Behind the Lens: back for 2022, it could be time to give black and white a try

Its been a little crazy since our break from writing and now we look forward to bringing you back with us behind the lens.

One good thing that can be said about 2021 is that it wasn't as turbulent as 2020, which most of us think as being the worst year ever. Yet, the past 12 months did bring some good news to us.

Almost nine billion COVID jabs have been put in arms around the world and the number is climbing every second. Scientists revealed that cheese isn't bad for you (really!), endangered animals are bouncing back, and electric vehicles are becoming more popular.

Mind you, for a moment earlier in the year it seemed that COVID-19 was done and dusted. BUT ...now it isn't. So we continue to learn how to live with this new way of life, and maybe our world can start getting back to what we call 'normal'.

I'd say there is no unique style in photography, maybe similar, but none better than the other. We all have different ways of seeing the subject, and how to show it. We see literally and abstractly. We see character in people's faces, wildlife emotion, perspectives. We see in colour and black and white. Photography is a way of observing, absorbing and forever storing a moment.

The style between colleagues Phillip Biggs, Craig George and myself are totally different. We each have our own way of using light, and lens choice, even down to the processing of the image. I would like to think we complement each others' style, especially when we are sent out on assignments together.

There are hundreds and thousands of moments, and in this job we get to see just a few through different events and the people we meet. This means there's always that chance that some of the photos we take might look better as a black and white image. They are all taken in colour, choices made and then processed to black-white, and yes, sometimes those images are submitted to the editors.

Black and white photography should evoke a mood, from nostalgia to sadness to yearning. Black and white pictures somehow convey emotions in a way that colour images simply can't. Not everything is black and white but sometimes it can be just what is needed. The world of colour is great, but sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming, as the vast majority of photographs are taken in colour.

Maybe we have lost some of the beauty and imagination of the image that we are trying to show. Emotion could be the most important part of photography, and the way they tell the stories.

Reflection is always good for the soul, and I thought I'd share some of my many favourite black and whites from 2021. It was hard to choose which of the many images I've converted to black and white, but these ones stood out just that bit more. People in their everyday life ,artists, celebrities, Anzac day service, buildings around Launceston, body builders were some of the ones I couldn't fit on this page (maybe next time, more photos and less words?). These images I've selected, all have that special story, and when you get to spend time listening, it's important to make that part of my image.

It is hard to decide which one I like the most, maybe the wool bale, or the portraits that show the character of each of them. So I might leave that one up to you.

I realise that not everyone likes black and white pictures like I do, but hopefully I have inspired you to take some photos and make them black and white.