(first published in 2015)

Have you ever read the assertion that 'the only solution' when faced with a wash of red lights is to turn images black and white? This is one of those trigger phrases that can send me in to full-on rant mode!

Maybe its a stubbornness thing, but when someone declares that something is 'the only solution', it needs to be challenged.

Black and white to me is a matter of personal taste, not a default 'fix'. What I'm questioning is not artistic choice, but the seemingly growing number of people who appear to be saying 'don't waste your time, black and white is the only way to go' when what they mean is that it's the least challenging, least labour-intensive way to go. My approach is 'shoot what happens and present it in the most authentic to memory way that you can'. I don't see in black and white (or filters), so 99% of the time I'll deliver colour. Which means handling the lighting in the best way I can. Challenges are good for us, they help us to learn!