I've been there. The rule holds until it doesn't, and then one light in one place makes the argument and you stop fighting it. Colour earns its way in when it does something black and white can't carry, and fall does that. I put enamel on silver, not photographs on paper, but the principle is the same: the material tells you when the exception is the honest move.

Autumn gets you to break the black and white rule. I know that pull. Some seasons just show up in a way that makes you reach for the thing you normally set aside, and you let them win. The grain I usually chase doesn't hold what October does.

@Courtney Langmore yup. I used to shot everything in color until about two years ago, partly because I didn't trust my b&w skills. Then I started finding that I had marvelous effects shooting b&w if i didn't over think the process. Now I just shoot b&w when I can but for a few exceptions. My WAITING series is always win color because it is not based on reality. Then their are shots where the color is too important and I can't really translate the feel or the emotion of the color into b&w.

@Courtney Langmore Autumn is my favorite time of the year. The temperature and the air quality are just right for me. It is just hard to translate hard it all into black and white, my preferred medium - but I am trying.

Mike, you shooting in color feels like an event. Autumn must have really shown up for you.