Ladakh is perched in the northern most part of India, on the Tibetan Plateau. Its altitudes range from 9,000 ft. to well over 21,000 ft. A region of India’s Jammu and Kashmir State, it remains a stronghold of Tibetan Buddhist culture on the politically sensitive boarder of Chinese ruled Tibet.
Ladakh’s “Moon Land” landscape holds many subtle tones and values, predominantly in shades of grey. It is a high altitude mountainous desert filled with sand, rock, and snow. The people of Ladakh, primarily subsistence farmers, dot the landscape nestled into deep valleys bringing color and texture to this often-desolate landscape.
This is my second Photographic exploration of Ladakh. The austere beauty and mountain light of Ladakh inspired me to stretch my creative comfort zone and photograph with a “black and white eye”. My profession as a commercial photographer requires an almost exclusive use of color. This recent work reflects a blending of my commercial color photography skills with my roots in traditional b&w photography through modern photographic technology.
All of the images in this collection are captured using 35mm color transparency (slide) film, scanned, converted to black and white in Photoshop, and printed on photo inkjet paper. As I composed these images, I essentially forgot I was using color film, and pre-visualized my images in shades of grey. Digital conversion of color images to grey scale using color channels allows far greater tonal control than black and white films ever had. This control extends into the digital printing process for which a new generation of papers exists. Far greater tonal reproduction is achievable with ink than was ever possible with silver crystal traditional photographic papers.
Technology has transformed photography, and technology is transforming Ladakh. The culture of Ladakh is changing. The landscape, now cut with paved roads and power lines is changing as well. As I incorporate new technology into my photographic process, I try not to loose site of my roots, but rather grow them into something greater. It is my hope Ladakh will do the same. |
