Conversations in Monochrome: A Winter Walk
What is it about black and white that makes photography so appealing? Of course, it’s the absence of colour that sets it apart, but there’s more to it than that. Maybe it lets you focus more on composition, without the distraction of colour. Or maybe it evokes a sense of old times, or even alternative realities we can’t see with our own eyes.
I honestly don’t know. Most of my work today is in colour, and often involves a fair bit of intervention. But every now and then, it feels good to return to black and white. It’s like cleansing the palette, removing colour and noise, and appreciating the dance between shades of grey, black, and white.
This is what I set out to do one Saturday afternoon, on a photo walk with a friend. The day was cold, the middle of winter. Strong winds blew in some parts, and the sky stayed overcast, never letting the sun through. Perfect conditions, I thought, to see the city in black and white.
As we walked, we talked, about photography, about black and white, about seeing the same city through different eyes. We sometimes even tried to shoot the same subject, each framing it in our own way. The city, stripped of colour, felt different. A little quieter. A little sharper.
At one point, when we stopped to rest, I decided to experiment with long exposures. I pulled out my ND filter, cranked it to the max, and stacked another 8-stop filter on top. I set my camera on a surface and let it capture the flow of people moving around us. In my head was Alexey Titarenko, whose work I’d admired before, those haunting cityscapes full of movement and ghostlike crowds. I thought, why not try it for myself?
The photos I got weren’t anything special in terms of composition. But what struck me most was the reaction of people I later showed them to. That curiosity, that moment of pause, made the experiment worthwhile.
By the time the day was ending, we’d taken a handful more shots and then called it. We found a ramen shop and warmed ourselves with a bowl of broth, steam rising in the cold air. A simple end to a day of wandering.
And that’s the thing about black and white. It strips everything back. No distractions, no tricks, just form, light, and feeling. Sometimes less really is more.
