2024 Black and White Invitational

Image City Photography Gallery’s 2024 Black and White Invitational, featuring David Braitsch, Steve Dent, Anne Dunford, Laura Knecht, Tom Kredo, Joel Krenis and Andrew Wohl, is an exhibit for these invited photographers to display their artistic vision and mastery of the monochromatic medium.

The purpose of a black and white photography invitational is to celebrate the unique aesthetic and expressive qualities of black and white photography.  By removing the distraction of color, these images can emphasize shapes, textures, tones and emotions in a way that is often considered powerful and evocative.

The photographers in this invitational demonstrate a range of subjects, styles, and techniques and vary in their level of realism from highly detailed to more abstract and interpretive.

David Braitsch is an example of a photographer who emphasizes realism. He says, “I chose to exhibit images that I believe help show the areas where black and white photography offers strong advantages vs those images including color.  Showing only light and shadow help the viewer focus on the important and subtle details that can easily be overwhelmed by color.” David included two portraits in his exhibit: A Time to Dream, a portrait of a young girl and Silverback, a gorilla.  He says, “Despite their many differences, they showed me a side of the subjects I had never seen before in my color images.

Another photographer who specializes in portrait photography is Steve Dent, who is a frequent exhibitor at Image City.  Steve decided to use a theme called The Nature of Women for his images.  He says that when he first started the project, he had “little awareness of the scope and acceptance of the venture.” After working with multiple subjects and with hundreds of images captured, he says that “the characterization continues to expand.”  Steve goes on to say, “What I’ve tried to capture with The Nature of Women images is a complex topic, encompassing countless experiences, perspectives and individualities. The threads of shared experiences, unique struggles and aspirations contribute to the remarkable nature of these women.”  Steve’s group of photos ultimately is about recognizing the common threads that bind the women together, while also appreciating the unique tapestries that each woman weaves throughout her life.”

Tom Kredo also chose to base his photos on a theme: Wings of Icarus, which shows the artistic essence of NCAA athletes competing in the long and triple jump competitions.  He says, “By abstracting the background, I focus the viewer directly on the athletes.” Tom was interested in “documenting the effort that these wonderful athletes exhibit while competing in an elite competition.”  Tom says that his images are “in a way, a metaphor for life.  All of these athletes have the same goal—to leap as far as they can—and they are doing the best they can to get there.”  Though Tom took a wide range of images covering all of their jumps, from the initial starting position to the sand pit landings, he believes that the ones that hold the most interest and artistic value are seen in the high-speed frame captures of the mid-air jumps that he included in his display.  One example is his image entitled Majestic Leap, which Tom says shows that “the effort by Jordyn Walker becomes poetry in motion.”

Unlike Steve and Tom, Laura Knecht chose not to base her images on a theme.  Her passion as a photographer is rooted in her ability to reveal and transform. She says “Although I enjoy shooting obviously beautiful things, the images that excite me the most begin life as photographs of humdrum, overlooked, even ugly things.”  She has a vision in her mind’s eye of what they can become.  Laura says, “I use my camera to peel back one or more layers of ordinariness, and then I sit down at my computer and use editing tools to complete the process.”  Laura’s objective for the final image “lies in the realm of unexpected beauty, a compelling unusualness, or a sense of mystery.”  Laura especially enjoys making images that are partially abstract. She says, “Although they are based on objects and scenes that I’ve encountered in the world, I am most interested in using the constituent lines, textures, shapes forms, and tonalities to convey a mood or express an attitude.”  Some of Laura’s images contain things that viewers will recognize immediately; for example, TP Alfresco.  She says she was out with Image City Partner, Betsy Phillips, while they were photographing on West Henrietta Road. They pulled into a parking lot of a dilapidated building and “to our delight, found a roll of unraveled toilet paper sitting on the ground in front of the walls.  It had unrolled with great elegance.”  Laura says that she took its portrait using different orientations, angles and distances to produce the image. 

Andrew Wohl, also says he does not look for typically beautiful scenes, but he says he finds “more potential in the random and accidental arrangements of chairs in a courtyard, a pile of cardboard boxes, or the still life arrangement of mundane and even homely objects found at hardware stores, grocers, garden supply stores, bait and tackle shops, and antique shops.  Andrew recognizes that capturing the moment is a common goal in photography, which he says he tries to do with his photographs; however, he also says, “There is another moment I want to capture; that is the moment of recognition within myself, the moment that I see clearly the photographic possibilities and composition inherent in a scene.”  Andrew says his  goal is “to explore, investigate and avoid the conventional, in order to develop a unique voice and honest self-expression.”  

Another photographer whose work is included in the exhibit is Anne Dunford. Anne started as a documentary photographer; however, she says that the “pandemic pushed me toward landscape work.”  The photos included in her collection are almost all pandemic-era pieces.  She says that “when you strip color from landscapes, especially if it is an iconic location, you invite the viewer to see the location with a different eye.”  Anne hopes that her images, which contain a single focal point, connects with and invites the viewer into their stories. An example of one of her photos that has a personal connection for her is Moonset, Silo City, which depicts the abandoned grain silos on the Buffalo River.  Anne says, “Working the Buffalo docks provided employment for my family that had fled the Irish famine. A century later the abandonment of the facilities stands testament to the decline of labor in the U.S., and the failure of the government to provide retraining for the workforce when technology and other advancements devastate an industry.”

Joel Krenis, who is also displaying his photos in this invitational, is another photographer who decided not to use a unifying theme for his display. Some of the photos included in his group were taken in Key West, which is one of his favorite locations, where he travels every year. He points out that the Kapok in the Giant Kapok Tree photo is the largest Kapok tree in Key West.  The enchanting red-headed egret was taken in Islamorada Florida at Anne’s Beach.  The two Sibelius Pipes photos were taken in Hilenski, and are closeups of a commemorative statue dedicated to native son Jean Sibelius, the world famous composer.  The Sibelius Monument, resembling organ pipes, is made of welded steel with over 600 pipes. His photo of a medieval hooded man was taken in Matera, which is perhaps the oldest city in Italy.  Movie buffs familiar with the 2023 movie Napoleon, might enjoy seeing Joel’s image of the bust of Napolean Bonaparte, which was taken in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It is the only monument to Napoleon outside of France.

Visitors to the 2024 Black & White Invitational show at Image City Photography Gallery can expect to be immersed in a world of monochromatic beauty.  They can appreciate the skill and creativity of the photographers in capturing and presenting their subjects in a way that transcends the limitations of color.  The exhibit offers a unique and captivating experience for both photographers and enthusiasts alike. If you have any questions or comments about any of the photographers or their work included in this exhibit, please write them in the comment box below.