Beach Walkway in Black and White

A wooden boardwalk over the sand dunes at Cocoa Beach, Florida, looks even more interesting in black and white. These walkways are found at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach, separating the parking lot from the beach itself, and also protecting the vital sand dunes.

I often want to post more black and white photos, because I do find them interesting to look at. But I also like colorful photos as well. And when I start processing a photo, I usually can’t bring myself to take all of the color out of it, because the color versions always look good to me. So that is why I don’t usually post black and white photos here.

However, this is a scene that has been seen here at Burnsland at least a few times. So if you want to see it in color, there are several other opportunities for that here. And the sky was a little bit gray already in the original photo here, so I wasn’t really losing a cool blue sky with neat white clouds, as is often seen. And I like how the black and white here brings out the textures in the wood and in the greenery, er, vegetation (since it isn’t green here).

I’m really not sure why black and white is popular, since most all of us see things in color. Perhaps it is because a black and white photo forces us to see things in a different way. That is especially helpful when it is something familiar, or when it is something that several others have posted before. Or something that I have posted several times before. And maybe it isn’t you the viewer who needs to see it differently, but rather me the photographer.

I suppose I could force myself to post more black and white photos by changing my camera to its black and white mode. But I like having more control over the final black and white look of the photo, and I can achieve the look that I want by playing with the colors a bit before I convert to black and white. So I will keep on shooting in color and just convert to black and white whenever I can force myself to do it.

Because when I do, the results are often quite nice.

Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man. - Proverbs 3:3-4

About the Photo

A single RAW exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about the photo software and gear I use at the camera gear page.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Olympus M.Zukio 25mm f1.8