One of the more divisive positions that I find in photographers is their rationale for, or dislike of, black and white photography. “I love color,” I hear often. “I’m all about the colors.” Absolutely, color is cool. But I think the arguments in support of black and white are strong (some better than others!).
My name is Esteban Amaro, and I am a photographer based in Santiago, Chile. Litoral de los Poetas ("Coast of the Poets") is a photography series of mine that was born in the year 2017 and continues until today, traveling to the area of the coast of central Chile that has been home to the great and late Chilean poets Vicente Huidobro, Pablo Neruda, Nicanor Parra and more.
As promised when it announced the standard edition Q2 Reporter last year, Leica has released the Kevlar-wrapped Q2 Monochrom Reporter fixed-lens camera.
For a long time now, I've been looking a little enviously in the direction of Leica because of the monochrome versions of the M and Q models.
Like most photographers, I love black-and-white infrared images. There is a purity and intensity to a well-crafted monochrome image, and there are many software options out there to help convert an image to black-and-white.
In what has become a year-end PetaPixel tradition, photographic artist B.A. Van Sise—who has the unusual practice of making one, and only one, photograph on film every single day— looks back on the past year and towards the next. His previous entries can be found for 2018, 2019, and 2020. More images from this series, titled The Infinite Present, can be seen on the artist’s website.
In many art practices, a new method or process does not usually automatically override the old one. You can still use berries and charcoal to paint a cave wall, paint on a canvas, or put pencil to paper. These do not become irrelevant just because a Wacom tablet can be used to make a digital illustration or a VR for a 3D painting.
Kodak Alaris has announced the Kodak Professional TRI-X 400TX single-use camera, which comes pre-loaded with 27 exposures of Kodak's more popular black and white film stocks.
Lauren Smith-Kennedy is a Maine-based photographer who offers free end-of-life photo shoots for pet owners. Her photos show the tender moments families share with their beloved animal companions as they say goodbye for the final time.
By removing color, we change how the viewer’s eyes see the photograph. No longer dependent upon color cues, we …
Black and white images can tell entirely different stories than color. By removing all of the colors, the tones carry the weight of the story. There’s a lot of gray area (pun intended) when it comes to black and white images as there’s no right or wrong way to take them. In this article and video, I’ll be walking through a new way to edit black and white images in Adobe Lightroom.
The overall measure of success for any photographer will likely be at least partially attributable to the effectiveness with which they are able to edit their own work.
The Leica M10 Monochrom is a $9,000 digital camera dedicated to black-and-white photography, but how does it compare to a $10 roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 black-and-white film? That's what the folks at Camera West TV decided to find out.
Photographer Mitch Dobrowner's work is what you get when you combine storm chasing photography with fine art photography. His awe-inspiring black-and-white photos show dramatic storms over sweeping landscapes.
Capturing photos in black and white is quite a challenging task. It is certainly one of the most complicated fields of landscape photography. One needs to be very careful about the circumstances where the photos will actually look good in black and white.
In a world of color, why would you want to create black and white photos? There are many reasons to do so, from the timeless nature of the image to the way it enhances the mood and tones in the photo. It is also a way to see differently and grow your composition skills.
Perhaps the greatest dream of most nature photographers is the idea of crafting a living off print sales alone. All across the internet are stories of individuals making hundreds of dollars off each print, leading to yearly sales of six figures or greater. Unfortunately, this is very often not the case.
Some photographers are known for their black and white work (think Ansel Adams, Henrí Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, or Sebãstio Salgado) – while others are known for their use of color (think Ernst Haas, Joel Meyerowitz, Martin Paar, or Steve McCurry). Do you have a preference? If so, do you know why?
In an effort to encourage more people to adopt black, dark-coated animals, photographer Chantal Levesque has been working on a long-term photo project designed to highlight their happiness and push aside stigmas associated with their color and boost adoption rates.
Twenty years ago, few photographers would have questioned your choosing to go out with black and white film loaded in your camera of choice. Today, when I tell people my digital medium format camera shoots only in monochrome, I am prepared to receive just as much criticism as confusion.
