Monochrome photography along my travels

It is no secret that monochrome photography was the first form of photography. Great classic artists mastered it over time. Black and white, or tones of one color work great with candid, photo-journalistic, street and some documentary photography, but not only. Take a look at some of Ansel Adams work for example.

I like colors myself, but in some cases I think that monochrome works better. It always depends on the feeling I want to give to a picture. In this photo for instance, I thought that black and white would be more powerful in showing the abuse of animals. – These monkeys were waiting to be transported over the border between Guatemala and Mexico:

Monkeys waiting to cross the border between Guatemala and Mexico

The photo below is also from Guatemala. It shows a family in Santiago, Guatemala waiting for the bus. I thought that brown/sepia tones would convey a warmer feeling to it:

Santiago Guatemala people - monochrome image

Sometimes I like the humorist aspect of scenes I see. In this case I chose again black and white for a more dramatic feeling. It shows the long waiting line for the flight to the Caribbean in January. – Ottawa airport ๐Ÿ™‚

Caribbean waiting line at Ottawa airport in January

Monochromatic photography can create more artistic images

Here are some I like from Mexico:

Girl feeding pigeons on the Campeche, plaza:

Girl feeding Pigeons in Campeche Plaza black and white photography

Church Mesa in Campeche, Mexico:

Church mesa in Campeche, Mexico

Mayan boy in the Mexico countryside:

Mayan boy in Mexico

Monochromatic photography for historic images

Nevertheless, the monochrome style, especially sepia, looks good in historic scenes, giving them the sense of old. In 2012 I participated in a contest dedicated to the 100 years celebration. I found two historic buildings inย  Ottawa, Canada built in 1912. One was the Chateau Laurier Hotel, the other the Central Train Station. I made them using sepia tones, and looking like old postcards. * I used my own crashed wrinkled sheets of paper as an overlay for both. Here they are:

Chateau Laurier – A Century Of Existenceย – 1st place winner !ย  (Prize: one year free subscription at SmugMug)

Chateau Laurier a centtury of existence
The Antique Central Train Station Building In Ottawa

Old train station in Ottawa, CanadaI uploaded them both to my FAA Black&White and Chromatic gallery and they are available as art prints for wall, home decor and accessories.

Well, as you can see in my FAA gallery, monochromatic photography can go well with many subjects like:

Landscapes:

Road Art Print featuring the photograph Road In The Snow Black And White by Tatiana Travelways

Still life:

Apples Art Print featuring the photograph Monochromatic Apples by Tatiana Travelways

Even Floral subjects:

Lace Art Print featuring the photograph Lace-like Inflorescence by Tatiana Travelways

As a bonus, I have this Organ Grinder photo I took in Hamburg, using black and white and selective coloring:

Organ Art Print featuring the photograph Organ Grinder by Tatiana Travelways

I hope you enjoyed my Monochromatic photography. I have many more, but for some further posts ๐Ÿ™‚


Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #70: Monochrome | Ceeโ€™s Fun Foto Challenge: Basically One Color or Hue |

19 Comments on “Monochrome photography along my travels”

  1. A fabulous collection, Tatiana. You really show the wide range of applications for monochrome. I especially love your winning shot of the hotel and the still life shot. Sepia works perfectly for those shots. The selective use of color in the organ grinder shot is great, too. Thanks so much for joining us and adding to our “conversation” about monochrome.

  2. Excellent selections. I can see you put some thought into them. Love the sepias. The hotel reminded me of The Balmoral in Edinburgh, which is similarly massive but doesnโ€™t have the steeples like yours.

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