AK-The-Big-B&W-Issue
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Fine Art Photography Magazine<br />
DECEMBER 2016 #27<br />
B&W <strong>The</strong><br />
BIG<br />
<strong>Issue</strong>
ALLAN KLIGER<br />
What black & white does
Copyrights To Allan Kliger© All Rights Reserved
Copyrights To Allan Kliger© All Rights Reserved
ALLAN KLIGER<br />
What black & white does<br />
I love color. Our world is in<br />
color. I love the sensuality<br />
of the explosion and<br />
depth of color. But, there’s<br />
something special about<br />
black & white that moves<br />
me, that speaks to me. And that’s why I<br />
shoot in black & white.<br />
It’s not any one thing; it’s more how<br />
it all seems to fit together. Whenever<br />
I shoot, I always take two images, one<br />
in Raw and the other, the one on the<br />
back of my digital display, in black &<br />
white. It helps me to see in black &<br />
white, without the distraction of color.<br />
It especially allows me to focus on the<br />
light, the quality and nature of the light,<br />
its direction and how it plays to the<br />
image I wish to take, the image that<br />
I feel without even knowing what it<br />
actually be at the time.<br />
Most who know me would say that<br />
I’m a people person. That probably<br />
explains why I love to shoot people,<br />
portraits. Everywhere. More often than<br />
not in some far away place where I<br />
don’t speak the language. I don’t need<br />
to speak the language. We all connect<br />
at some level, we know what the fight<br />
or flight means. It’s primeval. And so is<br />
knowing when it’s ok. When it’s safe.<br />
We see it someone’s eyes, in their<br />
gesture. I hope people see it in my eyes<br />
as I approach them. I prefer shooting<br />
outside, natural, environmental. I<br />
explore, wonder, that’s part of the<br />
adventure. Looking for the light, for<br />
something elusive, something perhaps<br />
around the corner, an open doorway,<br />
some motion that catches my eye,<br />
beauty, frailty, something real.
Copyrights To Allan Kliger© All Rights Reserved<br />
A moment, something that compels me to<br />
stop, to want to make time stop. Perhaps it’s<br />
something I can identify with, even if I don’t<br />
know it. A feeling.<br />
At first I’m tentative, approaching the subject<br />
like quarry, hunting them, wondering if<br />
they’ll spook or allow me to observe without<br />
objection. I don’t shoot with a long telephoto<br />
– I shoot up close and personal. I want that<br />
connection, need that connection. I’m the guy<br />
right up there in someone’s face. No boundary.<br />
Crossing the boundary. Testing the limits of<br />
comfort and permission. Respectful, tactful, but<br />
leaving no uncertainty. It’s personal and the<br />
subject knows it. I dance around, like a boxer<br />
or a Judoka in the judo ring. I’m observing the<br />
light, the face, the comfort and nature of the<br />
subject’s demeanor and pose, waiting for the<br />
moment when it all comes together. Specular<br />
light, Rembrandt light, light & shadow,<br />
depth and dimension. I need the shadow,<br />
the blackness, the hint of light. And then, in<br />
between the shots, I find it. <strong>The</strong> connection.<br />
When the subject finally feels<br />
relaxed, to connect, to allow me<br />
to immortalize their soul in the<br />
light that I’ve found. That’s what<br />
black & white does.
Copyrights To Allan Kliger© All Rights Reserved
62 http://lensmagazine.net
Copyrights To Allan Kliger© All Rights Reserved<br />
http://lensmagazine.net<br />
63
Copyrights To Allan Kliger© All Rights Reserved<br />
64 http://lensmagazine.net
Copyrights To Allan Kliger© All Rights Reserved<br />
http://lensmagazine.net<br />
65
66 http://lensmagazine.net
Copyrights To Allan Kliger© All Rights Reserved<br />
http://lensmagazine.net<br />
67
68 http://lensmagazine.net<br />
Copyrights To Allan Kliger© All Rights Reserved
Copyrights To Allan Kliger© All Rights Reserved<br />
http://lensmagazine.net<br />
69
ALLAN KLIGER<br />
What black & white does<br />
Web: allan kliger photography<br />
Instagram: allankligerphotography<br />
FB: Allan Kliger Fine Art Photography<br />
Contact: photography@allankliger.com<br />
Tel: (416) - 669-0647 Toronto, Canada