Neb. Paper Runs All B&W Photos in Tribute to Cartier-Bresson

By: Joe Strupp Before last Sunday, some readers of the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star may have never heard of famed photojournalist Henri Cartier-Bresson. But if they saw the Sunday edition, they'll likely never forget him.

Not just because he is considered a pioneer of action news photography, or because the paper offered two major stories about him on what would have been his 96th birthday, or because a photo he took of downtown Lincoln in 1957 was featured on Sunday's Page One.

He may stay in readers' minds for a while because, in his honor, the Journal Star (Click for QuikCap) published every single photo that appeared in the Sunday paper in black and white.

From news to sports (including Olympics coverage) to features, all eight sections of the week's largest edition offered only colorless shots.

"We were really going for impact, something that would have people take notice," said Bill Vobejda, the newspaper's marketing director. "It was another opportunity to draw more attention to the paper and the impact of black and white photography on our roots. If you had just done one section, it likely would not have had that level of impact."

The tribute edition is the brainchild of Journal Star Photo Editor Jim Colburn, who joined the paper in late June after seven years as Time magazine's Washington, D.C., photo editor. The 49-year-old Colburn has long admired the work of Cartier-Bresson and has always wanted to honor him in a special way.

"It was a bizarre idea that I have had for years that on his birthday all the photographers in the world should shoot just black and white," he told E&P. "Then I brought up the idea here and they actually didn't laugh."

The proposal took on even more importance, Colburn said, after Cartier-Bressen died earlier this month. "He is the most influential photojournalist of the 20th century, he revolutionized the way people look at pictures," said Colburn, pointing to the photographer's impact on the use of candid and action shots over staged images. "It's now to a point where everyone in society thinks that way."

Editors said the effort to use only black and white photos took some doing, but little additional cost. Vobejda said the paper ran an editor's note to readers each day between last Thursday and Sunday, warning them that the black and white special was approaching.

Colburn said photographers continued to shoot in color on digital cameras, with each image converted prior to publication. All wire photos were converted to black and white as well, he said. "People really got into it," Colburn added.

Initial reaction from readers was positive, Vobejda said. He did not have final single-copy sales figures, but said initial reports indicated they were up.