Fine Art Black and White Photographer Cole Thompson
I recently came across Cole Thompson’s work after reading about him the latest issue of Fotoblur magazine (Get the latest edition here). I immediately fell in love with his work and contacted him to ask about using one of his images in a post and he graciously said “yes”. I want to thank Cole for letting me use one of his images here and I highly encourage you to check our his portfolios of incredible black and white images. While you’re checking out his site, be sure to take a look at Cole’s resume - it’s quite impressive to say the least.
The image you see above is from his Harbinger series and was the first image of Cole’s that I saw which caught my attention and made me look into more of his photographs. I absolutely love the look and feel of this image (among others) because of its simplicity, composition, tone and its velvety feel. I’m not sure how Cole gets his blacks to look so rich and full of texture while maintaining the glow and brightness of his whites. I’d love to be able to see his prints with my own eyes.
Part of the reason I look for and write about other photographers is because it allows me to hone my vision and explore my favorite aspects of photography. On the other hand, Cole recently wrote in his blog about his somewhat odd practice of not studying the work of other photographers as a way to refine his own vision. After looking at his images, like The Ghost of Auschwitz and The Lone Man, I’d say his approach has worked out well for him.
Cole brings up some very good points in his article; studying the work of others can being to limit the way you see the world and not allow you to see and share the world in your own unique way. I’ve never formally studied the work of other photographers and I’d like to think that this blog is about as close to formal education as I’m going to get.
I will continue to find and highlight photographers who’s work I find interesting and, like Cole, I’ll try not to get too involved in another photographer’s work where I begin to loose my own vision. If anything, I’ll use the work I find as inspiration to pick up the camera and go take some pictures!
I’d like to thank Cole again for his permission to use an image and be sure to check out his blog and say “Hi”.