Over the years I’ve often been asked how I went about making a certain image. That question is commonly asked in my workshops not only of me, but also my co-instructors, where open discussion about all images abounds. It’s a great question, because it gives real insight into the mind of the photographer.
Street Candy has announced the new 35mm MTN400 film that is produced by the same manufacturer who was a major player in black and white motion picture film production. Street Candy says it added this film to its catalog due to its "gorgeous cinematic look."
I never set out to make this book nor did I have a plan for the images as I was making them. The photos were a way for me to process what was happening in front of me. This story is about my grandparents, it's about loss, and it's about dementia.
The Leica Q2 Monochrom is really good. I liked using it, I think it takes great photos, and I think people who buy it will be incredibly happy. It's just not the M10 Monochrom, and I need to stop expecting it to be.
Leica has announced the Q2 Monochrom, its latest monochrome camera that joins Leica's black and white heritage along with the M10 Monochrom unveiled earlier this year. It features a high-resolution sensor, a toned-down design, and a macro mode.
Photographers know better than most: how you edit a photograph can totally chance the perception of that photo for the viewer. But a new online photo history quiz wants to make this explicit, showing how converting a photo to black-and-white can trick us into thinking a photo is much older than it really is.
Every Sunday, we bring together a collection of easy reading articles from analytical to how-to to photo-features in no particular order that did not make our regular daily coverage. Enjoy!
Leica is reportedly working on a black-and-white sensor 'Monochrom' version of the popular fixed-lens full-frame Leica Q2. But not just working on, the latest reports indicate that this camera could be released as soon as next month.
Robert Frank was a Swiss photographer and documentary filmmaker whose 1958 book titled The Americans has been heralded as perhaps the most influential photography book of the 20th century. In this 16-minute video, photographer Frederik Trovatten shows you how to mimic Frank's style.
I’ve been restoring and also coloring historical photographs for a little over two years. Towards the end of last year, I received a request to work on an image of Abraham Lincoln. Little did I know, this request would change the direction of my work forever.
Photographer Skander Khlif traveled to the North African country of Tunisia this past summer and spent days traveling along the coast. Along the way, he turned his lens on the joy of kids there growing up next to the sea and playing in the water as a way of life.
Photographer, computational biologist, and science presenter Andrew Steele just released a fascinating short video about his favorite optical illusion. By manipulating a function of your visual system, he shows you how you can trick your brain into "adding" color to a black-and-white image.
The folks running NASCAR's social media accounts gave photographers a good chuckle this week. In a post announcing a big victory by one of its drivers, they mocked up some "contact sheets" of positive color images that look like they were taken with Ilford HP5 Plus black and white film. Oops...
Capture One has jumped into the preset game with the release of the Beyond Collection: two new 'style packs' that allow you to apply "the feel and character" of various film and black & white "looks" to your photography, with some customization options throw in for good measure.
Photographer Jacob Carlson has put together a photography tutorial you don't expect to see in the year 2020. In his latest video, he'll show you how to use the 160-year-old three color process to capture color photos using black & white film.
Lomography continues to expand its "Kino" lineup of black and white film. Less than a month after announcing the dramatic high-contrast "Kino Fantôme " film, the brand has released a new, high dynamic range entry to the lineup: Babylon Kino B&W ISO 13.
As a professional outdoor photographer, my mind had been in a place of backcountry skiing, snow photography and ramping up for spring commercial projects—the same place it has been every March for years. I like this time of year, it feels like my fitness, my vision and my bandwidth all line up to result in outdoor missions and photography that really feed the soul, and the bank account.
Lomography has just announced a brand new high-contrast black and white film stock for 35mm SLRs. The soon-to-be-released Fantôme Kino B&W ISO 8 35mm Film is being hailed as "a monochrome masterpiece" that originates from a roll of German cinematic production film.
Street photographers are not known for their reserve. We are happy to give advice on gear, framing and technique. But I believe the best photographers are those who also seek advice and look to learn from others. That said, not all advice is equal, and some ideas are outdated, narrow minded, or just plan wrong.
Ali Shokri is an Iranian landscape and nature photographer who has become known for his black-and-white photos of trees. The Passion of Trees is a collection of photos he has captured over the years in Iran and Azerbaijan.