Nature Photography
in Black & White

Photographing in the monochrome of black and white. Magnificent nature, I did not revere thee.

by Mina Thevenin, March 2019

We cannot casually pass by the complexions of nature and our landscapes once it is photographed in the old ways of monochrome. It is impossible. Because photographing nature in black and white shifts our experience. It enriches our relationship with nature. What we couldn’t grasp before—its complexities, its magnificence, its fragility—now resounds as a new and refreshed reverence. This is a gift. Once given, it is indelible upon psyche and within soul. Never to be less than. Always to be.

Likewise, nature photography in black and white obliges to give us something new! Light is ever changing, and therefore its mood is reflective as well. When I photograph the same tree, it is not the same tree. In the morning the tree is as different as it is in evening. Just as it is a different-same tree in spring as it is in winter. And is there not a newness to this tree when I photograph it while lying beneath outstretched branches, or while clutched steady in its bough?

Sometimes photographing the resounding beauty of nature in black and white is so powerful, it is almost painful. This humbles me. Much in the same way I feel when I stand before a great ocean—the moment when my eyes sail me into the horizon and the sea foam skims my bare feet. This is the experience of complexity, of fragility, and of magnificence.

Nature, as seen in black and white images, takes us out of our norm and usual color photography. Either form is profoundly and inherently inferior to the “original true experience” of the photographer while taking the photograph. It is often the black and white image, however, that lays claim to the truer nuances of lighting, of texture, and, yes, of subject. Nature in black and white photography is without the distractions of processing the image in extreme vibrancy and saturation levels; this is often not the case in color photography where photographers do tend to use more extremes of vibrancy and saturation in nature and landscape photo.

EYE CANDY you are not.

Nature photographed in black and white is not today’s eye candy. Most people will like black and white images. But give them a hand to hand comparison of the same image in black and white to that of the full volume, turn-it-up-louder-saturation and add the off-the-charts-vibrant-colors beyond the rainbow, and that picture will get more “likes”.

Why? Well, both images are visceral, but in different ways. The, albeit, beautifully fantastic color enhanced photo of nature provides instant reaction because it “pops” visually. It’s quick and easy to “see”. The nervous system reacts to it! You can’t help yourself. It is an ephemeral experience.

Black and white nature photography, on the other hand, is also visceral, but in a more contemplative manner. To truly appreciate black and white photography, takes more effort (until you’re used to it through practice). It is then with such practice that you will begin to gain appreciation for what the image is about. Because, you see, to view the black and white nature photograph isn’t about the “one and done”.

It’s about standing on the shores of its complexity while gazing into its distance—seeing the levels of light, considering the variances of form, and imagining the tactile of the texture—and then suddenly realizing you are a part of its fragility and its magnificence. This is the gift.