And sometimes shadows speak louder than hues…
To see in colour is a delight for the eyes, to see in black and white is delight for the soul – Ted Grant
The air was still, and the fog had descended low over the water, softening every edge, silencing every sound. The mountains stood like shadows behind the mist, and the shikara drifted slowly, its reflection trembling on the surface. I remember standing there, camera in hand, waiting for something to move — and then, a lone bird took flight across the pale sky. Its dark wings cut through the light like ink on paper. There was no colour, yet nothing felt missing. In that quiet moment, black and white seemed to hold everything — peace, balance and truth. That was the beginning of All The Colours I Couldn’t See.
As the days passed, I saw that I was chasing light rather than birds. I learnt to observe how dawn touched a wing or how the afternoon light cast a shadow across feathers. In colour, the world is giving; in monochrome, it becomes honest. Every photograph in this series captures a moment of honesty in which shape speaks louder than colour and quiet becomes its own symphony. Each picture focused less on the bird and more on the feeling it represented – freedom, isolation, faith or flight.
The choice to see in black and white was based on emotion more than skill. It cleared the pictures of distractions and forced me to look deeper – at the gap between motion and quiet, the interaction between light and air. Sometimes I’d discover a bird sitting alone, as if it were contemplating. Sometimes a rapid rush of wings would fill the frame and for a little moment, everything blended into elegance. Colour seemed unneeded in those few seconds.
Looking back, I see that this collection reflects how we frequently perceive life – pursuing the brightest colours while ignoring the quieter ones. The world without colour isn’t dreary; it’s purified. It challenges you to feel rather than just seeing. Each shot is a whisper, saying, “Look again; there’s more here than meets the eye.”
All The Colours I Couldn’t See is, in fact, a trip from the eye to the spirit – from the pleasure of sight to the depth of emotion. Even flying has depth in monochrome, and the shadows may contain all the hues we were never intended to see.
What colour could not hold, felt truer to me,
What silence spoke, was deeper than I could see,
Black and white became my only guide —
To feel, not just to see, is to be alive.
Musings of a Wanderer 