• At the beginning of my photographic career, more than 50 years ago, black and white was a common artistic choice, and mostly the only subject taught in advanced photography classes and workshops. Now black and white photography is for me an “a posteriori” process, more a revisitation of the past than a shooting choice. All images in this book are digital photographs taken in the last twenty years, all started in color and only later became black and white.



A revisitation then, a return to my roots in photography – to the scent of chemicals of my old darkroom – when I had to make that decision (color or black and white?) in advance. You had to have the finished product in mind before shooting, decide which film to put in your camera, view the final image before creating it.

Pre-visualization is still the golden rule for any kind of photography or film making, but it’s essential in black and white with film negative. Not only that, but the choice of high or low contrast, high or low ISO sensitivity film limited the choice to specific scenes or subjects.

Black and white removes any distraction of color and focus on other aspects of the image, such as textures, shapes, and patterns, light and shadow, and composition more than the subject itself. Black and white often makes us look at the shot a little longer. With color you usually catch the impact faster. Compared with a color image, in front of a beautiful landscape, people rarely ask “where is it?”. It is almost as if the photographer plays a more important role in the photograph than the subject itself.



Some of the images in this black and white book are the same found in my color book Uncommon Places. The color versions speak more of the hstory of the building, the place, the unusual appearance. Black and white images are less about the subject and more about the visual impact of the photograph itself.