In 2022, 54,400 photos are taken every second, 196 million per hour, 4.7 billion per day, 32.9 billion per week, 143 billion per month, and 1.72 trillion per year. (Source: https://photutorial.com/photos-statistics/) — We hear the word “billion” a lot these days and have become rather desensitized to it. Let’s just agree that a billion of anything is a rather large number.
A couple of years back, I wrote a piece over on Medium about the state of picture taking in 2020. I explored the idea of “traditional” tools (dedicated cameras) vs computational photography (cell phones). As I re-read that piece two years later, the trend is holding pretty true that the two disciplines are on a trajectory to merge together. There will always be dedicated cameras and there will always be cameras on our cell phones. Better software and firmware will advance cameras and better hardware will inch along picture taking on cell phones, no doubt.
The meta point that I was trying to make is that there is a pretty significant difference to photography versus taking pictures. It has less to do with the tool and more to do with mindset and craft.
Then, photography as an art is something smaller in scale. If we take the genre of black and white photography as a subset, much, much smaller. That is one reason I like it. But more than its niche in the photography world, B&W offers something different.
When my son was in 1st grade, we were told he was “color blind”. Of course, he sees color; it’s just different than how the rest of us see color. But when he sees a B&W photo, this is exactly how everyone else sees it. Maybe that is yet another reason why I like it.
Last year, I acquired a Leica Q2 Monochrom camera — which is really a dream camera for me. Many are puzzled by this choice. Why would I choose a very expensive piece of kit that can only shoot in black and white? Every photograph ever taken can be turned into a monochrome version, so the question is constantly asked: Why?
I actually love the question. And I love that this camera even exists in 2022. I am guessing not everyone loves or even understands the answer and that’s okay. My body of work on the Leica Q2 Monochrom is very different than the rest of my photography. It has become more of a documentary type of tool in the way I approach the craft. Thinking in black and white is a different way to approach photography versus just converting it in post. There are some more technical reasons I could go into, but that’s not that interesting for most people — though I am always willing to discuss for those that are interested.
Here’s the thing: When I have my Leica in hand, I am in a different mode all together. Different thoughts, different composition. I don’t know what I like better: the process or the outcome? Both are of value to me.