An enduring love that is black & white

Arguably, all photography is about time, in one way or another, but black and white, somehow, transcends it. Becomes timeless.

These days, thanks to the digital sensor embedded in almost every device, colour is the rule, rather than the exception. But in 1822, photography was by definition, black and white. Nicéphore Niépce managed to make a photo of his Parisian window in glorious monotone, though it took him another three years to duplicate it.

These days, thanks to the digital sensor embedded in almost every device, colour is the rule, rather than the exception. But in 1822, photography was by definition, black and white. Nicéphore Niépce managed to make a photo of his Parisian window in glorious monotone, though it took him another three years to duplicate it.

So entrancing was Niépce’s fenêtre, black and white became the default for almost two centuries. Even throughout the 20th century, photography continued to be dominated by monochrome. Any deviation from the one-colour orthodoxy was considered a cheap trick. For instance, when Color Photographs by William Eggleston exhibited at MoMA, in New York, the critics were apoplectic. The Village Voice called it “some kind of con” and The New York Times stated it was “the most hated show of the year”–and this was 1976!

The funny thing is that colour pictures have