Art photography at its best in monochrome

Mangaluru: Monochrome photography is now barely surviving, yet flashes of brilliant work in black and white are seen here and there, and when it catches the eyes of a connoisseur it leaves a lasting impression. The difference between the monochrome art photography and colour photography is huge. Only discerning eyes can see the colour even in black-and-white images. "Many people who have followed my work had told me that and when they narrate the intricacies of the art pictures they saw, they agreed that it needs a special level of understanding," says Sheni Murali one of the few Monochrome art photographers who are making waves in their own niche field.

The audience in an event like a dance recital, music concert, or theatre play, wants absolute silence, an unperturbed view of the event, "In such events the audience like to connect with the character on the stage be it any form of art, Yakshagana, any forms of Bharatanatyam,-Mohiniattam, Odissi, Shakespearean or our own theatre plays, An art photographer will have to one among the audience doing his work silently and yet get the best of the performance. He must know the art he is trying to depict"

Young photographers may exclaim: 'I don't remember the last time I saw a black and white photograph'. Keeping track of it is a challenge. This generation might shout "LOL!" The cynics among us could ask, "Why are we still taking images in black and white?" Although black and white photography is making a comeback for a select few new photographers, it is doing it in a very aesthetic way!

Taking black and white images is like rewinding a few decades, so what's the big deal? You'll have to use the scanner's greyscale mode or delete the colour from your camera to get it to work. Colour and technical geek purists can shrug. Says Murali Sheni of Mangaluru, a new generation of Black and White artistic photographers, nevertheless, claims, "In black and white, there is art. Is there a greater medium for expressing yourself and the depth of field than photography? Only if you've studied your subject thoroughly, that is." Nowadays, pictures are subjected to extensive post-processing. Using editing software may do wonders for images.

I've never used Photoshop, and I don't remember the last time I used my camera in colour mode.," I've never gone back to colour mode." says Sheni. "For the past five three years, I've been working on a series of portraits of some of the world's most famous cultural figures, especially classical dancers and vocalists. It's not simply the lines and wrinkles on people's faces that make black-and-white photos artistic; it's the values and sentimentality they evoke as well". When it comes to black and white photography, "everything happens, unwittingly, which is a fantastic quality of black and white photography" explains Sheni.

Without sacrificing her facial expression, the photograph taken of Padma Subramaium captures the flowing columns of light illuminating the cupped hands on her face. A Bharatnatyam dancer, Chandrashekar, appears in the flush right, while the rest of the frame is completely empty in another snap. This is a work of art, after all. G H Shankar an award-winning black and white photographer for the BBC does it in wildlife. Yajna Acharya does it for the love of Black and White photography and to keep it alive.

He has chosen hundreds of subjects for his Black and White passion. Is black-and-white photography making a comeback? Even in the most banal and most frequent assignments like a wedding or a housewarming ceremony or any other social gathering, people desire a portion of their memories in black and white, but what Sheni Murali produces is more artistic and unusual among the young protagonists." A halo of skill and mastery surrounds all art forms in black and white, whether it's painting or photographing." says Yajna Acharya.

There are approximately 100 black and white photos of some of the world's greatest classical musicians and classical dancers in Sheni's collection. He has encased many of his photos in the Coffee Table book - 'Breathing Space' What's with the name?' "Black and White art photography is all about a single subject. Every photo has its own empty space around the subject which is what is art is all about, the artists featured in the photos have their own breathing space even in the photos Murali explained.

One of the specialities of Breathing Space is that it features three generations of the Vaidyanathan family. Another photo of artists like Padma Subramaniam, Vaijayanthimala, B.Bhanumati, Shobhana, Shanta-VP Dadan A Jayan, Usha Datar, Prof. CCR Chandrashekhar, Dr Vasundhara Doraswamy, Hariharan, Unnikrishnan, Shankar Mahadevan. There are photographs of art forms like Bharatanatyam, Vilasini Natya, Yakshagana, Koodiyattam, Kathak, Mohiniyattam, and Satriya. The photos taken at the event were held in Bangalore, Dharwad, Chennai, Udupi, and Mangalore. "The birth of photography in I have done a black and white photo at the Art Gallery in Mangalore twice. My feeling is that the photo must be technically sound but not emotionally rich" Murali says.