50 SHADES OF WILDLIFE HOW TO SHOOT NATURE IN BLACK AND WHITE
Display and defence, camouflage, and courtship; for mimicry and to mesmerise; colour is crucial for survival when it comes to the world of wildlife. When it comes to wildlife photography, on the other hand, it just might be the thing that’s holding you back.
Crazy as that sounds you’d have to agree that without the familiarity of colour a viewer is certainly forced to look twice at a black and white wildlife shot; even of a common or much-photographed subject. And while generally something to celebrate in nature pictures, colour isn’t always the wildlife photographer’s best friend; often posing an unwelcome distraction in the constant battle to isolate subjects from clashing and over-fussy backgrounds in the field.
But these are not the main reasons we’d urge you to consider giving black and white wildlife photography a go. The thing that excites us both most about reframing the natural world in mono is that it completely frees us up to present our wildlife subjects in any way we choose. By taking colour off the table, we’re instantly signalling that we’re breaking with one of the biggest constraints that bedevil conventional wildlife photography; that ‘by nature’ it’s got to be representational.
Presenting the vivid and richly colourful world of nature in mono is about as far from ‘natural’ as
