EDITORS’ PICK
Life Between Light and Shadow
BLACK & WHITE
BLACK & WHITE EDITORS’ PICK
Following Marcin Ryczek’s selection of winning images for our recent Black & White competition, this compilation of 20 images represents some of the other talented photographers whose work struck us and left a mark. Each a stunning image worthy of exposure and attention…
When selecting for editor’s picks we’re always searching for those striking photographs that make for an unforgettable single image, whether from a broader series or not. We enjoy the accompanying text some photographers submit with their images, and while not always necessary it can be relevant when understanding the work in full context.
These are intended to be a conversation starter… so feel free to join the discussion on our social networks.
BANNER IMAGE: CAELEB BICKERT
As Ansel Adams put it, “Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretive.” This monochrome landscape fuels our emotions and leaves room for inner thought and dreams. One may revisit a dear memory, whilst another may glimpse at a much-wanted future. The minimalist composition and the natural focal point created by both shape and highlights advocate for simplicity and authenticity. Nature is beautiful as it is. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – I also always try to look for scenes that have a dreamlike quality. Something that you’d see or read in a fantasy story. This is one of my favorite images that fits that description.
AGATA SZYMANOWICZ
That’s a picture you can’t stop looking at and telling people about. Well done for capturing such a genuine moment, filled with love and complicity, in such an appealing manner. The frame is clean; the composition is straightforward. The space is very well used, even if it isn’t the most comfortable scenery for the photographer, but it needed to be stripped of everything unessential to the story to put the connection between the two characters in focus. – LIFE FRAMER
ESPERANZA VELMOCK
It may be a candid shot or an imaginary scene, but the composition is so well made that one can’t tell the difference. Technically, there are a couple of courageous decisions here. A bright foreground that takes up half of the frame is one of them, but it works because it emphasizes the main focal point. Mixing a silhouette with a detailed background is another one, but again, it works because it adds to the fairytale-like aspect of the photo. Well done for playing with the rules! – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Everything except my imaginary world.
PIOTR POWIETRZYNSKI
This photograph is a mix of old and new, of traditional and modern, and the glue that keeps everything together is the black and white aesthetic. Without it, the composition would fall apart. Light and space are beautifully used to create a strong focal point and guide the viewer’s attention throughout the frame. A reinterpretation of a classic portrait, the photograph shows the multivalence of photography as a storytelling art. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Girls with Bows.
MOJGAN ARASHVAND
The black and white aesthetic enables the photographer to rely on less commonly used visual elements to convey meaning. This photograph lets texture do the heavy lifting of conveying decay and abandonment. Texture is the one showing us nature slowly reclaiming the territory. Texture is what lets us feel the invasive character of what was once an industrial site. Texture is what brings man and nature together, and that’s a powerful statement to make with a single visual element. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – An abandoned gold mine in the Colorado mountains, weathered by time and reclaimed by the land.
MAHESH BALASUBRAMANIAN
What an unusual perspective! This photograph proves that the photographer can create an interesting composition and emphasize a rather mundane subject by choosing an ambitious shooting angle. It’s challenging, but just look at the result. The image is engaging, dynamic, and well-balanced. Each of its visual cues stands out and makes its point. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Ganges, India.
KONSTANTĪNS MIHAILOVS
Based on an abstract concept, this fine-art photograph showcases the photographer’s storytelling abilities. Nothing is left to chance; each visual element is thoroughly curated. Proportions, textures, contrast, highlights, and shadows play a crucial role in delivering the message. It’s clear that the photographer engaged with the subject matter and put a lot of thought into creating this image. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Box. Inventions are double-edged swords. Before thinking outside the box, maybe worth reading what’s on it.
PATTI LAMM
Surreal and graphic, this photograph is exquisitely put together, showcasing a unique style and a strong artistic voice. The bright lines add movement and make the image look transitory. The viewer expects it to disappear at any moment, just like we pass from one emotion to another, from one moment of our lives to the next one. To choose a static form of art to highlight that everything is in motion is a very ambitious goal. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – The Passenger. Shadows and light cast mystery over a woman’s face as she was caught in a candid moment.
FRANCESCO TORRICELLI
A powerful portrait, this black and white photograph reveals the complicated mechanism of the human mind. On the stage, actors show us who we are and who we could be. But behind the curtains, they go back and forth between self and character in an exhausting creative process. Excellent use of light and space, wise compositional choices, and a very powerful double focal point that emphasizes the parallel between actor and role. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Five Minutes Before captures the most fragile and intense moment in theatre — the one that comes just before the debut. Actors in waiting, on stage, five minutes before the curtain rises: the instant before transformation, when they prepare to leave themselves behind and become someone else. Time holds its breath, and everything becomes possible.
EUGENE RESHETOV
The image is an artful representation of the Golden Rule, and the black and white approach suits it perfectly. The viewer can witness all the layers, patterns, and details in an intoxicating experience. By placing a human subject within the frame, the photographer brings the image to life, giving it a soul, a story. It becomes more than a geometrical concept, which intrigues the viewer even more. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Shapes and Shadows.
