The Irrepressible Black and White Image by Jon Canfield

Jon Canfield, a true Visionary and friend in photography, took precious time away from two book projects to provide this compelling article on the importance and eloquence of black and white photography.

Jon Canfield is a photographer and writer with a love of nature, macro, and landscape subjects. Jon is a frequent contributor to PC Photo, Outdoor Photographer, Digital Photo Pro, and Shutterbug magazines where he writes on a variety of subjects, particularly in the digital output area.

A popular instructor with NANPA and the Lepp Institute, Jon is also the author of several books on digital imaging, including the best selling RAW 101, and The Digital SLR Guide. Prior to moving full time into photography, Jon worked at Microsoft on digital photography projects. Jon’s clients include Pantone, Canon, HP, Microsoft and Inkpress, among others.

I find it interesting, and in some ways amusing, that black & white photography has become more popular than ever. With so much of the world focused on bright (often artificially bright) color to grab your eye, black & white imagery has a simpleness about it that is refreshing. What I find amusing is that many of today’s fans of this medium have never shot film and seem to view it as a new discovery of sorts.

For me, black & white has a special place because of the way everything is reduced to its essentials. Reducing a scene to shades of gray allows you to focus on textures and shapes and the way light interacts with shadow. A quality monochrome image needs to be stronger in composition and more precise in exposure than the equivalent color image that might get by with a weaker composition. For me, this need translates into a slower, more thoughtful approach to image capture, and one that I find relaxing in our all too hectic world.

One of my main influences growing up was Ansel Adams, who obviously knew a thing or two about creating a compelling image in shades of gray. It was through Adams’ images that I discovered Yosemite and a love of photography. His iconic scenes have been shot by thousands of photographers trying to reproduce what he captured so masterfully. While some of these images have been very successful, and I confess that I’m guilty of doing the same at times, I think the real value here is to learn what makes the image, whether it’s “Clearing Winter Storm” or “Moon and Half Dome”, or any of the other classics, so successful, and applying that to your own imagery.

I’ve made it a personal project to capture many of Yosemite’s waterfalls in black & white, but not with the intent of reproducing anyone else’s compositions. In a heavily photographed area like Yosemite, this isn’t as easy as it might sound, but there are still unique images to be found by stepping off the marked trail (and for many visitors, just stepping outside of the parking area). As an example, the photo shown here, Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, was shot from near the top of Sentinel Dome, across the valley and a fair hike with a bit of scrambling.

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls
Canon ID Mark II, 24-70mm @ 70mm, 1/60th, f/11
Copyright, Jon Canfield

Since I shoot digital, all black & white work is done in post processing. But, when shooting, I try to see in black & white, planning ahead to visualize what the end result will be. As an added benefit, I find that this type of visualizing has helped my color photography as well and made me much more aware of what is in the frame. It may sound like basic stuff to many, but it opened my eyes and gave me a whole new insight into what makes for a successful photograph. And, in the days of six frames per second, it’s refreshing to go back to the slow composition style of large format photography.

Bridalveil Fall and Leaning Tower
Canon 1D Mark II, 24-70mm @ 32mm, 1/50th, f/9
Copyright, Jon Canfield

This particular project is going to keep me busy for years. Yosemite has so many waterfalls, and from one day to the next you can capture a completely different image of the same subject that I doubt I’ll ever feel truly finished with this subject. And in the meantime, what I’m learning is helping to shape my entire photographic style. While I have no delusions of becoming another Ansel Adams, I’d like to think that by studying his work, and other great masters of black & white photography, I can learn and apply the concepts to my own work to become a better photographer.

-- Jon Canfield

Collective Thoughts by Andrew Darlow

I have had the pleasure of spending time and working with Andrew at several photo events during the past 3 years. On each occasion, I found Andrew to be not only a digital photography guru, but an insightful photographer who has the talent to connect with and inspire his audiences. Andrew's upcoming seminar and workshop page can be found here.

