civilized ku #3023 / noir covers / photo noir #5-6 ~ hotdogs

restaurant fireplace ~ Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
Noir book covers ~ Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
photo noir # 5 ~ • click to embiggen
photo noir # 6 ~ • click to embiggen

Even though, in all probability, most of my submissions to the Photo Noir exhibition judging will be BW pictures, in the book I am working on the pictures will be in color. The reason for that is simple ... inasmuch as my pictures of the dark / night are not made with the intention of evidencing bleak pessimism, and a lurking sense of danger (although, dependent upon the perspective of a viewer they might be interpreted in that sense), color works better than BW. Whereas BW works better than color, in most cases, in evincing the pessimism / danger feeling, picture wise, that the exhibition gallery director seems to be seeking.

That written, I may make a BW Noir as a counterpoint to the color version.

On another subject, re: photo noir, I am wondering if a picture that intends to evoke the feelings associated with film noir requires the actual visual presence of a person. Or, is the suggestion of pessimism / danger, sans person, that intimates that the viewer of a noir picture is him/herself in danger enough? The conclusion I am coming to is that it can work either way.

As always, I am open to reading different opinions other than mine on the subject.