Not Everything Is Black & White… Except These Photography Documentaries

Photography is an art form that offers a wide range of POVs and techniques, from documentary to lifestyle, editorial, and artistic, which tends to be more personal and its storytelling, messaging and imagery chosen by the photographer, who ultimately has control over what ends up being shown in the final frame. The narrative from pictorial works is a very personal one, also depending on the photographer whose work you choose to focus on.

"Talking about the history of black and white photography is talking about the history of photography itself"

Talking about the history of black & white photography is talking about the history of photography itself, as photographers captured the world in monochrome way before way before vivid chromaticity came around. “Black and white are the colors of photography. To me, they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected.” – Robert Frank.

In 1826, French scientist Joseph Nicéphore exposed a bitumen-coated plate in a camera obscura for several hours and captured an image that would have seismic permutations, it was titled View from the Window at Le Gras, it is believed to be the first photograph ever captured, and the rest is history. Even in today’s modern world, the subtle tones of black and white continue to inspire us. As Ted Grant said: “when you photograph someone in color, you’re photographing their clothes; when you photograph them in black and white, you’re photographing their soul”.

A good starting point for those eager to learn more about this particular branch of photography, is looking up the following documentaries hand-picked by the Lorem Ipsum team – in no particular order of preference, that is:

‘What Remains: The life and work of Sally Mann’ (2005)

Directed and produced by Steven Cantor, the film documents the photography and story of photographer Sally Mann at her Virginia farm home. In this documentary, we can see the photographer’s progression from a child to a mother, and the struggles Mann faces through her public and private life.

‘The Salt of the Earth’ (2014)

A documentary that celebrates the work of the Brazilian photojournalist Sebastião Salgado, examining both the inhumanity of human beings and the possibility of redemption. The film follows 40 years of Salgado’s work from South America, to Africa, Europe, the Arctic, and back home to Brazil focusing on international conflicts, starvation and exodus, and natural landscapes in decline.

‘Finding Vivian Maier’ (2013)

This intriguing documentary shuttles from New York to France to Chicago as it traces the life story of the late Vivian Maier, a career nanny whose previously unknown cache of 100,000 photographs has earned her a posthumous reputation as one of America’s most accomplished and insightful street photographers.

‘Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Impassioned Eye’ (2003)

As he reviews his portfolio of iconic images and notable figures, the notoriously press-shy Cartier-Bresson offers insights into his legendary career, which covered everything from Gandhi’s funeral to the fall of China. Interviews with historians and colleagues explore the powerful impact of his globetrotting work.