In his latest video column, Henley Spiers, a highly decorated underwater photographer, writer, and expedition leader from Devon in the UK, dives into the very fine art of shooting and developing photography in black and white - an unforgiving yet unparalleled art form.
Hello. Welcome back. I am Henley Spiers and in this edition of the column, we’re going to be looking at black and white underwater photography.
What happens when we shift to monochrome? Well, I am a firm believer that practicing black and white photography will elevate your craft as a shooter. So what does it take to capture black and white underwater photographs? Well, for me it doesn’t mean a change in gear, doesn’t mean a change in equipment which I use, but it does mean a change in my mindset.
When we remove colour from our pictures, it becomes quite unforgiving. And this is why I think black and white photography is so valuable to us, even if it’s not the medium we wish to pursue in the long term.
When you remove colour, especially underwater, that wondrous moment where you bring back colour underwater – you are left with a naked frame; one which really brings the viewer entirely to the strengths of its composition. So if our frame no longer has colour as this attention grabbing ‘wow factor’, what are we really relying on?
In his video column this month, Henley Spiers explores the fine art of black and white underwater photography – an unforgiving yet unparalleled medium of expressing skill and creativity.
Find out more about the creative technique here:
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