Black and White: What Makes It So Appealing

 The first time I gazed across and through an Ansel Adams photograph, I, for the first time, discovered the power and strength of a black and white photograph. Ever since that time so many years ago, black and white photography has held an appeal for me. Putting into words why that is, is much more difficult than actually creating the images, for black and white does not always appeal to everyone. It seems to take a deeper grasp of the revealing nature of black and white, one that comes from within as opposed to a simple visual connection. The roots of my journey into black and white photography flows back to my first attempts at photography as a youth when I first used my grandparents old Kodak Nbr 1 box film camera. From those early days until now, black and white inspires me to see the world through a different set of eyes, and that inspiration helps me to lift the veil inherent within a color photograph to reveal the hidden graphic nature of black and white.

We live in a world filled with color, yet even today with all the technology available to the photographer, there is still a place for black and white. A black and white image is timeless in that what is captured and printed could very well be a throwback to a hundred years before. The distraction of color has been removed and what is left is the vision the photographer encountered during a single moment in time.

It takes a different way of seeing to look past the color world and identify the textures, shapes, forms, compositional elements, contrasts, and power of the light, that remains. Finding it is often illusive. Capturing it not always easy. Yet when it is there, the trained eye can look past what nature shows us in color, to identify a hidden appeal where all of those elements just mentioned come to life. Knowing what will translate well into a black and white image comes with experience and that is gained through a willingness to try something new.

Walking away from what we see naturally, is not always readily accomplished. Yet, when it works, the strength of the moment stands apart from what was at one time a simple visual occurrence, to become a transformed emotional graphic representation of what was felt. In fact, once color has been removed, all that remains is the emotional experience, and black and white can effectively capture those moments like no other visual medium.