Why i love monochrome images….
I have been questioned by many people over time, both photographers and non-photographers as to why I seem to favour monochrome portraits over colour images. I feel the answer is rooted in two things. One is my age and the other is my longtime need to simplify. So first let’s talk about my age. As an individual in the latter years of life my first introduction to photography was black and white film. In my last year of High School circa 1973/74, I was approached by a fellow classmate and was unceremoniously inducted to the Year Book staff as a class photographer. A camera was place around my neck and my hands corralled a modest amount of film cartridges. After a very brief introduction to camera operation…I was off and running. It was a very steep learning curve but when I look back it’s very easy to see why I developed such a passion for monochrome images. Countless hours spent in the make shift darkroom in my good friend Eric’s house led me further down the path. Eric was and is the main reason I fell in love with photography.
Eric Davidson (right) and I re-united in St. Johns circa 2009. Still good friends and photography is still a shared passion for both of us.
The images below were some of the first images I ever captured with one of the three cameras I used that year. Full disclosure however…Eric and I shot so many images and jumbled up the negatives over time we cannot 100% confirm who shot one of these images…just a memory long forgotten now.
This the first known image I have of me pestering my classmates. Photo credit: Eric Davidson
One of the few regrets I have as I look back on my journey with my camera is the fact I never scanned some of the old film images and slides I have long lost forgotten about, and simply are not aware of their whereabouts. I have spent a great deal of time scanning in old family images but have yet to digitize my old archives…
Clare Lyall..a true Country Gentleman
The second element of why I prefer black and white images over some colour is the simplicity they bring. The image above is a great example. The tones and nuances of Clare’s facial features are much more pragmatic in monochrome. In my opinion the contrast of black and white and every shade of grey in between simplifies the image.
I have to be honest…because of starting with black and white film and living in a vacuum when I was younger, there really was no one that inspired me initially. As I grew into my 30’s I started to notice photographers such as Annie Leibovitz. Her monochrome offerings were simple and not perfect in every sense of the word from a technical viewpoint. I read a quote a very long time ago that in photography….”Emotion trumps focus every time” and Leibovitz nailed this aspect over and over. My next inspirational source was Joe McNally and his photojournalist work in Life Magazine.
It was about this time that I was building up my home studio and photography was becoming more important than my real job. Unfortunately…my real job was more of a set of golden handcuffs…just couldn’t afford not to give it up. Along comes a young man by the name of Wayne Simpson hailing from Elora Ontario. I was captivated by his landscape work and even more so by his portrait work. I reached out to see if he would share some of his technique and was pleasantly surprised when he instantly got back to me and over the course of 6 months I grew to respect his dedicated approach and attention to detail. After hounding him enough he invited me to participate in one of his workshops with another photographer by the name of Dave Brosha from PEI. The workshop was to be held in Drumheller Alberta, a mere 60 minute drive from my acreage south of Calgary.
Singer/songwriter Garrett Gregory
Dave Rae - aka Griz
Irene Stevenson - Cowgirl, model and excellent photographer
The images above best capture the change of direction my portrait photography took after working closely with Wayne and Dave at a number of workshops. It was here I had my “ah ha” moment and ever since the input and direction from Wayne..I have gravitated to photographing faces more than anything and monochrome portraits have become the images I prefer.
Photographers are supposed to find their “style” to be deemed successful but I tend to think that I have evolved in a way that allows for me to be open to more than one lane…I’ve never been one to conform.
The following is a slideshow of some of my fav images over time. Not necessarily my best but just a selfish assortment of the faces I have been privileged to have in front of my lens.
Be it simple, moody, or just a wonderful exercise in grey, monochrome portraits have become a huge part of my body of work. The foundation based in my past has been a springboard to new and challenging work. The human face tells a story like no other. Every line, wrinkle and blemish is a road map to that persons past and who they are.
The journey for every photographer is as unique as the individual. My portrait work continues to grow, evolve and if the one thing that time has taught me…I need to enjoy the journey more than trying to find a specific endpoint or “style”. Those of you who know me know that I love photography and what it has done for me. Yes…I have been too hard on myself at certain times but as age mellows me the journey is starting to be much more enjoyable.
And for everyone that feels my images are too moody and dark…I leave you with this…good humans with gracious smiles deserve equal airtime….
