Black and White Nature Photography

As noted by the Swiss photographer Robert Frank, 'Black and white are the colors of photography. To me, they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected.' Both of these emotions can thus be gleaned by mankind's relationship with the landscape. To take the element of color out of the depiction of nature is to reveal true expression. The photographers who do so, often inspired by the earliest images of the 1820s, abandon vivid chromaticity for in-depth connection with their natural surroundings.  A number of innovations in the development of photography, and over a century later, the photographer Ansel Adams would cement the legacy of black and white landscape photography. His vast portrayals of the natural landscapes of the US had and still have a dramatic influence on photographers who have since followed in his footsteps. Adams' Owen's Valley California (1937) explores the full spectrum that black and white tones can reveal and within them the awe of the natural world. Depicting the expanse of nature's vistas today are the likes of Miguel Winograd and the highly emotive seascapes of Alessandro Puccinelli. May the equally subtle and dramatic tones of monochrome continue to inspire those behind the lens…