2026 Black and White Invitational: Seeing with Intention

The 2026 Black and White Invitational at Image City Photography Gallery brings together seven photographers whose work demonstrates that monochrome is not a limitation, but a language—one capable of nuance, emotion, and deep structural clarity. Featuring Lisa Enterline, Olena Kondrashova, Tom Kredo, Pat Luke, Regina Muscarella, Ron Shapiro, and John Solberg, the exhibition demonstrates how black and white photography continues to evolve as a powerful, expressive language—one rooted in light, structure and emotional clarity. 

Across this invitational, black and white becomes a means of distillation. By removing color, each artist reveals what remains essential: light and shadow, balance and texture, gesture and mood. The result is a show that feels both cohesive and richly varied.

Just Because, It’s Fun

For Lisa Enterline photography begins with curiosity and joy. When asked “Why Photography”, Lisa says “I guess the answer is just because, it’s fun.”  She describes her time with the camera as both playful and purposeful. A day alone in the woods becomes “a treasure hunt,” where she is compelled to record “tiny, beautiful, unseen places,” while also embracing expansive scenes. Lisa’s background in commercial printing and a BFA in photography inform her thoughtful approach, but her work remains grounded in experience and exploration. Living in areas “mostly void of bright light,” she welcomes the challenge, allowing subtle illumination to shape images that feel quiet, personal and discovered.

Familiar Places, Seen Differently

Tom Kredo quite literally asks viewers to see landscapes in a new way. His series In A Different Light is created using a modified Fujifilm camera that records infrared light at 720 nm—“just beyond what the human eye can see.” By changing the wavelength of light rather than subject itself, “familiar landscapes are quietly altered.” Trees and grass appear bright, skies grow darker, and everyday parks take on “a calm, slightly unfamiliar look.” Presented in a square format, Tom explains that his choice “removes the strong horizontal pull common in landscape photography.” 

Precision, Contrast and Control

With thirty-eight years of professional experience, Pat Luke brings both technical rigor and emotional impact to his portraits. Although originally captured in color, Pat carefully evaluates which images belong in black and white. “If the image is mostly monochromatic already, then it will likely look good as black-and-white,” he notes. Conversely, “if the color is distracting, converting it to a black and white image can save it.” Contrast is essential—“having both white whites and black blacks, and a range of grey tones,” Pat evaluates his work using a methodology similar to Ansel Adams’ Zone System. The resulting portraits are deliberate, dramatic, and finely tuned, balancing precision with presence. 

Stillness, Structure and Fragility

For Olena Kondrashova black and white is not an afterthought—it is the starting point. “Monochrome is simply the first language I meet the photograph in,” she explains. Without color, “the photograph becomes less about what it looked like, and more about what it felt like to be there.” Her work pays close attention to light first, allowing form, gesture and mood to follow. Across the series, the body becomes “a threshold” hovering between concealment and exposure, intimacy and distance. Stillness plays a central role—“deliberate rather than passive”—creating images that locate vulnerability “not as a spectacle, but as a precise, lived condition.”

Architecture and Design

One of John Solberg’s dreams as a young boy was to become an architect; the other was to become a scientist. The second dream became reality, but the love of architecture has remained. So it’s no wonder that architecture is one of John’s favorite photographic themes.  John’s images focus on Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, where geometry, repetition and thoughtful design take center stage. Stripped of color, Wright’s architectural forms are revealed through line, shadow, and rhythm, emphasizing the balance between structure and space that defines the buildings and John’s photographic approach. His work highlights how black and white photography is particularly suited to architecture—allowing viewers to engage with proportion, material and intention without distraction.

Diverse Voices, Shared Intent

Complementing these approaches are the works of Regina Muscarella and Ron Shapiro each contributing a distinct visual sensibility while reinforcing the exhibition’s central theme: black and white as a tool for clarity and meaning. Whether wildlife, landscape or street photography, their images emphasize form, contrast and emotional resonance, underscoring how monochrome photography continues to evolve in contemporary practice. 

As you move through the gallery, consider how black and white reshapes not only what you see, but how you see.  In this exhibition, familiar subjects become newly compelling, everyday spaces that take on deeper meaning, and photography reveals its enduring power to communicate through light alone. Seen together, these seven photographers remind us that black and white remains one of photography’s most enduring and expressive forms, capable of quiet power, emotional depth, and lasting impact.