From casual snapshots posted online, to studio work, to images that aspire to be fine art, I tend to favor black and white over color. If the image seems to demand the use of color, then I tend to prefer a grade that reminds me of an old film stock or has an obvious 'look' (like the warm toned image of the hosta). That is one of the pleasures of working with good old fashioned film -- each emulsion is unique in its representation of the world. A split-toned B&W image is often a nice compromise. All are ways of abstracting the final photographic image from reality a little bit, I guess, which also helps to demonstrate the intention of an artist. In the early 2000s the famous chef Charlie Trotter published a cookbook titled, 'Raw', featuring complex and labor intensive recipes that highlighted uncooked foods. Raw is hard. Color is hard.
