THIS IS THE 5TH IN A SERIES, DONE ONCE EACH YEAR SINCE THIS WEBSITE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED. A COLLECTION OF SOME OF THE BEST BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOS FOUND FROM SOME OF THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHERS FROM THE INTERNET. THE INTEREST IN BLACK AND WHITE HAS INCREASED AND THE QUALITY OF THE PHOTOS AND THE AMOUNT TO PICK FROM HAS INCREASED AS WELL. THAT JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU THAT PHOTOGRAPHY IN GENERAL IS BECOMING A HUGE ART FORM IN THE WORLD. WHEN YOU SEE THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS, I THINK YOU WILL BE AMAZED AT THE QUALITY OF THE PHOTOS THAT ARE COMING THROUGH.
Let me not delay this any further, but get started on this amazing gallery of photos, in black and white. Congratulations to those photographers’ photos that were chosen. It has been hard to pick them because of the quality that is on the internet now.
Photo by AI TA NIN…….. An incredible photographer from Thailand. This photographer is a remarkable photographer specializing in black and white. Joining several black and white photography clubs, and winning many awards in most of those photography clubs. This photo won an award from: “People in the Streets” group. He has also won awards in Foto Arte Black and White, Life in Black and White, and other groups as well. If you get involved in Black and White, you should know Ai Ta Nin. Congratulations.
Photo by Castelo Photography…….. One of my criteria in choosing a good black and white photo is: does the photo look better in color or black and white? I looked at this photo and fell in love with it in black and white. I couldn’t even think of it in color. Magnificent use of contrast, and slow shutter speeds, make this scenery shot an amazing waterfall photo. Castelo photo has got a great eye for black and white photos and has established his own “LIKE” page on Facebook. How could I pick just one of the many photos that he has? It was hard. I invite you to go to his website to see more.
Photo by Henry Nata…… From Tangerang, Indonesia. And what a beautiful photo, showing grace and beauty of dancers. Ask a photographer how hard this is to take this kind of photo, and they will be, uhh, yeah, this is for the experienced photographer. So nice to use the skill to create this kind of photo. He has many wonderful photos as well. Thank you Henry for sharing this photo with the world.
Photo by Jose Miguel Rodriguez Martinez……… it may be that I love cloud photos, but, this is just an amazing photo, with the model standing on the rocks, and those clouds! Those clouds have such an amazing contrast to them, it makes them look like she is in command, like she is an angel or something. Congratulations Jose, in composing a very interesting photo. Jose lives in Laguardia, Álava Spain, a beautiful part of the world, with lots of beautiful places to take photos. He also works with a photographer: Josemi Rodríguez, also in Spain.
Photo by: Nathan McCreery……… What a beautiful presentation to his photo. This photo has several things I like about it. I like how he captured the island in an upcoming storm. The misty feeling always gives some kind of peaceful feeling. Framed nicely with the storm being well displayed in the photo. Nathan is a professional photographer who lives in Clovis, New Mexico, USA. He captures scenery unlike most photographers. His main page on Facebook states: Finely Crafted Traditional Photographs With Emotional Impact And Intellectual Substance”. This, is a photographer to get acquainted with. See below for his link to his website:
Photo by Jim Tulip……… Jim lives in Amphoe Pathum Thani, Pathum Thani, Thailand. Thailand is full of interesting places and things to photograph, as well. I was fascinated with this photo because it’s a great silhouette. Puts a mystery into this photo. What is happening out there in the sea? Small boats all fishing, trying to make a living. But, to capture that at sunset, making it a silhouette is a genius photographer. I think this makes it so smart in black and white too. Congratulations Jim. This is amazing. Although Jim lives in Thailand now, he is originally from Queenstown, Eastern Cape. I would guess he is finding his life in Thailand to be very fascinating. He is a fine photographer, and can be followed on Instagram under the name: Jim Trollip.
