“Our lives at times seem a study in contrast… love & hate, birth & death, right & wrong… everything seen in absolute black & white. Too often we are not aware that it is the shades of grey that add depth and meaning to the starkness of those extremes.”...

Ansel Adams

Photography is a visual art and black and white photography takes the art to a sublime height of subtlety and soul-to-soul connection. It is never to say that colour photography is a gaudy manifestation of a subject or scenario, but if we are talking about emotions, ‘black and white’ captures, clicks and creates the kind of magic that hardly finds any parallel in other hues.

The world is full of colours. In reality, we see a mosaic of colours on all hands. Black and white are also there but overpowered by beautiful colours all around. Hence, it is anything but easy to draw attention with the depiction of contours and concepts through black and white. But then, black and white photography creates a unique aura of its own and delivers a mystic and magical feeling to the viewers.

Black and white photography looks simpler but on a closer inspection, it appears serious, the appeal of which is obvious through its topic and texture. Nothing in monochromes is louder but the sheer beauty of simplicity casts a magical spell of emotion and elegance on the viewers. Stripped of colours, this photography compels people to concentrate on the topic, texture and contrasts. It can immediately seek and make connections to the viewers’ inner eye.  

Colours often cause distraction; you are more drawn to the technicalities, whereas mind, mood and moment get lost in the lifeless collage and chaos. In black and white photography, the absence of colour is pure bliss as it can conjure the kind of nostalgic itching that lingers long or even a lifetime. In other words, the black and white photos are a timeless classic for their overt and covert expression of emotional elements.

The play of lights and shades stages drama and stirs emotions. It inspires the viewers to imagine what could have transpired between the subject and the shutterbug, or if and how the individual arcs of their thoughts found the point of tangency that was a perfect fit for the frame. There are different shades of black and white and the detailing and the elements themselves build up the layers of emotions that one can feel through their soul, senses and sensibilities.

The contrast is the real ‘thing’ and ‘king’ in any black and white photography. It places the subject at the centre of importance. Human eyes seek two elements in a photo – colour and contrast. When the first element is absent, the second one becomes the only subject for attention. It forces you to be on a soul-searching, emotion-stirring, and thought-provoking journey from the outer world to your inner space. If it does not weave a thread of emotions, what could?

Every visual art narrates a story. Both the subject and the styling are important to touch the strings of emotions in the viewers. Black and white photography can do it in a unique way. Without the burden of colours, it gravitates towards creating and presenting moods where moments are paused and minds are explored to find the true meaning. It gives viewers liberty and flexibility to think and concoct a story.

Each story could be unique and still be strongly connected to the theme and texture in the photograph. Different elements come together to create a collage and give depth to the image, with their emotions merging with yours or deviating from yours, but staying with you. The images, the theme, the tone, the texture, the context – every piece is creatively and brilliantly put together to make a statement.