Saturday BLAST

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                                                 When the World
                                                               was
                                                 Black and White

            Some of us are old enough to remember not only when television programs were all in black and white but also when the best known ”still” photographers in the world worked exclusively in that genre.  Berenice Abbott,  Ansel Adams, Alfred Steiglitz,  Edward Steichen, Diane Arbus, Todd Webb, WeeGee, and the list goes on.  Those in the New York metropolitan area grew up reading the New York Daily News and the New York Mirror, tabloid newspapers, often featuring sensational front page black and white photographs.  And, of course, there was Life --- and then Look --- Magazines, which were publications totally  featuring photography (and, initially, black and white photos).

            Nowadays, when everyone has a smartphone in his/her pocket and can shoot hundreds of pictures each day, as well as infinite selfies, the idea of photographic art, and certainly black-and-white photography, seems a thing of the past.  Just as Realism in painting gave way to Impressionism, Expressionism, Dadaism, et al, the idea of simply “taking pictures/photographs” as an artistic expression (with a notable exception like Annie Leibovitz) has become a  passe.  What with YouTube and Tick Tock and countless other Apps, we see less and less pure photographic art and certainly less Black-and-White photography. 

            That said, our Smartphones are equipped to allow us to Edit our photographs in countless ways --- and one of those is  black and white.  Indeed, my iPhone 8  provides three different Black and White choices (Noir, Silvertone, Mono) and, beyond that, I can adjust (play with)  lighting, contrast, etc.  So one can, if one wishes, explore one’s creativity in the area of black and white photography. 

            All this introduction is a long-winded way of announcing that today’s BLAST will feature Black and White photography I have done over the past years.  Much of it is New York City (the greatest subject possible) and others wander about.  By no means is thiat  “great art” --- if, indeed, it is “art” at all.  But they are  photographs I like and, since it’s Saturday, why not share them on the BLAST website.
            Stay safe.  Wash your hands.  Socially distance.  Be well.