Steve Walton - Monacrómach: Monochrome

Black and White Images

Black and white photography distills the shapes, forms, textures and tones of an image down to a purity that provokes an emotional response in the viewer through mood and narrative unencumbered by colour.

The majority of my monochrome work is made on film in formats ranging from 35mm, 5x4", 6x6cm, 6x9cm and 6x17cm. My digital black and white work is made with Nikon, Fujifilm and Leica cameras.

When I take a wet film out of the developing tank immediately after the washing cycle, the thrill is still the same as it was when I processed my first film at college in the early 1970's. The process of making black and white images this way is immersive and there is always something for me to learn from the process.

I don't argue with myself or anyone else over the respective aesthetic or technical merits of film compared to digital images. I see that as a waste of energy, energy that is far better placed within the process of image-making, whichever process that may be. The image is all but I can't deny I prefer the tactile, artisanal method of making photographs with film.

Most of my cameras have been my business partners and fellow travellers for many years. I have a connection with all of them and they have paid for their keep many times over.

I can't imagine my life as a photographer if there wasn't a Hasselblad, Leica, Nikon or Fuji medium format camera around. Each of them is a mechanical work of art and I strive to be worthy of using them.