What do we like most about flowers? I think it is color.. Or at least color attracts our attention and makes us turn our heads towards these stunning flowers. And today we are lucky because we have a small (but amazing) device in our pocket that allows us to capture this beauty instantly and have it on our screen any time we want to see it again... But not so long ago we did not have this luxury. Photography meant black-and-white film... and the world of images was monochrome. Yet people still loved taking photographs and printing them.
Thinking about that time made me realize that we may have forgotten what monochromatic images really feel like (and some younger generations might not even have seen many black-and-white photographs at all). I also remembered the process of developing film and then spending hours in a darkroom printing photos. Often we did this late at night (how many of us were lucky enough to have a real DARKROOM instead of trying to block out moonlight and streetlamps with thick curtains?)...
...and then, after hours working under dim red light, a light that
made everything look faded and unreal, we would finally leave our prints
soaking in the bathtub and go to bed for a few hours of sleep.
Only in the morning could we truly see the results. A strong cup of
coffee was usually required, but it was worth it. And when we looked at
the black-and-white prints, the absence of color somehow didn’t matter.
We saw beauty - and, strangely enough, we often felt the colors even though they were not there (don’t ask me how, I still have no clear explanation).
I know that flowers are usually more appealing in color. Still, I wanted to revisit that time when we had to rely on imagination to “see” colors where none existed, and surprisingly, it worked. Try it yourself - look at these images and let your mind paint them in color. Just don’t be surprised if you imagine something unusual - this is the world of memory and dreams, not strict reality ;)
What I love about black-and-white photography is how it turns on my imagination. At the same time, it makes me notice things I might otherwise overlook - subtle shades, shapes, textures, and relationships between different parts of the flower. Monochrome images are not a limited way of capturing, they are another way of seeing, one that invites the brain to participate and create.
And I fully understand that not everyone enjoys photographs with no color. For those who prefer it, I promise to share color versions of these same flowers next time, just in case you are not sure what the beautiful orchids look like :)
Photos taken on January 24 and 31, 2026.
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