Rivers And Streams In Black and White

This collection of nature photographs is done in an unusual way: they’re mostly black and white done with an infrared camera. Clearly different, this style of picture isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But here along the stream and river banks, I found shooting in infrared to be very unique and beautiful. Nature’s beauty is wonderfully enhanced.

In fact, many of the scenes showing here were tried in color. But surprising to most, there isn’t that much to work with there. Water can be brown with silt or even lackluster. Foliage can be very dark and dull. Believe it or not, some views in a few areas had orange rocks and banks due to pollution from old mine drainage. None of that matters shooting in black and white.

To gather these pictures, I made a project out of going down every little fisherman’s path to the water’s edge wherever I could find one. Every bridge crossing was looked over to find appealing views of liquid nature. I traveled the full length of several nearby streams and rivers. Some run many miles.

Not every stop was a scenic one worthy of shooting. Actually, most of the stops weren’t all that photogenic and rather plain. Nevertheless, it was always great to be there close to the water and trees.

The time I focused on this project was one of partial drought and very low water in the streams and rivers. That was a definite advantage: more rocks were showing in the low water stream beds. Thankfully, they were always an important part of the compositions.

So were the tree trunks that show up so darkly in the white foliage of the trees when shooting in infrared. Their shapes and lines weaving through the leaves were also very much part of the composition. As always, trees overhanging the water can be very scenic.

Most of the time on the river banks, I was shooting in shade with sunlight coming into the scenes in patches. Going against the grain again, that approach isn’t often done in infrared photography. The way those patches of stronger light and brighter whites played into a scene was also a factor in making the compositions.

I hope you enjoy this collection, an unusual but enhanced look at riverside beauty here in the woodlands. Prints are available with free shipping to the US and Canada. ~Andy