I get asked a lot which of my Sydney shots I'd actually hang on my own wall. Colour photography is what most people expect from me, the ocean's a big part of what I do, but strip the colour out of a Sydney shot and something else happens. The Harbour Bridge stops being a postcard and starts being steel and shadow. The Opera House becomes pure shape. So today I'm picking my top 5 black and white Sydney prints, the ones I think earn their place on a wall without a single colour to lean on.
Number 5, Lavender Bay
Everyone shoots the Bridge and the Opera House from the obvious angles. Lavender Bay is the quieter side of the harbour, and I think that's exactly why it works in black and white. Without colour pulling your eye to the water, you notice the quiet instead, boats at rest, the shoreline, a slower kind of Sydney. Shop the print.
Number 4, Sydney Opera House Shells
This one's tighter than most Opera House shots you'll see, right in on the shells and the tiling. In colour it's white on blue sky, straightforward. In black and white the texture does the work instead, every curve and seam of the roof stands out. It's the one I'd pick if you already own an Opera House print and want a second piece that doesn't repeat itself. Shop the print.
Number 3, Sydney Harbour Aerial
Shot from the air, this pulls back far enough to show the Bridge, the Opera House and the harbour itself all in one frame. It's the print I'd choose for a bigger wall or a room that needs one statement piece rather than several smaller ones. Shop the print.
Number 2, Bondi Beach Wave Form
Not every Sydney print needs to be the Bridge or the Opera House. This one's Bondi from above, the wave lines and the sandbanks doing the work you'd normally get from colour. It's proof that Sydney's coastline holds up just as well in black and white as the city skyline does. Shop the print.
My favourite Sydney black and white print
This is the one. Both icons in a single frame, the Bridge and the Opera House together, stripped back to just shape and light. If someone asked me for one Sydney print and only one, this is what I'd hand them. Shop the print.
Sydney's a city that's usually sold to you in blue and gold, harbour water and sandstone. Strip that away and what's left is the shape of the place, the Bridge's steel, the Opera House's curves, the line of a wave at Bondi. That's what pulled me toward black and white for this list.
If you want to see the full range, browse the Black & White collection or every Sydney print I've got in the All Sydney collection.
