It never ceases to amaze how a finely printed B&W print (more so than its more informative color cousin) can sing like a million bucks and transcend not only the material it was created on, but the very reality it purports to depict. And how a more poorly printed version of the same image seems to lessen the worth of the very paper it was printed on. Not to discount the role of subject matter- I don't care how well printed that long exposure of a mountain stream flowing over primordial rocks is (or isn't).Fortunately that overall sense of quality (and originality) can even translate unto the computer screen, as witnessed by the recent monochromatic efforts of both: Platon and Vanessa Winship (via APAD and The Colin Pantall Blog, respectively). Although the latter has received much deserved accolades for her recent large format portraiture- it's her moody, exquisite, small format reportage that really fills my rectangle. As for the former, both his portraits and reportage triumph in balancing that difficult, tenuous equation between formal studio glitz and street savvy grit- beauty and emotion in one potent package.
And while you're at it, don't forget: Jeffrey Ladd, Beth Dow and George Georgiou all of whom have been lauded here for their various shades of grey...
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