#068: Snapshots
Life in monochrome.
There’s something about the spontaneity of photographing the streets that constantly pulls me back with a camera in hand. It’s loud, layered, sometimes quiet, always unpredictable, and ultimately deeply photogenic. Food markets in the morning, old men sip kopi under fluorescent flickers, and the general hustle and bustle of the city as it wakes from its slumber. All are part and parcel of making this city what it is. I’ve shot this city of Kuala Lumpur quite a bit in the past six months, mostly during weekend mornings, under every kind of light conditions, and although I shoot in colour, I find myself this time returning to black and white.
Not because it’s stylish, or because I want to mimic any particular famous photographer, but because stripping away the colour lets me see what’s actually there. Expressions, tension, gesture, grit — all of it becomes more pronounced when you remove the distraction of colour. A chaotic roadside scene becomes about the way a woman shields her face from the sun. A street-side stall turns into a study of light and shadow. Individual characters take the main stage without background distractions. Black and white makes me focus. It adds a different level of intrigue and mystery.
Colour can be seductive — neon signs, sarong prints, red plastic chairs — but monochrome demands clarity. It slows the viewer down. It should ask: “What are you really looking at?”.
I don’t always get it right. Some days, the photos feel flat. But once in a while, the light hits just right, and in that one frame, the noise falls away and you're left with something honest… at least in what my mind thinks and what my eyes saw.
Editing in black and white also reminded me of the photography club at university, where I learnt how to develop my own black and white prints, under the glare of red lights in a darkroom.
Many of these photos, as mentioned, were taken in colour, and then I converted them into this monochrome look and feel in Lightroom. Contrasty black and white with layers and shades of grey in between.
Proactively visualising most of these shots in black and white also made me more selective and reduced my shot count on the day. Taking in fewer shots per session than I normally would. Also helps save HDD space.
But in doing so, I get some interesting scenes and vignettes of the street.
That’s what I’m after. That moment of honesty. And for now, it seems to speak loudest in shades of grey.
Hope you like these selections from the first half of the year. Let’s see what the next half brings.
Cheers.
(All photos taken with the Nikon ZF and a combination of the 28mm/f2.8 & 40mm/f2 lenses.)
Contrast draws the line
between the seen and the felt—
Clarity in grey.
