Architecture in Black and White

This great photo "looking upwards" has the characteristic of being framed almost completely by the sinuous shape of the building. The contrast between the light walls and the dark windows particularly enhances the shapes. The sky is present at the right point, neither invisible nor too showy. Perspective and depth are the strong point of this image. Congratulations on the award, Pascale

The future is now, in this splendid shot that portrays Baku's Heydar Aliyev Center, sublime creation of the architect Zaha Hadid. Black and white, in this case, creates a dark, sunless world, and we imagine that the three characters are going to take a spaceship. The photo is dominated by large sinuous waves, on which the three dark characters stand out. The dark areas between these waves create an excellent contrast.

The spiral is one of the most fascinating geometric shapes. Normally it is found in nature, in architecture in the spiral stairs. In this case the photographer manages, thanks to a perfect shot, to transform the shapes into something similar to an elegant shell. The black and white is masterfully dosed, with a dark background that brings attention to the steps and the parapet, both perfectly outlined by a thin white line, which stands out against the gray. Very good also the management of the shadows, which create an additional play of shapes. Congratulations on this well-deserved prize.

I have always thought of architectural photography as synonymous with the imaginative modern creations of Calatrava and the many other good architects of the last hundred years. For this reason I am always pleasantly impressed by photographs like this, where an elegant old villa is so well immortalized. I think the success of this photograph is given by the great "chromatic" balance that has been able to give it black and white. The light that is reflected against the walls of the building is perfectly balanced, and makes the villa stand out against a sky that manages not to catch the eye's attention.

This excellent photo is centered on an octagonal spiral staircase, which seen from top to bottom creates a strange spiral, composed not of curved but angular shapes. Strengths of the photo are the presence of a person at the center of the spiral, and the play of colors perfectly translated into black and white, which highlights the contrast between the walls of the white staircase and the gray steps, detached from each other by a darker railing with clear inserts. Thanks to this almost hypnotic descending form, I think the photo has an excellent black and white rendering, higher than that of the color photo, where there could be more distracting elements.

I think this is a perfect "low key" photo. The photo can be divided into three areas. The dark exterior, which completely frames the image. The intermediate one, where the building develops, whose floors dimly illuminated by the light of the sky, see the contrast between the light lines and the darker internal areas. And finally the sky, pervaded by a weak light, which makes one think of a gloomy winter afternoon. Really a great job to achieve this wonderful result. Congratulations.