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B+WI
have a photographer friend who told me
he had recently signed up for a life
drawing class and how much of a
challenge he was finding it. He went on
to explain that he was using charcoal to
give structure to the drawing and then
working into it with pencil. As he is a
committed black & white photographer
I assumed that working in this way, with
tones and shapes, he would find it quite
natural, but I was wrong. He said it was all a
question of looking, and that while he could
visualise a photographic image (in black &
white) he found when drawing he could
not relate in the same way to his subject.
The way in which we look, and
consequently what we see, is largely
a matter of training. A black & white
photographer has trained their eyes to
translate ‘reality’ into what will be a
monochrome image. They will understand
what compositions, shapes, tones and light
will make a successful image, they will be
drawn to certain subjects, and they will
be able to identify what will communicate
to the viewer. A colour photographer will
go through a similar process but in an
entirely different way – and there are, of
course, many photographers who can
switch between the two (although this
does take skill).
What we see is not simply what’s in front
of us – we constantly analyse, decipher and
translate and give meaning to what is there, and that will differ hugely between people.
Everything from our cultural background down to our own personalities will affect this. If,
like my friend, we were to take up drawing, no two drawings would be the same – however,
as photographers, we use little machines (cameras) that process our ideas and thoughts and
the subjects in front of us in similar ways, so the danger would seem to be that we produce
identical pictures. But, because we look, and so see, in very different ways, this is avoided.
To go beyond the obvious in photography we need to train ourselves to look. So, while
my friend is struggling with his charcoal in the life drawing class, he is not only branching
out into another way of looking, but he is heightening his ability to see. It will take practice
but his photography, I’m sure, will benefit from it.Web blackandwhitephotographymag.co.uk | Facebook facebook.com/blackandwhitephotog | Twitter @BWPMag | Instagram@bwphotomagCONTACT USEDITORIAL
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© Guild of Master Craftsman Publications Ltd. 2019Elizabeth Roberts, Editor
[email protected]ANOTHER WAYOF LOOKING‘he way in which we
look, and consequently
what we see, is largely
a matter of training.’
© Anthony RobertsEDITOR’S LETTER MAY 2019