Photo by Alphons Pollaris………… I have mentioned in past presentations, that I don’t like to see too many photos of people done in black and white. I think they would look better in color. BUT… there are some that just come out at you and say: this one is amazingly perfect in black and white. So many black and white portraits and kind of gray, lack contrast, exposure is not good on the skin tones. But, Alphons knows how to do it. When you look at this portrait, you can see everything in this is perfect. The skin tones, for black and white is just nice. The lighting is perfect. I think I have fallen in love with this photographer. I looked through several other photos he did of people and they are all this good. Amazing people photographer. He lives in Genk, Belgium. And manages ARP Pictures Black and White. He has made it his profession. See his websites below for more information:
Photo by: May Lise Blikeng………. Oh, the might Musk Ox. This photo was found in the Group on Facebook: Foto Arte Black and White. This is one of the larger Black and White Groups on Facebook, and it’s a good quality group as well. I know another photographer that we used in the previous ART OF BLACK AND WHITE -Vol 4, that took animal photos and somehow posted them on all white background, similar to this. This just makes the animal stand out so strong. I think this makes a bold statement about this animal. It’s an animal that the world doesn’t see too much, and so in Black and White, makes it seem more bold, more of a fierce creature or something. I think it’s an amazing photo. May Lise has won several awards for her work in the group: Foto Arte Black and White, and that’s because she works hard to present the subject as something so bold. Congratulations May Lise. May lives in Trondheim, Norway. To see more of her great work, go to her website:
Photo by: Nhat Giang……….. This photo was found in the photo group: Creative Photography Group. And the thing that is beautiful with this, is that you can do a solid black and white with this and it all comes out perfect. The water reflections, the bird, everything about this photo is just perfect for a framed picture, which is what he is trying to show here as he presented this to the group. Can you see this hanging on the wall in your home or office? Yes, it is a showpiece for sure. Nhat Giang lives in Sai Gon Viet Nam. I admire Nhat, because he is from Viet Nam. Not too many citizens are good photographers there. And he is a good one. Looking at some of the other photos he has taken he has got a good future ahead of him. To see some more of his incredible work, and to even get acquainted with the beauty he is capturing in Viet Nam, go to his Facebook website:
Photo by Hornet Marcel-Alexandru…………. I have selected this photo for the reason of it’s photographic merit. The wording on the photo is a bonus. Photos that tell a story get extra points I think. This could have been taken in color, and may have come out in black and white, I don’t know. I love the darkness of the photo and how it is trying to create the mood. Once the mood is set you can tell a story, or add a line of interest like Hornet did with this photo. Brilliant is what this photo is. I almost see a book cover, a movie, or something coming from this photo. It is great. Hornet Marcel-Alexandru lives in Bucharest, Romania. And that is a country I would like to know more about. He is a photographer at an Irish Pub, there in Romania. I am sure he has a lot of friends who will be excited he won the lottery to make it into this presentation. To see more of his photography, go to his Facebook page :
Photo by Helmut Schadt…………… I usually try to find one photo of a person that is, what we call: a “character portrait”. Get a portrait of a person, an older person perhaps, and get close, to see the character in the face. See the story in their face? Some faces are very wrinkled, some are not so wrinkled. This is a portrait of Jim Tachinamurthy in Penang, Malysia. He seems like a very wise person, who everyone goes to for their comfort. Maybe a spiritual person who has guided a lot of people. A very pleasant person as well. This is what Black and white photos can do to people. It just shows the character of people that color may not be able to do. This is something to learn from. Perhaps, Mr. Schadt could contact me back and tell me more about this person, and see if I am right. Mr. Schadt is a Photographer who lives in Malmsheim, Baden-Wurtemburg, Germany. To see more of his photos and other things he is involved in, go to:
Photo by Salvatore Giurdanella………. This is the type of black and white photo that most people really like: just the simple trees, with a plain background. I was surprised that in my searching how few of these kind of photos there are. So Salvatore is really good at post production in making these kind of photos, because this is the kind of photos that people want. Can you see this photo hanging on your wall? Of course bigger, like 16X24 or something like that. He has been a quality photographer for some time and has over 20,000 followers on his Facebook page. I would like you to see more of his other photos. I went and previewed some of his other photos and fell in love with them. Please go to his Facebook website :
