Which is Better: Colour or Black and White Steam Train Photos?

[1369]

Which is Better: Colour or Black and White Steam Train Photos?

Please have a read and let me know what you think, thanks.

 

[Speed43125]

Personally, it's not the B&W nature of the photo, but the perfection, cameras from the days of steam would have distorted colour and more importantly produced blemishes, few photos developed perfectly and that lack is noticeable if you attempt to pass off present day photos as those of yesteryear, obviously there is plenty of editing potential to solve that (including a few dedicated filters etc to create an old feeling photo), but that is probably digressing into more broad subjects such as editing out OHLE in photos.
It really comes down to what you are trying to capture. Steam as a whole? recreating a historical period? documenting current affairs in preservation?* or even contrast old (i.e. Steam traction) with modern infrastructure? Usually it's one of the first two, and that therefore tends to beg the questions that you've brought up. I accept I am virtually always the viewer of photographs and videos rather than the person taking them so any ideas I have may well be moot.

The article is generally well written, I may take issue with the overly Americanised 'steam train' , but overall well done.

*personally, as someone much much too young to remember even the BR era, I find older videos of steam engines pulling rakes of coaches in Intercity or even NSE livery very interesting in its own right, as that in and of itself has become historical, especially if going past buildings or infrastructure (eg more semaphore signalling, old brick factories and the like) that is more appropriate than modern day lineside equivalents.

 

[ac6000cw]

I don't think it's the type of motive power that matters - it's the overall scene and style of photo that can determine if it might work better in B&W or colour.

Relatively close-up shots of steam hauled trains (like the side-by-side three-quarter views on the blog page you link to in the OP - 'power shots' as Americans call them) can work well in B&W since most steam locos are black or dark colours, with a contrasting white-ish exhaust so you end up with a light and shade shot, basically. Same applies to any number of 'atmosphere' shots like the inside of engine sheds with shafts of light, or looking out through the shed doors. Grimy industrial and back-lit scenes can work well in B&W too.

But if it's more of a 'trains in the landscape' shot then I think those are better in colour since that can convey a lot more info to the viewer about the seasons and time of day.

It's all about artistic choices in the end...

 

[hexagon789]

Personally I prefer colour, even if it's faded I feel it adds to the atmosphere

 

[83G/84D]

Some people shoot black & white / monochrome to try and recreate an image of the past if the background and surroundings suit themselves to it. Some people I know are purists and won't shoot a steam train in colour unless the locomotives and coaches are in matching / authentic colours. Try using your imagination a little bit and shoot from a different angle or location than everyone else as well.

By the way I find shooting B&W on digital a lot better than film. At the time I didn't do my own developing / printing although not sure it would have made much difference as my camera equipment and my photography knowledge was not that great at that time.

 

[Bevan Price]

Personally, I think that colour always look better than black & white (or monochrome as some photographers call it). That does not mean that black & white (B&W) is poor -- there have been many very good B&W photos of steam., but to me, colour has more visual impact.

But, we must remember, back in the 1960s and earlier, colour films were relatively expensive - and slow (ISO 25 or 50 was typical), so not suitable for taking photos of fast-moving trains other than in bright sunlight. Also colour reproduction was "erratic", and unless stored in ideal conditions, some colour films were liable to fade, or discolour, after long periods of storage. So - there were a lot more photos of trains in B&W for people to enjoy. Before about the mid to late 1960s, it was rare to find colour photos of trains in books or magazines.

Now - with digital photography, it is easy to convert your colour photos to B&W, and to edit the photo to adjust the lighting levels, contrast, etc.

 

[EveningStar]

Monochrome has a more expressive feel if seeking artistry rather than the record. Trains are shapes rather than colour, so removing the colour (I use Affinity Photo) gives a more intense focus on the subject ... have done that with some of my older colour images, especially those suffering from colour fading towards the blue cast, and was impressed by how much better the result.

Note that the most expensive camera bit he Leica M range has a monochrome only sensor. Must be like a good day with FP4!

 

[hexagon789]

Monochrome has a more expressive feel if seeking artistry rather than the record. Trains are shapes rather than colour, so removing the colour (I use Affinity Photo) gives a more intense focus on the subject ... have done that with some of my older colour images, especially those suffering from colour fading towards the blue cast, and was impressed by how much better the result.

Note that the most expensive camera bit he Leica M range has a monochrome only sensor. Must be like a good day with FP4!

I can agree with it added an certain expressiveness yes, and there are many excellent black & white photographs out there of even much later periods but somehow I just prefer colour even when it's faded or the colour balance is wrong.

There are some great late1960s colour photos where the sad reality of the muck and grime of the end of steam is shown to its fullest extent. And the same with colour photos of the the 1970s with many of the diesels particularly the Westerns towards the end.

 

[EveningStar]

I can agree with it added an certain expressiveness yes, and there are many excellent black & white photographs out there of even much later periods but somehow I just prefer colour even when it's faded or the colour balance is wrong.

There are some great late1960s colour photos where the sad reality of the muck and grime of the end of steam is shown to its fullest extent. And the same with colour photos of the the 1970s with many of the diesels particularly the Westerns towards the end.

Most of my photos of Western's show that horrible vertical white bleaching after removal of dirt plus what remained of blue paint.

Think the difference between colour and monochrome can be fairly subjective. It is just I find it helpful to have monochrome as a tool for rescuing older film. Tried this example taken at Leeds in early 1986 on cheap 400 ISO colour negative with lots of grain speckle visible. First image as scanned, next is a bit of curves and finally convert to monochrome with a bit of colour filtration.