Andrew Darlow is a photographer, author and digital imaging consultant based in the New York City area. He is editor of The Imaging Buffet, an online resource with news, reviews and interviews covering the subjects of digital photography and printing. His new book, "301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers" (Course Technology, PTR), covers tips and techniques for prepping, printing and displaying prints using inkjet printers. For more information, and free chapter downloads, visit www.inkjettips.com.

This image from the exhibition, entitled "Ryokan Highway," was a handheld exposure of six to eight seconds, photographed on 35mm transparency film. This image was shot at the end of a long day of temple and shrine exploring in Kyoto, Japan. The lights are coming from a taxi moving from right to left in the frame. A Ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn. I've had the opportunity to stay at many Ryokan over the years, and every one was an unforgettable experience.

Over the years I've been fortunate to live for extended periods of time in Japan, Germany, Hawaii, and my home state of New Jersey. Living in New Jersey, and having a father who worked in New York City, I often found myself on school trips or family outings in the big city. The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Natural History were all familiar to me from a young age. Once I started to pursue photography in my early teens, The International Center of Photography's midtown gallery (and the uptown gallery on 5th Ave) became favorite destinations.

What I realized after visiting many museums and delving into photo books and magazines (especially Aperture magazine), was that most exhibitions and books have a single theme that is chosen, and then discussed with words and pictures in a way that helps bring cohesiveness to the collection. The "story" can be a single artist's work or a compilation of the works of many. I think that at its essence, this underscores our desire to share stories with a specific focus.

In many ways, a theme can bring a seemingly disparate group of images together like a quilt sewn together in small sections from the individual efforts of hundreds or even thousands. A show named "Hope Photographs" from 1997 at The National Arts Club in New York City is just one example of how a theme can attract a very wide range of imagery. I've had the honor of being a juror for shows with themes that helped make the shows very strong. Two examples are "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," and "People, Places, Things," both held at The Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO.

After living in Japan and traveling from the southern island of Kyushuu to the northern island of Hokkaido at different periods from 1988-2000, I thought a lot about ways in which I could bring together a few exhibitions of my work. After much thought, and after being invited to do a show at The American Buddhist Study Center in New York City, I produced a series of 20 framed pigment inkjet prints. The show was entitled: Approaching Nirvana: A Modern Day Look at the Influence of Buddhism in Japan, and it was on display from October 19-December 10, 2000.

Shown here is one image from the Approaching Nirvana: A Modern Day Look at the Influence of Buddhism in Japan exhibition. Click Here to see all 20 images in the exhibit.
Copyright, Andrew Darlow.

While the show was up, I gave a series of guided tours in which I talked about both about my experiences in Japan, as well as the Buddhist-related history and meaning behind the places I was photographing. Since I was and still am not an expert in Buddhist history, I researched the history and specific locations I photographed, and I also consulted with the priest who presided over the New York Buddhist Church, housed in the same building as the American Buddhist Study Center.

While the show was on display, I also gave a slide presentation, followed by a tour of the show. I also produced a 5.5x8.5-inch printed catalog with information about each photograph. The catalog was a lot of work to produce, but it was worth the effort, and I recommend anyone who is planning an exhibition to seriously consider producing a show catalog. It can help you to get additional publicity from journalists who may not be able to see the show in person, and it can also help with sales because people will often not remember their favorite images unless they have a visual reminder of them. Today's on-demand printing options make it even easier to have exhibition catalogs produced. For example, Blurb.com is a company who produces many on-demand photo books, and they also make it easy for artists to sell their books/show catalogs through their Blurb Bookstore.

For another show I recently had the honor of being a juror, within a few weeks of the images being selected, a full-color book featuring the selected work was produced. The show is entitled "Urban Legends and Country Tales," and is on exhibit at the Bonita Museum in San Diego from Oct 4 to Nov 15, 2008.

The more I think about collections, themes and stories told with pictures, the more I realize that each of us has many stories to tell, and many experiences to share. A group of images can be so powerful, and I encourage you to find the thread that pulls together your images and life experiences.