Winners of the Black and White Photo Awards 2024

What is it about black and white pictures that makes people look better? Is is because black and white hints and pulls you in whereas colour can distract and reflect? LensCulture magazine celebrates black and white photography with is 2024 Black and White awards.

“The enduring appeal of black and white photography lies in its ability to transcend time, focus on essential elements of an image, and evoke strong emotional responses,” says Lens Culture. “In today’s image-saturated world, black & white stands out from the clutter and is an art form like no other.” This selection is via Mee-Lai Stone, a Picture Editor, Culture for The Guardian newspaper.

 

The winners will be shown in a group exhibition at Photo London in May 2025. For more info click here.

 

“In this series I delve into the blurred lines between reality and illusion through re-photography and digital collage, building on the methods developed in my earlier works Temporary Performers and Artificial Theater. My approach involves collecting a vast array of real-world portraits and materials that I meticulously reassemble to create new, surreal images. Each piece is paired with a fabricated story, akin to news report captions, which amplifies the absurdity and falsehood of the visual”

– Wei Zhang

 

 

 “Drag is the American version of kabuki. Both are performance arts featuring over-the-top costumes, stylised storytelling and actors who blur gender distinctions. Drag queens are art incarnate. But they are typically depicted with glamorous high-key lights, busy backgrounds, and wild poses. These portraits are my attempt to humanise queer and trans people. I hope they encourage a dialogue with those who are more or less naive about how deep this culture’s roots extend”

– Tom Zimberoff

 

Emma lost her twin sister to cancer a few years ago. Emma herself lived with breast cancer and a chronic brain tumour for many years. She ran an Instagram account where she wrote about her tireless fight against the disease that eventually killed her in January 2023 (above)

 

 “A portrait beyond time, beyond gravity and beyond the senses of a portrait! A white on white space with no shadows but just the edges of a human who is trying to escape the creation of any feelings”

– Kaveh Maghsoudi

 

 

“O Último Verão is a film by João Nuno Pinto, my brother. I did the photography on set, shooting everything in black and white to heighten the emotional and graphic allure of each image”

– Isabel Pinto

 

 “Luiza Kons’ photographs are full of personality, intimacy, humour and carefree, tender moments. With a snapshot aesthetic, the work comes across as fresh, casual and real. Kons combines photos that are not bounded by linear storytelling logic, nor are they limited to a specific style of imagery. The group of pictures creates a mood and sensibility that feels intimate, random, impromptu and authentic”

– Jim Casper, editor-in-chief, LensCulture

 

“Two men. A hand on a shoulder. A gesture. I feel the touch. I know what it is like when someone else puts their hand on my shoulder. Everything in this image floats together in shapes and textures that fit so well. This is two wrestlers? I am surprised. Puzzled. How can a touch from a wrestler be that gentle? This is how I would touch my loved one. This is the image that touched me the most, this is the image that started as a knot in my stomach and finally made me shiver’”

– Jacob Aue Sobol, photographer, Magnum Photos

 

 

‘This project explores the concept of beauty in the age of artificial intelligence. In a world increasingly dominated by AI, the definition of beauty risks becoming more standardised, losing its richness and diversity. In my creative process, I use AI to generate images that respond to a specific creative input. Once conceived, these images are printed on paper and placed by me in the physical space of my studio to be captured, together with real models, by my camera lens”

– Norberto Pezzotta

 

“In witnessing myriad trees being shaped to fit the lines of the urban environment, I came to feel empathy for these living forms, the inherent inclination to grow wild, here made to conform to a suburban order of concrete lines and neatness. I also came to observe a personal recognition, a metaphorical depiction, for how we may each allow ourselves to be shaped by the demands of urban living, the ways we are compelled to alter our own needs and compulsions to exist, or to contend with the homogenising forces of labour, efficiency, and utility”

– Drew Waters

 

For more information about the film click here