“To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression.”                     

     Ansel Adams

 

 

 

 

Black-and-white as a description may be considered a misnomer in that the images are not ordinarily starkly contrasted black and white but combine black and white in a continuum producing a range of shades of gray. Further, many prints, especially those produced earlier in the development of photography, were in sepia (mainly for archival stability), which yielded richer, more subtle shading than reproductions in plain black-and-white. Color photography provides a much greater range of shade, but part of the appeal of black and white photography is its more subdued monochromatic character.

 

John Keddilty June 2013

 

Since the inception of photography black and white images have had the power to grab the attention, to make the everyday seem extraordinary.  Even now, perhaps especially now, photographers are taking a step back and re-learning to appreciate the artistry inherent in black and white renditions of landscapes and people, of the animate and inanimate alike.

 

This should not be seen as being a retrograde step – more of a gradual maturing of those who find themselves drawn to the true art of the photographer.

 

                             Imogen Cunningham