• Members 676 posts
    Sept. 28, 2025, 3:34 a.m.

    Welcome to the Weekly Black and White Photography Thread

    We’re dedicated to fostering discussions about Black and White photography. This open peer-to-peer forum allows critical feedback on images, leading to discussions on techniques, styles, interpretation, and storytelling. The first few weeks response has been outstanding - keep them coming.

    It’s easy - To participate: post an image or essay with a title, short description, and explanation. All comments must include the image or essay as a quote. Replies may or may not include quotes.

    THREAD GUIDELINES:
    1. This thread is for learning about Black and White photography.
    2. Post one image or photo essay for comments.
    3. Entries can be single images or short photo essays (3 to 10 connected images that tell a story).
    4. Give your entry a clear title and explain why you took it and the story it tells.
    5. Provide constructive feedback on others’ images/essays.
    6. Go beyond simple praise or dismissal.
    7. Explain why you like an image or essay.
    8. Negative feedback is welcome (be polite, honest, and constructive).
    9. Stay on topic and avoid politics or distractions.

    We refine our skill-craft through feedback - Analyzing prints pinned on the virtual wall is our approach, but discussions of styles and techniques are also acceptable. While most images are captured digitally, Black and White film can also discussed. The focus is on image.

    Post a photo or photo essay and get comments and feedback. In return, give honest but constructive opinions of others’ images. A simple “like” is insufficient. There are multiple levels of feedback: composition, technique, emotion and storytelling, etc.

    What caught your eye about an image and why? What draws you in and what distracts you? What changes would you make? Does the photographer tell their story? Does the image communicate their viewpoint or emotion? As W. Eugene Smith said, “A photo is a small voice, at best, but sometimes – just sometimes – one photograph or a group of them can lure our senses into awareness.” Does the image meet Smith’s criteria?

    Explore the image in your head, considering composition, perspective, toning, balance, exposure, and tonality. Consider the story, emotion or opinion the artist is trying to communicate. Provide feedback.

    Downloading and reposting - (please note: clear instructions are required).
It’s often challenging to verbalize useful comments about images. Instead, it’s easier to “show.” Unless the original poster specifically states otherwise, participants are free to download, alter, and repost images in replies to express their analysis and critique. The reposted image may remain permanently or be removed after a short period. Downloaded and altered images shall not be used for other purposes or uploaded elsewhere.

    Encouragement - When I first pinned a print on the cork-board for the professor and class to analyze, I was apprehensive. However, it proved to be an effective way to learn and develop my skills and vision. Well reasoned analysis and comments aid the artist in improving their vision, skill, and style. The goal is to promote and encourage people to enhance their artistic vision and skill in Black and White Photography by providing constructive feedback. General feedback is also welcome. Sharing techniques for capturing or processing images that aid in creating good Black and White images or photo essays is appreciated in replies.

    Why focus on Black and White - As Elliott Erwitt said, “Color is descriptive. Black and White is interpretive.” It’s an abstraction that simplifies photography by focusing on composition, forms, shapes, tonality, textures, and emotions. Ansel Adams famously said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make a photograph.”

    Clyde Butcher talks about the hundreds of photographers who flock to Inspiration Point in Yosemite National Park for the “golden hour.” However, the composition at sunrise is poor. For Black and White, it’s not about the color of the light, but the quality of the light. Ansel Adams arrived midmorning when the light was “right” to produce his iconic images. His iconic book, “Yosemite and the Range of Light,” had a significant impact on conservation and environmental movements in the West. It also attracts thousands of photographers each year to capture the “Range of Light.”

    clydebutcher.com

    Nick Ut’s “Napalm Girl” captured the horrors of the Vietnam War and profoundly impacted the United States. Stripped of distractions, the image exposed the terror in the children’s faces, prompting critical questioning of government actions. W. Eugene Smith’s “Minamata” warned the world. It exposed a corporation poisoning water and killing residents, highlighting the suffering of the Minamata community for profit. William Henry Jackson’s photographs convinced Congress to preserve Yellowstone as the first national park, leading to the creation of the National Park Service and commitment to wild land preservation.

