Black-and-white photography is the root of photography itself — from it comes the responsibility of a captivating subject. Since dabbling in the dark art of film, I have found black-and-white film to be more challenging than colored film
With colored film I can rely on the pigment of the colors to make the image interesting and dynamic — black-and-white film does not allow me that courtesy. When I shoot black-and-white I become hyperaware of the quality of light around me. An image can quickly fall flat if there’s no color. To combat that, I look for high contrasts in lighting. Since black-and-white photography actually exists on a gradient of grays, my aim is to provide as much range within that gradient.
I mainly work with black-and-white film when I want to capture landscapes. However, if I do photograph people, I focus more on the shape of their figure rather than facial attributes. My favorite landscape to photograph is the beach. The contrast between the gray color of sand and dark skin is so satisfying to me, especially sand on skin. The beach is also a good area to capture various moments of action and stillness from the people and the sea.
Even though stripping away color from an image may seem like a disadvantage, the challenge pushes me to focus more on strong composition and lighting. Black-and-white images I shot have been some of my favorite. Looking back at them I remember how moments felt instead of how they looked.
