Welcome!
Welcome to Black and White Bristol - a website of images of Bristol and the west of England in black and white. However, over the years it's expanded to cover the UK and beyond.
I am a Bristol-based artist working mainly with infrared & black and white photographic imaging but also painting in watercolours and acrylics. I'm also exploring opportunities to use digital art techniques in colour, although these sometimes beginning with a black & white photograph. Whilst the title 'Black and White Bristol' gives a clear indication of the original website theme, there are also images from further afield as well as a sprinkling of colour images. My artwork is all about vibrant colours but still an interpretation of the world around us and not replication.
It's often true in life that less is more - for my photography this is all about trying to learn how to take fewer, better quality, photos. It is continuing to prove to be a challenging process for me but hopefully it means anyone viewing these images will have a less painful time – how thoughtful of me. Less is more (also called negative space) is also a lesson I often try to follow in my images - stripping the image down to the basic structure.
There is a bit more info on the 'About' page.
Thanks for visiting! Any comments are most welcome.
Rob
Latest News:
January 2024: At last, the long overdue website makeover. Hundreds of new images from the past eight years and a clearout of older images. A lot can change in eight years! There's more uploads coming in the following months now I've cleared the creative blockage and reminded myself how to edit the website.
October 2021: Back in business! after about three years of neglect caused by work, family and life in general, I'm breathing life back into the tired old website. More to follow soon, with a major overhaul of the images...
October 2018: Nearly three years have passed and, for various reasons, photography has taken a back seat in family life. I've still been taking photos and doing a little bit of painting and digital art, but this Autumn I'm going to have a big push on getting some updated images on the website and getting creative again!
November 2015: Very little time for photography this year but now the home extension is nearly complete I can dust off the camera again and get working. Uplifting news this weekend as five images got nominated in the 10th Black and White Spider Awards (probably the most prestigious international black and white photography competition - but don't quote me on that!) and one was a finalist in the Architecture category. I've posted them in the Latest Work section but not all are very recent!
October 2015: An infrared image I took of Bodiam Castle a few years ago was a finalist in the Epson International Panoramic Photography Awards this month, which was great news. I've also been asked back to the University of Bristol Photography Society to present - I had better come up with something new this year! Looking forward to coming up with a few fresh ideas...
September 2015: After most of the year being consumed by work commitments and a large extension project taking over our home, I have been reinvigorated by a charming Norwegian customer buying a print of one of my favourite Bristol images. Thank you! I feel re-energised, not only to take more photographs, but to update this website given how it contains so few recent images. I am also keen to progress my Simplicity, Space and Subtlety project.
February 2015: Finalist again in International Garden Photographer of the Year! An image from The Alnwick Garden in Northumberland last Autumn won second place in Beautiful Gardens. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to the private view at Kew Gardens but seeing it in The Times and being interviewed by The Daily Telegraph made up for it!
December 2014: The presentation to the UoB PhotoSoc was a really enjoyable experience for me. I just hope the audience enjoyed it as well! About 45 friendly and welcoming members of PhotoSoc asked some really interesting questions and I hope I was able to explain the basics of infrared photography reasonably clearly for those that were new to it. A really busy year with talks, a one-to-one workshop, competition action, large and small commissions as well as an invitation to submit a portfolio to a prestigious New York gallery. But I'm still enjoying the day job as well!
November 2014: A really interesting invitation from the University of Bristol Photosoc to come in and give a talk on black and white photography - I've decided to expand the theme and talk about infrared photography and photography as an art form. I've been enjoying preparing the presentation and so I hope it is interesting for the audience! Also just got shortlisted again for International Garden Photographer of the Year, which is really heartening, even if I don't get any further. Moonlighting as a colour garden photographer, tut tut...
July 2014: I've been lost in a self-imposed project for the past nine months, working on the themes of Simplicity, Space and Subtlety and trying to understand how I can manage to rein in my natural urge for drama. Not for nothing does my family call me a drama queen. It's been a challenge but I'm starting to come out the other side. Much of the existing website is starting to be overhauled but it's another challenge to find the time to do the replacement. It's lots of fun doing entirely my own thing, though. This is very much a response to a challenge set by my mother last year and it could be a while before it is properly finished. I'm also having a number of serious technical issues caused by the combination of digital infrared, wideangle lenses and neutral density filters...but I won't bore you with that now.
