Short description
* An assessment of where monochrome photography now stands as digital technology opens up new possibilities * A personal testament to the power and potential of monochrome from a leading exponent of the medium * Superbly illustrated with the author's own large-format hand-crafted monochrome prints
Long description
In this book Paul Gallagher looks back on the first twenty years of what he expects to be a lifetime's work dedicated to creating monochrome prints, and forward to the way in which the medium is likely to develop in the future. Among the issues he considers is why he, and so many others, still consider monochrome to be a uniquely expressive medium for image-makers; why seeing in monochrome is different from seeing in colour; and what it is about monochrome that allows it to express such powerful emotions. He discusses the ways in which monochrome photographers have used darkroom techniques to refine and enhance their images, and the ways in which such techniques have been used to change the mood of a photograph and to increase its emotional impact and asks whether new, digital technology points the way forward for further advances in the art of monochrome. Illustrated with Paul Gallagher's own superb black and white images, most of which were produced using large-format cameras and individually hand-processed film, this book is itself a testament to the continuing power and potential of monochrome and a volume that will be cherished by the legions of monochrome photographers throughout the world. Paul Gallagher studied photography at Southport College, where he later taught the subject alongside his own instructors. He worked for a time as a commercial photographer but quickly established a name for his outstanding monochrome landscape work which was soon represented by many galleries. He has been associated with Ilford for several years and also runs workshops and lecturing in colleges throughout the UK and has written widely for the photographic press.