Black & White Photography With A Smartphone
by Søren Kristoffer Kløft — soren@kloft.dk
‘But why do you do it in black & white? It’s so boring’.
I have met this attitude on many occasions, and I always try to explain why I like B&W Photography so much. Sometimes the answer can be short like this: ‘Because I like it and it is beautiful’.
On other occasions it may be a little longer. The following is one of the longer and more elaborated answers I can give to the question: ‘Why do black and white photography and not colour photography?’
Scroll down and enjoy the picture galleries (just a small selection of all the photos I have taken over the years) and remember that the Medium-platform allows you to select each picture and enlarge it on your screen for closer scrutiny.
On the way I have tried to reflect a little upon the techniques I use and I even venture to give some advice to avid (smartphone) photographers who might like to try to discover the beauty of B&W. Please join in — the more, the merrier. I would love to see your results spreading on the social media platforms.
All photos in this article have been taken with either an iPhone 7 or an iPhone 8 Plus (no product placement intended). However, my point is that any smartphone on the market with a built in camera is perfectly apt for this kind of photo work.
TRAINS AND STATIONS (Denmark & Sweden)
“The whole nature of photography has changed with the advent of a camera in everybody’s hand” — Sally Mann
STREET LIFE (Naples / Italy)
All photos are ‘born’ as colour photos and then modified using one of the many filter apps available online — they are easily downloaded to your phone (in most cases free of charge).
There are hundreds of filter apps out there with almost countless options to choose from, but currently I prefer ‘Snapseed’. Your smartphone also comes with many built in filter options. They can be pretty useful, too.
Try to experiment — it is great fun. But be careful — it is easy to over do it. Using too many filters (on the same photo) may leave you with a fuzzy, blurred and ‘noisy’ result. This is where the ‘undo’ button comes in handy.
TRADITION AND MODERNITY (Sichuan Province / China)
It is so delightful to play with photos on your phone. A few seconds after you have taken a photo, you are ready to share your final result on a social media platform. And within a few minutes you might even have comments and constructive criticism pouring in on your portable device.
STREET MARKETS (Sichuan Province / China)
“Photography is the simplest thing in the world, but it is incredibly complicated to make it really work” — Martin Parr
LANDSCAPES (Denmark and Iceland)
The road from idea, over actually taking the photo, editing, publication and finally to the potential ‘aahs and oohs’ from your friends and followers has never been shorter.
But still, there are no short cuts to good photos. Endless hours of practice are still required. Personally I like this — the process is in my opinion much more interesting than the final result. Because ‘the road not taken’ might be where the truely good result is hiding.
STREETS AND SKIES (Iceland, Australia and Denmark)
“Whosoever possesses a camera should never know boredom” — Wayne Gerard Trotman
REFLECTIONS (China, Iceland, Denmark and Italy)
I have been taking pictures all my life and I am old enough to have been working with analogue equipment. I have spent many hours in dark rooms with chemicals and red light. And I still own a series of old cameras that only work when you feed them with old fashioned film.
This is when you are in touch with the original craft of taking photographs. And I can only recommend this.
In fact, everyone with a serious interest in the art of photography should allow themselves — at one point in their lives — to work in a real dark room and see how things can happen just in front of their eyes as the chemicals do their magic on photo sensitive paper.
SELFIE CULTURE (Italy, Denmark and China)
The smartphone cannot replace the pleasure of taking pictures with a ‘real’ camera with heavy lenses with no auto focus. No snap shots here — but it is still highly enjoyable.
SHARP LINES AND LOW KEY TONES (Denmark, Iceland and France)
“A good photograph is knowing where to stand” — Ansel Adams
ART AND/OR CRAFTSMANSHIP?
I have never considered myself an artist as such and my pictures are — first and foremost — just the result of my favorite pastime activity.
Some of the photographs featured above may be both beautiful and intriguing, true. But to become true art there has to be — in my humble opinion — an inherent intent or some kind of creative driving force in these efforts. Something that goes way beyond the mere desire to produce a nice final result.
I do not think that I possess such qualities — or aspirations for that matter. But judging from the reactions I get when I show my work to others, this might not be the case.
In other words: If YOU think it is art, then it IS art. It is not for me to decide.
I regard myself as a kind of skilled craftsman, though — employing the tools at hand but still learning the ropes and aquiring more skills as I go along. Because — repeating myself — the process is king for me. Not always the final result.
SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Søren Kristoffer Kløft (b. 1968) in Copenhagen, Denmark. Has lived and worked in Iceland, Spain, Ghana, Colombia, Chile and Guatemala.
Currently based in Copenhagen working with all kinds of communication (press, PR, marketing, layout, print, photography and video) with relation to festivals and theatre productions. Travels have always been an integrated part of his professional life.
Holds a university degree in International Development Studies and English as well as a diploma in Journalism & Communication.
“Black and white photography erases time from the equation” — Jason Peterson
© Søren Kristoffer Kløft 2020 / MMXX — soren@kloft.dk — final edition & publication of this article and photo galleries consisting of 83 electronic B&W Pictures with all rights reserved— April 25th, 2020.
