This monochrome gallery serves to highlight mono and be a stimulus and inspiration for members to consider monochrome work(/play?).We hold separate mono competitions within the club and between clubs.
Mono started 35mm film photography and persisted in (news)print for a long time but it is now often subsidiary by conversion from colour digital capture which is a shame as it gets forgotten.
Removal of colour emphasises shape, form and texture – look up the zone system of photography. This removal of colour allows us to direct a viewer to different beauties of a subject and subtleties of shading. Not here the insertion of a red-coated person as a focal point!
Mono should be considered for every subject. Judging often asks for detail in all shades, without burnout or black slabs – but many of the ‘best’ mono photography exponents allow and even use pure white and pure black – just as it often reaches our eye. Insistence on detail in all shades can limit artistic expression! Look at Ansel Adams’ and Michael Kenna’s work.
Submit your mono, comment on others’ mono, and remember that “sycophants are no use”: we learn nothing from endless positive feedback. We learn from mistakes. We learn from accepting that tastes differ. We can use deliberate “mistakes” to truly draw a viewer to a particular aspect of an image.
Submit images for this gallery to Arjun (800px longest edge please!)