    aboutphotography.blog/blog/the-terror-of-war-nick-uts-napalm-girl-1972
    www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/society-arts-culture/w-eugene-smith-minamata-warning-to-the-world/
    www.pbagalleries.com/first-photographic-images-of-yellowstone/

    Black and White strips away distractions to expose emotions. It tells unique stories in various photographic genres, from landscapes to social documentaries to portraiture. Check out Annie Leibovitz’s Black and White work.

    blog.artsper.com/en/a-closer-look/why-artists-choose-black-and-white-photography/
    fstoppers.com/fashion/why-its-still-important-shoot-black-and-white-48141
    www.designspiration.com/save/1600176374707/

    Another resource is the “Daybooks of Edward Weston,” though dated, still relevant.

    Additional Resources - It is encouraged to discuss additional resources on Black and White photography in posts, whether in your images or commenting on others’ when those resources aid in the goals of the thread.

    Growing Together - The Black and White thread focuses on growth and learning together. Be active, honest, and respectful.

  • Members 676 posts
    Sept. 28, 2025, 3:36 a.m.

    Dusk

    FL Poly-L1000077-20240511-060.jpg

    FL Poly-L1000077-20240511-060.jpg

    JPG, 2.7 MB, uploaded by tprevatt on Sept. 28, 2025.

  • Members 15 posts
    Sept. 28, 2025, 1:38 p.m.

    Devonian Gardens Entryway, Calgary

    I haven't taken B&W photos since I last shot film, but this shot seems to cry out for that treatment. Since I don't really know the territory, any and all suggestions on what I should do to improve the photo (or how I should have shot it in the first place to improve the result) are actively sought and will be appreciated. The photo was taken this month when my wife and I were on vacation in western Canada. Calgary, a city we had never visited before, was a charming surprise to us. There is a ten-mile elevated passageway throughout the downtown called the +15 Skywalk. "Plus 15" is the intended indoor Celsius temperature of the skywalk throughout the winter. The skywalk has all manner of shops and businesses in it, so Calgary folk can live throughout the winter without ever having to face the fact that they are in Calgary.
    One of the many delights of the skywalk is the Devonian Gardens, an indoor garden with ample room for people to meet and play games or just chat. This picture is from the entryway to the +15 that leads directly to the gardens.

    DSC_0959_BW.jpg

    dprevived.com/t/weekly-black-and-white-photography-thread-35-28-sept-2025/7605/#post-107586

    DSC_0959_BW.jpg

    JPG, 2.7 MB, uploaded by tclune on Sept. 28, 2025.

  • Members 2438 posts
    Sept. 28, 2025, 3:39 p.m.

    rice factory

    js.jpg

    js.jpg

    JPG, 2.0 MB, uploaded by minniev on Sept. 28, 2025.

  • Members 1492 posts
    Sept. 28, 2025, 4:16 p.m.

    L1090353.jpg

    L1090353.jpg

    JPG, 1.1 MB, uploaded by Daneland on Sept. 28, 2025.

  • Members 15 posts
    Sept. 28, 2025, 4:33 p.m.

    Wonderfully geometric. Even the shadows have conformed with precision. Very nice.

  • Members 15 posts
    Sept. 28, 2025, 4:36 p.m.

    This feels like a 1940s/50s paeon to industry. My dad used to work for Ford Motor Company as a writer/photographer for the Ford tractor division, and this sort of shot was his bread and butter. At least for me, it's filled with nostalgia.

  • Members 2438 posts
    Sept. 28, 2025, 5:16 p.m.

    I love photographing these old industrials - cotton gins here where I live, rice and cane outfits in neighboring Louisiana, and the grainworks in the midwest and coal industrials in Pennsylvania when I'm lucky enough to travel there. They are fascinating studies in shape, line and tone.

  • Members 676 posts
    Sept. 29, 2025, 1:26 a.m.

    Wonderful geometric design and well executed composition. You are right - it cried for B&W.

  • Members 676 posts
    Sept. 29, 2025, 1:27 a.m.

    I love these old industrial sites for photography. The story these buildings could tell. Nicely done and nice tonality.

  • Members 676 posts
    Sept. 29, 2025, 1:29 a.m.

    Daneland, nice composition and nice execution with difficult lightings.