A Life In Black and White
I’ve been making photographs for a long time now, close to fifty years, and only recently did I realize something that probably should’ve been obvious all along.
One of my truest loves has always been black-and-white photography.
As a kid, I spent hours flipping through Life, Look, and National Geographic magazines. Color existed back then, sure, but it was expensive, inconsistent, and often felt beside-the-point. Black and white told the truth. It stripped everything down to its essence.
That feeling never really left me.
Over the years, my professional work moved toward color: nature photography, landscapes, images designed to live in healthcare environments and public spaces. I love that work deeply. But somewhere along the way, black and white started quietly tapping me on the shoulder again.
About a year ago, a dear friend and photography brother nudged me in that direction.
“Why don’t you just take a dedicated black-and-white camera?” he said.
Then, lightening struck and opened my formatted mind into a binary reality…again.
I stopped thinking about clients.
I stopped thinking about monetization.
I stopped thinking about audience.
I just started looking again.
I began experimenting with a 65:24 panoramic format, and suddenly my brain had to relearn how to see. The proportions felt strange at first… and then exhilarating. Architecture, urban spaces, shadows, repetition, quiet geometry. Even the occasional flock of birds perched at the top of a tree, clearly up to something.
This work became a reset.
A refresh.
A refocus.
I travel constantly for my nature photography work, and now my black-and-white camera goes everywhere with me. If I see something that feels right, something that wants to exist without color, I make the photograph. No agenda. No pressure.
The great photographer Garry Winogrand was once asked why he took pictures. His answer has always stayed with me:
“I want to see what things look like photographed.”
That’s it. That’s the whole thing.
This Kurt Johnson Fine Art Photography project grew directly out of that idea. These first ten images are the ones that resonate most deeply with me right now. They’re the beginning of an ongoing exploration, black-and-white fine art photography, panoramic in form, shaped by my curiosity and joy.
Some of these photographs will be offered as limited-edition fine art prints, others as open-edition prints. All of them come from the same place: the simple pleasure of seeing something familiar in a completely new way.
Will everyone connect with them? Maybe not, and that’s okay.
What matters is that this work has re-energized me. It’s given me new legs, new questions, and new ways of thinking. And the beautiful thing is that it feeds everything else I do. Black and white makes my color work better. Nature photography makes my urban work sharper. One helps the other.
So this space, this Substack, is where I’ll share the work, the thinking behind it, and the ongoing journey. If you’re someone who loves fine art photography, black-and-white landscapes, urban and architectural imagery, or simply enjoys seeing the world a little differently, I’d love for you to stay awhile.
New work is coming.
Thanks for being here,
Kurt
