander, Ralph Gibson, Andre Kertesz, Morley Baer, Harry Callahan, Pennti Sammallahti, Paul Caponigro … and yes, Robert Frank.

The other day I went out and shot a roll of Tri-X. It felt really good as it always does. I’m looking forward to developing it and the other two rolls patiently sitting on my enlarger baseboard. Hopefully they will serve up a keeper or two and I will have the opportunity to print something special.