I am a Bristol-based artist working mainly with infrared & black and white photographic imaging but also painting in watercolours and acrylics. I'm also exploring opportunities to use digital art techniques in colour, although these sometimes beginning with a black & white photograph. Whilst the title 'Black and White Bristol' gives a clear indication of the original website theme, there are also images from further afield as well as a sprinkling of colour images. My artwork is all about vibrant colours but still an interpretation of the world around us and not replication.
It's often true in life that less is more - for my photography this is all about trying to learn how to take fewer, better quality, photos. It is continuing to prove to be a challenging process for me but hopefully it means anyone viewing these images will have a less painful time – how thoughtful of me. Less is more (also called negative space) is also a lesson I often try to follow in my images - stripping the image down to the basic structure.
There is a bit more info on the 'About' page.
Thanks for visiting! Any comments are most welcome.
Rob
Latest News:
January 2024: At last, the long overdue website makeover. Hundreds of new images from the past eight years and a clearout of older images. A lot can change in eight years! There's more uploads coming in the following months now I've cleared the creative blockage and reminded myself how to edit the website.
October 2021: Back in business! after about three years of neglect caused by work, family and life in general, I'm breathing life back into the tired old website. More to follow soon, with a major overhaul of the images...
October 2018: Nearly three years have passed and, for various reasons, photography has taken a back seat in family life. I've still been taking photos and doing a little bit of painting and digital art, but this Autumn I'm going to have a big push on getting some updated images on the website and getting creative again!
November 2015: Very little time for photography this year but now the home extension is nearly complete I can dust off the camera again and get working. Uplifting news this weekend as five images got nominated in the 10th Black and White Spider Awards (probably the most prestigious international black and white photography competition - but don't quote me on that!) and one was a finalist in the Architecture category. I've posted them in the Latest Work section but not all are very recent!
October 2015: An infrared image I took of Bodiam Castle a few years ago was a finalist in the Epson International Panoramic Photography Awards this month, which was great news. I've also been asked back to the University of Bristol Photography Society to present - I had better come up with something new this year! Looking forward to coming up with a few fresh ideas...
September 2015: After most of the year being consumed by work commitments and a large extension project taking over our home, I have been reinvigorated by a charming Norwegian customer buying a print of one of my favourite Bristol images. Thank you! I feel re-energised, not only to take more photographs, but to update this website given how it contains so few recent images. I am also keen to progress my Simplicity, Space and Subtlety project.
February 2015: Finalist again in International Garden Photographer of the Year! An image from The Alnwick Garden in Northumberland last Autumn won second place in Beautiful Gardens. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to the private view at Kew Gardens but seeing it in The Times and being interviewed by The Daily Telegraph made up for it!
December 2014: The presentation to the UoB PhotoSoc was a really enjoyable experience for me. I just hope the audience enjoyed it as well! About 45 friendly and welcoming members of PhotoSoc asked some really interesting questions and I hope I was able to explain the basics of infrared photography reasonably clearly for those that were new to it. A really busy year with talks, a one-to-one workshop, competition action, large and small commissions as well as an invitation to submit a portfolio to a prestigious New York gallery. But I'm still enjoying the day job as well!
November 2014: A really interesting invitation from the University of Bristol Photosoc to come in and give a talk on black and white photography - I've decided to expand the theme and talk about infrared photography and photography as an art form. I've been enjoying preparing the presentation and so I hope it is interesting for the audience! Also just got shortlisted again for International Garden Photographer of the Year, which is really heartening, even if I don't get any further. Moonlighting as a colour garden photographer, tut tut...
July 2014: I've been lost in a self-imposed project for the past nine months, working on the themes of Simplicity, Space and Subtlety and trying to understand how I can manage to rein in my natural urge for drama. Not for nothing does my family call me a drama queen. It's been a challenge but I'm starting to come out the other side. Much of the existing website is starting to be overhauled but it's another challenge to find the time to do the replacement. It's lots of fun doing entirely my own thing, though. This is very much a response to a challenge set by my mother last year and it could be a while before it is properly finished. I'm also having a number of serious technical issues caused by the combination of digital infrared, wideangle lenses and neutral density filters...but I won't bore you with that now.