Black and white photography is a number of monochrome forms in visual art. Monochrome comes from the Greek monochromos meaning ”of one colour”, which is a combination of monos, meaning ”alone” or ”solitary” and chroma meaning ”colour”.

Quite basic when you break it down!

For Many decades black and white photography dominated the scene until colour was introduced. From the 16th century when the brightness and clarity of camera obscuras was improved by enlarging the hole with a telescope lens until now, we still admire the purity of black and white photography. It was not until the 17thCentury, 1727 to be exact, when Professor J. Schulze mixed chalk, nitric acid, and silver in a flask, that the first photosensitive compound was created. And in 1816 Nicéphore Niépce combines the camera obscura with photosensitive paper and created a permanent image in 1826.

In the past black and white dominated the media. Movies, television and even computers, were all monochrome. It was not until the middle of the 20th century that colour photography became popular.

Choosing a subject is essential for this type of photography, more so than choosing a subject for colour photography. While some subjects can look amazing in colour, they often look dull in black and white. Black and white photography is both the simplest and most sophisticated of all the photography disciplines. It is, honest, fresh, crisp and clean and can result in the most powerful imagery. Capitalising on its popularity, black and white photography holds its own when it comes to photographic exhibitions. Such powerful imagery can be timeless and compelling at the same time. It captures emotions, impressions, and atmosphere that depict nostalgia in a dramatic way.
(more…)