Black and White Photography
There is something to be said, for the art of black and white photography.
When we remove colour from the world, all that's left is a subject and their background. Light allows us to manipulate the relationship between our subject and their environment. The shadows that form based on the way we portray the light, become the main focus of our images, rather than the colour and contrasts we are regularly drawn to.
I love the challenge of going back to prior galleries, and rethinking the way I edited them. What would I do differently now, that I didn't push myself to see then? Generally, transforming or continuing on the black and white images is where I'm drawn to. These photos below are an example of pushing myself in my black and white portraiture. I love the deep shadows, contrasted with the natural window light pouring in over the babies' face's.
The crying baby in a basket, shows the incredible power of black and white. In colour, this baby was lying on a red plaid blanket, inside a white wicker basket. All of these details took away from the silent emotion he displays here. Now, the sadness of this crying babe is the entire focus of this image. Some of you may be wondering why I saved a photo of the baby crying in the first place? Well, because it's raw, and it's real life. Babies cry. My favourite moments to capture are the authentic ones. As much as we'd love to believe that means smiles and giggles every time, it doesn't. Authentic moments come from a husband holding his pregnant wife's hand as she walks alongside him. They come from a Mum braiding her daughter's hair, or letting her try to braid her own. Authentic moments present themselves, when we stop trying to create moments and just live in the moment.
