Photographer Heinrich van den Berg depicts wild beauty in black and white (and a bit of orange)
HEINRICH VAN DEN BERG IS A THINKING PHOTOGRAPHER. AS HE SAYS: ‘BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY IS MORE ABOUT TEXTURE THAN SUBJECT, MORE ABOUT CHARACTER THAN BEAUTY. IT’S ABOUT WHAT’S INSIDE.’ THIS IS A SELECTION FROM HIS LATEST BOOK, MOODS OF NATURE
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Heinrich van den Berg is an awardwinning wildlife photographer known for pushing the boundaries of nature photography into the artistic realm. He has self-published four art books in the past decade: Shades of Nature (black and white), Art of Nature and Reflection (from black and white to sepia to full colour). His latest, Moods of Nature, is mostly black and white but he also allowed in the ‘mood colour of nature – the colour of sunsets’. Heinrich’s erudite text, which accompanies his visuals, extends the reader’s experience beyond the pages into the world of philosophy and candid meditation.
HOW HE GOT THE SHOTS
Heinrich loves black-and-white photography because ‘one can show so much more by removing colour. It’s as if colour masks the personality and character of animals.’ He shoots in colour, then converts the images in post-processing. However, he says you have to think in black and white to get good images. ‘I focus on subjects with interesting shapes, textures and contrasts.’ To simplify images, he uses the widest f-stop on his lens to blur the background or closes the lens down to get everything in focus. He tries to use side lighting and back lighting instead of front lighting when the sun shines, but actually prefers bad weather. ‘That is when one gets the best images. Good weather breeds boring photos. Drama doesn’t bask in the sun.’