Timeless art from nature

Take a step back from vibrant natural colours and reveal shape and contrast without distraction

If the idea of a landscape shot is to show the world just as we see it, then black-and-white may seem an odd choice! Of course, the monochrome roots of photography denied us colour as a choice for a long time, but it’s more than technical limitations that makes the blackand-white landscape fit into a category of its own. Many of the most famous landscape shots ever captured are in black and white, and pioneers like Ansel Adams are fondly remembered for their contribution to the genre – even though he actually shot nearly as much in colour as he did in mono!

When you break down a photograph into what it actually consists of, it’s an arrangement of shapes in a frame. These shapes are formed by nothing more than light and dark areas in different places, so everything you see is a pattern made up of different levels of contrast. Add colour to the mix, and the interplay between light and dark gets a little lost and confused. But the purity of black-and-white cuts through to reveal lines and forms, with none of the distractions that colour might bring.