ANDY BOSSELMAN
How artistic the silhouettes are in black and white! This picture captures all the iconic details of the cowboy world and communicates a story with fewer elements than one would imagine possible. It shows how deeply we rely on symbols and how a shape can be a focal point, background story, and compositional glue. The unusual shooting angle, all skewed and distorted, contributes to the photo’s appeal. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Cowboys, horses, and power lines are visible in silhouette outside of the rodeo arena during the 39th Annual Chili Cookoff and Roundup in Chugwater, Wyoming, US.
JUAN PORTILLA
This image may seem like a simple nature shot, but it is not. Any photograph is a conversation between the photographer and the subject, and this one is particularly familiar. It is inviting and touching, the kind of welcoming atmosphere one associates with being at home. Nature has this effect on us: to make us feel at home. Light guides the eye towards the main focal point, allowing a few sparse thoughts to wander in the background. It’s a visual meditation that brings you back to yourself. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Night 3 from the series The Tree, a long-term photographic dialogue that began in 2009, when I first encountered a lonely tree in the mountains of Huasca de Ocampo, Hidalgo, Mexico. Over the years, this tree has become both my subject and my mirror–a companion through time, solitude, and transformation.
Through techniques such as double exposure, artificial lighting, and long exposure, I construct images that merge reality and imagination. The resulting black and white photographs are not mere landscapes, but reflections of an inner landscape–where the boundaries between self and nature dissolve. By returning to the same tree again and again, I have learned to observe change as a quiet form of revelation. Each image captures a subtle shift: in the bark, in the light, in myself. This project is, ultimately, a meditation on time and presence–an ongoing conversation between the visible and the invisible, between the act of seeing and the act of becoming.
EMILY M WILSON
It’s impressive how natural shapes are used to create a rather abstract composition, how the natural white of the horses becomes an artistic choice, how an ear and an eye can catch your attention so intensely. The secret is getting close, engaging with the subject, and treating them with love and respect. This photograph couldn’t have been so good if it weren’t for the photographer’s dedication and commitment. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – A herd of Camargue Horses in the marshes near Sainte-Maries-de-la-Mer, France.
GEET SHARMA
Using light with masterful precision, the photographer leverages the benefits of black and white photography. The scene is infused with contrast, always a good ingredient for drama, and guides the viewer from one element to another. Questions pile up. This is an epic story we only see a chapter of. Making the viewer want to know more about the subject and its context is an art few photographers possess. – LIFE FRAMER
MAX MASTERS
Perfect lighting, perfect angle, perfect composition. This image simply doesn’t need color to be impactful, memorable, and fascinating. The viewer can hardly look away. But it’s not just the extreme body position of the one who jumps that makes a powerful impression. It’s also the facial expression of the one who observes, the no diving sign everyone seems to ignore, and the amazing glow of the bodies that makes a strong argument in favor of youth. Very inspired pick of the decisive moment. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – The Redeemed, July 2025. Taken in Cascais Portugal, it turns out warning signs are optional! I saw this boy do a backflip walking up towards the seafront and prayed he would attempt another one, my prayers were answered and this action shot feels almost biblical. The light was perfect and I spent a good half an hour waiting for this frame.
HAOCHEN HE
The black and white aesthetic creates endless opportunities for playing with proportions, contrasts, and concepts. In this image, the photographer transformed an airplane into a story about leaving, the things that stay behind, moving upwards, achieving, or whatever the viewer imagines it to be about. Instead of describing a scene, the photographer pitches an unfinished story and invites us to write the grand finale. That’s true storytelling. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Square Exit. A jet’s whisper etched in sky — direction without detail, distance without end. What remains is not the plane, but the trace of leaving.
DRIES THEUWISSEN
By getting very close to the subjects, the photographer intensifies the emotions and puts facial expressions and attitudes above all else. In this intimate context, the black and white perspective removes distractions and enriches the narrative with sensorial details. It helps us perceive the pressure of the embrace, hence the intensity of the feeling, and the white hairs and wrinkles, hence the longevity of the relationship. The photographer uses all artistic means to convey a multisensorial, moving experience. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – From my series “Faces of Tibet / 33 Years.
LEX BOUMAN
It never ceases to amaze how well the black and white aesthetic suits nature photography. The egret’s bright white feathers stand out incredibly well in this high-contrast, minimalist composition. The bird seems to have all the space and time it needs to exhibit its elegant posture and delight the viewer with its gracious appearance. Hooked by the stillness and quietness of the frame, the viewer loses the notion of time. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – The peace and tranquility of the egret in a chaotic environment of grasses and branches, captured in a stroke of light.
LARS ÖBERG
A powerful portrait in which light and shadow are used to tell the character’s story. There is so much humanity in this photograph, so much love. As a result, it doesn’t need a complicated composition or vibrant colors to make an impact. It just fills the frame with what’s important and meaningful, revealing crisp lines and details. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Stefan, from the joint project Us and Them – What We See, where six of us collaborated showing our world. Five blind persons photographed their daily life, and I portrayed them.
VILMA PAULIKAITĖ
The overwhelming contrast leaves a powerful impression and unleashes a broad range of emotions. In this case, the purpose of photography is to raise questions, to make the viewer seek clues, look closer, and start conversations. The photographer denotes a clear artistic taste and an intentional, purposeful technique that breaks all the rules but still delivers an intriguing and appealing composition. – LIFE FRAMER
