The timeless quality of some photos

I have a thing for black and white photos. Very rarely is there an actual black or white in them, so grayscale photos is probably a better term. And even when obviously contemporary subjects are captured by a photographer in black and white we are somehow taken aback.

Are these (or similar) "art photos"? we ponder.  Too wieldy a question because the answer is always "depends" and more often "no".  The bar is set too high.

But why do amateurs like me like this and not take advantage of all current technology has to offer? Indeed, why look at still images at all when we have billions of hours of Youtube and Netflix to enthrall us? Probably for the same reason people are still listening to vinyl albums and reading books made from pulp. 

I, too watch streaming movies, have Siri play music at home, and read bound tomes, so not a big leap to also be drawn into spending time with olde camera ephemera—equipment, prints with faded white borders (and in those prints people wearing "weird" time-bound clothes, staring at a lens often without smiles—their once per lifetime shot at immortality). I wonder if they got to see their own photos. Most likely.  I'm sure only the well to do could afford to have their photos taken until a certain point in time. 

When I was an avid photographer during rainy days I'd often set my digital camera purposefully to shoot in black and white or put black and white film into my Leica (my dad's M-1) to see how the world looks. Seldom would I be disappointed. Check the light meter, pick a nice F-stop and shutter speed that accorded with the meter and click away. Most of those are sitting in storage across an ocean, but I've amassed a few thousand during my travels in East Asia and on my aimless expeditions as a flaneur on Hong Kong's streets. More of these will eventually find their way onto this site.

Above, Cheung Chau Island, Hong Kong on an overcast day a few days before the Cheung Chau Da Jiu Festival. The photo could have been taken in the 1980s or 2020s, I think, but I'm not really up to speed on boat technology. 

I recall the time period because on the day of our visit some guys were setting up the three giant bamboo towers from which thousands of buns would be placed on the day. Then contests would be held to see who could climb up the 60-foot tower and remove as many buns as possible within a 3-minute time limit. I think the record is about 700.

Above: Himeji Castle in Himeji, Japan.  Akira Kurosawa filmed scenes for some of his movies here and I believe it was a set for the TV miniseries Shogun, as well. However, the tour group is an obvious anachronism—no resemblance to travelers in the 14th-century Japan. 

And this one I snapped at a temple in Kyoto, at miniature model of a larger zen garden nearby.  Except for the iPhone and contemporary handbags, quite timeless.