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THE WORLD IS NOT A BLACK AND WHITE PLACE, BUT SOMEHOW MONOCHROME IMAGES HELP US SEE MORE CLEARLY.
I think it is in that extra second the eye needs to fully read what is happening in a black and white photo, that moment of pause, that compels us to take in and interpret details and ideas brought to us by the photographer we might otherwise gloss over in our busy lives.
In this special issue — issue #60 and a celebration of 20 YEARS of publishing in print! — we’re featuring contemporary images and stories best told in black and white.
I encourage photographers at any level to take a moment with our story “Photography as a Gift” by Ruth Bergen Braun. Contemplation and clarity are so often what draw us to photography. Ruth beautifully articulates how we can all think of the medium as a gift.
Monochrome can also unite a visual idea. We love Rosalie Favell’s Facing the Camera work. Her project, over the course of 10 years, and across international geographies, is now an impressive collection of over 500 portraits of Indigenous change-makers. Such a diverse collection of subjects, when presented in a beautifully crafted collection, truly comes together as a visual force.
Greyscale can change the way we connect with music and movement, as in Jessica Deeks’ Girls+ Rock story and Karolina Kuras’ stunning images of dancers. It can even have us take a second look at commonplace subjects, as in Christine Fitzgerald’s work, or open our hearts to new visual poetry, as in the case of Francis A. Willey’s image “Blindness.”
I don’t think it’s a misstep to declare “We’re so over it,” with regard to the challenges we have collectively faced in 2020. Our next issue, Spring/summer 2021, will focus on sharing fun, silly, wacky photography experiments. Let’s do something fun! Shake off 2020! If you’ve got a joyful photography story to share, drop us a line.
“Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretive.”
— Elliott Erwitt
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