Monochrome images from traditional silver black and whites to cyanotypes, sepia toned photographs and anything else in the color-less spectrum.

“The term accessories has come to include a host of photographic gadgets of questionable value…”Ansel Adams, The Camera

“A good daguerreotype was as perfect a kind of photograph as was ever made.” Edward Steichen

These two masters enriched the history of photography by being some of the first to experiment with new technologies in a relatively new art medium. They were also traditionalists and truly embraced manual and old photography processes. The hundred and fifty photographers from Steichen’s world is millions today, and finding “as perfect a kind of photograph as was ever made” is no longer as simple. Digital cameras and editing software have transformed the medium and opened up whole new worlds for the 21st century photographer. We have dozens of “aps” that help us tweak a digital image to “perfection” in minutes. A vast repertoire of image resources we look to for inspiration and meaning still brings us to the same point of reflection as photographers of the early 20th century: what is the art of photography?

Black and white photography, a genre that many would claim made them fall in love with image-making in the first place, has remained completely relevant and contemporary despite it’s ancient roots. It is timeless, sometimes soft, sometimes dramatic and brings new perspective to images and image making. Whether you are a darkroom purist or a Photoshop craftperson, show us your love for hue-less images. We want to see YOUR best black and white or alternative process images for an exhibit that will pay tribute to the origins of photography and praise it’s development.

Juror: Rafal Maleszyk

Growing up in southern Poland, Maleszyk spent his childhood and early years in post-communist Poland. He first started exploring photography using a 35mm Kiev on his fourteenth birthday, and learnt how to develop black and white prints in the dark room set up by his father in the family kitchen.

Maleszyk’s photography is rooted in his interest in natural landscapes. For him, photography is the ultimate artistic form that captures one’s encounter or oneness with nature. His style focuses on simplifying and expressing with intimacy the perspectives in nature. His training in fine art has helped him with the craft of composition and experimentation.

In 2009, he moved to the Oahu island of Hawaii, where he now works as a professional fine art black and white landscape photographer, specializing in large format prints series using a digital medium format Hasselblad camera. To date, his photographic portfolio covers landscapes from many countries including Poland, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and El Salvador.

Maleszyk has received numerous awards for his work and we are very happy to have him juror our first black and white photography exhibition at the Darkroom Gallery.