Photo by Jiten Bhagat…….. A photo similar to the one above, but showing a little more background and foreground. But the experience is the same, only here you are standing on the road. The perspective is different. Interesting that most of these trees shown in these type of photos are dead, or it’s winter time when there are no leaves on the trees. Certainly creates a bit more cold feeling, but a good thing to have hanging in your house in the summer, when it’s hot…. when you want to cool things down, by feeling. Jiten is a good photographer and I invite you to check out his Facebook page :
Photo by Castelo Photography……. Castelo Photography is very unique in that they have such a variety of black and white photography photos to choose from. This particular photo goes into something into “still Photography” almost. That is the feeling I got when I saw this photo. So tranquil, so peaceful, so nice to just view. This is one of these you could see hanging on the wall as well. You can tell this is just plants coming out of still water, and it is really nice. To go see this incredible variety of black and white photos, go to their website at:
Photo by Ivo Ferigra………I always look forward to find this perfect photo. A building, well lit, after a rain storm. The reflection on the road, lights up the building in the rain. It’s nighttime, so the sky in the background is black. The contrast is almost just pure black and white, hardly any grey tones at all. This is just a great photo. It makes for a great true black and white photo. This could make a mural shot. It is one I can see as you enter in a train station or somewhere like that. It is just a masterpiece photo done right. Ivo Feriga currently lives in Madrid, Spain. A beautiful country with opportunities to see many beautiful things. Ivo has won awards for some of his black and white work, and he deserves it. Looking through his photos, he takes great black and white photos. Ivo should be among those photographers who is known for taking the great photos of our time. To see more of his photos, go to his Facebook page:
Photo by : Milap Madhikar…….. This photo was chosen because it is just clever, using shadows as the main subjects in this photo. Milap’s photo was found in the group: Street Level Photography. Street photography is a group that I usually find a good source of photos, but, that has changed to include more color photos. Black and White photos was the dominant type of photos in street photography, but not so much anymore. And so to find a good clever photo in this group was more difficult. This may or may not be the last year I will be able to find one there. But, congratulations to Milap for being so clever in the use of shadows in his composition. Milap is from Valsad, India. Now, there I would think Street photography would be very interesting. That is a good place to take street photos. Congratulations Milap for making the list this year in “The Art of Black and White” best photographers.
Photo by Ashkan Razavi….. Now this is one of those masterpiece photos you come across just once in a great lifetime. I was so glad that I found this photo. It took some real work to get this photo. He won an award for this photo in the group: NOIR – The Best of the Club of Black and White Photography. But, as I researched this out, it wasn’t easy to get this photo. Most great photos are not easy to get. Check this out: “Mount Damavand is about 5610 meters .Its the highest mountain in Middle East,situated in Tehran/Iran .I took this image from Tochal peak 4000 meter height.” He runs his own photography business there in Tehran. I think his photography is something special. Thanks for sharing that photo with us.
Photo by: Todor Kumenov……. The best in low light photography. What a beautiful photo. Simply found a vendor selling product, looks like books, late at night, and the low light from the vendor is all that is lit up. It’s a perfect shot we can all learn from. Life on the street. It just tells a story that is so calming. I like this a lot, and it is perfect in black and white, because it is so late at night. I believe it was close to 10pm. Todor lives in Sofia, Bulgaria. And it is great to see some photography that great coming from that country too. Thanks for the photo Todor.
Photo by Markus Kaercher Fotografie…………….. photo taken with a large format digital camera. But you can see how smooth the water is? Slow shutter speed will make the water all look soft and blurry to make it look so soft like that. This is the sign of a great professional photographer. He has done some remarkable work here and created a soft moody photo of rocks out in the sea. Markus lives in Europe and has many websites so you can see many of his photos. See below:
This concludes this years presentation of THE ART OF BLACK AND WHITE – Vol 5. Congratulations to all those whose photos made it in this years list. Until next year, please keep thinking about how you may learn from the photos above.