Brenton Parry

Steven - Download

Added 2021-07-11 01:20:37 +0000 UTC

Black and White photography, especially of nudes seems to be a default. People can see the same photo in colour, next to a black and white version and they will say the B&W one is "artistic". Is it really? Like a lot of people I have used black and white a lot in the past. My entire first exhibition was black and white as was about half of the second.

There is a danger of making a photo B&W becoming a crutch for fixing problems with colour or exposure. I know I've used it. Conversely it is popular and a classic option for a very good reason. There is an elegance and timelessness to totally removing the colour. After all photography started without colour.

This series of Steven was perfect for Black and White for both the good and bad reasons I mentioned above. When I was editing the photos and trying to decide on a colour grade for them, nothing quite worked. Black and white not only unified all the images but it also immediately gave it a timeless, classic look. Steven doesn't have any tattoos and could actually be from any era. Is he a young man returned from the war relaxing naked in the bush? Or is he a modern man just enjoying the freedom?