Seeing the World in Black and White: a Photographer's Perspective

Seeing the World in Black and White: A Photographer’s Perspective

Vassilis Korkas

Farnham, 24 April 2017 View from Capitol in Nashville, Tennessee during the Civil War, 1864 Image credit: nashville.about.com Colourised image credit: Sanna Dullaway

Vassilis Korkas Photography vkphotos.co.uk Nikola Mark Charlie Image credit: Danna Keller Image credit: zuzahin Image credit: BenAfleckIsAnOkActor Tesla Twain Chaplin 1893 ca. 1900 1916

Image credit: Napoleon Sarony Image credit: Unknown Image credit: Unknown

Vassilis Korkas Photography vkphotos.co.uk Overview • A very brief history of B&W photography • What the masters say • Why is B&W photography still appealing? • When to shoot (and how to think) in B&W

• Examples of a B&W workflow • Things to try out

• Your questions

Vassilis Korkas Photography vkphotos.co.uk A brief history of B&W photography • The photographic process became known in 1839 in France (Daguerreotype, after Louis Daguerre) • John Herschel coined the term photography, also in 1839 • Photography soon became a documentary process (American Civil War, Life magazine, child labour in American factories in the early 20th century) • Early signs of specialisation (e.g. Robert Capa, Diane Arbus, Ansel Adams, etc.)

Vassilis Korkas Photography vkphotos.co.uk The B&W masters I

“We have all fallen in love with the beauty and power of black and white photography where everything is stripped down to the core; light, textures, contrast, tonality, mood and raw emotion.”

Deanne Fitzmaurice

Ansel Adams - The Tetons and the Snake River (1942)

Vassilis Korkas Photography vkphotos.co.uk The B&W masters II

“I think there is a certain nostalgia to it that people long for as we’re bombarded with colour and chaos every day in our lives. Something about it just mellows me out and gives me a different experience when reading a photo. Anything that gives the viewer that experience will always be popular.”

Chip Litherland

Henri Cartier-Bresson - France. Paris. Place de l'Europe. Gare Saint Lazare. (1932)

Vassilis Korkas Photography vkphotos.co.uk The B&W masters III

“There is definitely something elemental in [black and white] which eliminates so many of the potential distractions (and wonders, alike) that colour is all about. [Black and white] can reduce a scene to something more easily and quickly absorbed. It retains a kind of purity which we respond to without so much study.”

David Burnett

Richard Avedon - Ronald Fischer, beekeper (1981)

Vassilis Korkas Photography vkphotos.co.uk The B&W masters IV

“Of course, black and white is an abstraction, but from the brightest white to the darkest black what you have is greys, and these greys are what I had in my mind when I took the picture[s].”

Sebastião Salgado Sebastião Salgado - Fireball, Greater Burhan oil field (1991)

Vassilis Korkas Photography vkphotos.co.uk Why is B&W photography still appealing?

• The distraction of colour • Appreciation of light • Emphasis on emotion • The timeless quality of B&W • Negative space • Forms, shapes and patterns • Focus on composition Nimit Nigam - Night Contrast (2014)

Vassilis Korkas Photography vkphotos.co.uk When to shoot (and how to think) in B&W

• Shooting subjects with strong graphic elements • Highlighting textures and high-contrast situations (light vs shadows)

• Neutralising non-complimentary colours • Skin tones in challenging lighting conditions

A B&W image is a creative choice, not a necessity. Ask ‘why’, not ‘when’!

Bahadir Bermek - Need some rest (2011)