Shooting Monochrome

Mono-chrome, one-color.

Shooting in Monochrome can mean you’ve taken a black and white image – all shades of grey, or a vintage looking image with all sepia tones. But it could also mean you’ve taken an image with all shades of any other color.

This image is still all grey, but shot in color.

This image instead, is all green.

And here’s all bronze.

All monochrome.

Monochrome as Unity

“In his artworks, Yves Klein hoped to recreate a sense of dissolution of material differences, so that the oneness of the universe could be felt. Similarly in the 1950’s, Pierre Manzoni explored the idea of ‘nothingness’ in his ‘Achrome’ series…The second purpose of monochrome, for some artists, was to reduce the painting or sculpture to its simplest form so that the focus of the piece would be on its pure physical elements; colour, form, texture or the way in which it was made.”

Monochrome, Tate, 4/5/2017

Historically, color monochrome is seen more in painting than photography. But the idea remains the same. Get rid of all distraction multiple colors can pose, and form one single unit. Unity in an image can signify peace, completeness, sameness, which is then further expressed by what else is or is not within the artwork.

My Monochrome series is a space the figure has carved for herself, a place she is largely at peace. A New Door is a search for peace, for stillness. Joker Alone and similarly Routine (not pictured here) represent a sameness.

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Have you ever made color monochrome images – whether paintings, photos, etc? I’d love to see them. Put a link in a comment below!