MPB Meets: Black-and-white Photographer Brandon Thibodeaux

Photographer and educator Brandon Thibodeaux is a seasoned professional at extracting the essence of every scene. The Texas-based photographer creates a signature beauty out of window-light portraits, silhouettes, landscapes and narrative stories, whether on assignment or for his personal work. We spoke with the Brandon about getting to grips with black-and white photography, kit and documenting Texas.

MPB: Thanks so much for talking with us, Brandon. Can you give us a little bit of your background and your photography career up to this point?

Brandon Thibodeaux: I discovered photography in college after spending my high school years battling cancer. I knew I wanted to live, and learn, and explore the world around me but I just didn’t have a voice or means of expression. My roommate that freshman year suggested I take photography for an elective seeing as his uncle taught the class at our hometown university in Beaumont, TX. His uncle come to find out is the fine art photographer Keith Carter and I soon found myself immersed in a world of poetry and alchemy. There was a certain kind of magic to the process of it all — the creative dialogue, the anxiousness of film development, and the wonder of the image revealing itself in the darkroom.

A year or so later I got my first job working part-time for a small daily paper in the neighbouring city, and that’s when the floodgates opened. I could be at a kindergarten classroom at 8 a.m., a homicide by noon, photograph the man with the biggest Santa Claus collection at 4 and wrap up the day with a basketball game at 7:30, all in time to develop and scan film for publication that night.  

It was then that photography began introducing me to all walks of life and allowed me to interpret those experiences in a tangible way. But more than that, I was engaging with the community, and playing a role in something much greater than mere personal exploration. I’d found meaning and purpose, and saw the potential for an actual career. With time the relationship between my curiosities about life and this chosen medium grew stronger and I eventually graduated with a degree in photojournalism and international development from the University of North Texas, in Denton, TX. I interned at the Dallas Morning News and began my freelance career as an editorial and corporate photographer shortly before graduating in 2006. Though my work today comes from national or international publications and companies not much has really changed from those early days in terms of practice, my audience has just grown.

MPB: What themes do you seem to return to consistently in your work over the years?

BT: I think because of my history of illness I consistently return to the things that form and shape us into who we are like faith, family, and a sense of history. Those things that inspire us to continuously persevere against the unknown. That’s what interests me the most, these universal ideas that have stayed constant throughout all of humanity, no matter who you are. Our support structures, our legacies, our lore and myths, the ways in which we interpret our environment, our gods and demons, our sacrifices and strengths. 

MPB: What do you shoot with typically, and what kit do you use for certain occasions?

BT: Nearly all of my personal work is made using a Mamiya C330 with Kodak Tri-X 400 & Portra 160 / 400. For my assignment work I’ve run a range of Nikon DSLR setups since I began freelancing, but I stick with prime lenses, 24mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, and their 80-200 f/2.8 Zoom.

MPB: Tell us about your love for black and white photography. How do you think photographing in this way primarily shapes the impact of your work and emphasises in storytelling?

BT: For me, photography has always been about exactly that, storytelling. And with that in mind, I’ve seen the use of black and white or colour as being merely tools for strengthening the narrative. You have to ask, what’s relevant, what’s most important, the literal scene or the message. Both can certainly be utilised for creating a certain mood or tone but I think I’ve gravitated toward black and white because it allows the possibility of constructing an alternative visual landscape free from the stark reality of things. It leaves room for ambiguity, something beyond the seemingly straightforward documentary approach.

I deal in unadulterated visual finites every day in my photojournalism commissions. For example, by rule, you never tinker with, or direct the scene, you just photograph it as it presents itself. So, in some instances the viewer’s connection to an emotional moment, or the nuance of a quiet scene, can be obstructed by the main subject wearing a certain colour that contrasts against their environment — or vice versa, it may very well strengthen its impact — but I’m always at the mercy of what’s presented to me.

I can’t say, “Hey, I’m sorry, but in this most vulnerable moment can you change into a shirt that better suits the colour palette of your living room?” Or, “Before you do that, can you turn out these incandescent lights because it’s really a pain to pull the orange out of your skin tones afterward.”  I hold that same working methodology in my personal work. I don’t direct or tinker beyond portraiture, so I tend to alleviate that issue by using black and white, where I can discard the often-inconsequential elements like shirt colour, and instead use the quality of light and selective toning to guide the viewer toward the human emotion that’s most relevant in propelling the narrative. 

For instance, if you’re photographing a forest, you don’t need to know the leaves are red to show that the wind is blowing, but if the story is about seasonal change, then colour is invaluable in denoting autumn’s arrival. It’s all about the end goal and context.

MPB: How did you enjoy using digital kit lent from MPB? What was different from your usual set-up?

BT: I used the Fujifilm X-T4 with their 50mm f/1.0 R WR lens. I enjoyed the compactness of the camera itself, obviously that particular lens was larger than the camera but otherwise the system was quick and agile. The functionality was really intuitive, even for a Nikon shooter, and the lens was tack sharp. I really enjoyed playing around with the camera’s film presets. I haven’t made the leap to mirror-less bodies just yet so I was excited to take one of Fujifilm’s line out for a spin.

(Read our Fujifilm X-T4 review to learn more about the gear Brandon uses.)

MPB: You deal with really beautiful aspects of the south and Texas: the vastness, the warmth of the sun, the wilderness, the history. What about these aspects draws you in artistically, and what do you hope the takeaways are?

BT: A landscape’s value is no more and no less than the sum of our works and experiences upon it. Otherwise land is merely land. It simply exists, and will exist long beyond us.  It is neither good nor evil, but our interaction with it is what infers a certain meaning and makes a swampland spooky. Does a place have spirit if you or I weren’t there to interpret it?

In the stories I tell it is rarely ever treated as just some innate actor. It not only sets the stage but a place can be both victorious heroine and malicious villain, invoking dread at one point while consoling us with warm relief and vindication at the next. In terms of narrative structure, elements like seasonal changes can be utilised to suggest the passage of time, while a detail image might strengthen or support an adjacent portrait, invoking something greater than either would alone.

In terms of history we’re speaking about a context, a framework, something prescribed, from which we’re building audience perspective — a paradigm of thinking. Without that, one might see a fertile field of cotton as being a benevolent source of sustainability, warmth, clothing, economics, while another more informed viewer would see a complex narrative defined by abject horror and enslavement. I think when one weaves tales of the South in particular they must be vigilante against over-romanticising a landscape so inextricably linked to a story that’s not so much dictated by the land itself, but by the scars men have carved upon it.

MPB: When shooting black and white photography, what do you think is a must to keep in mind? How does it make you treat light and composition?

BT: Frankly, for me, those are the two most important things to keep in mind. When photographing black and white you’ve excommunicated yourself from the excesses of colour. There’s no sultry reds or whimsical hues of blue to excite or soothe the viewer. It’s down to contours, shape and shadow. 

MPB: Do you think it’s true that black and white shows the true essence of a scene, and that all photographers should first master photography without colour?

BT: I’m not sure that it has the capacity to show the true essence of a scene any more than colour does but it definitely helped me recognise light quality and once that foundation was built I became more comfortable dealing with the complexity of colour.

MPB: What are some tips for photographers starting out that want to work more in black and white?

BT: I’m bombarded by gorgeous black-and-white work on Instagram every day. It’s honestly quite overwhelming. The world doesn’t need another photographer but what it can always stand to have is someone with something to say through photography.

No matter what or how you photograph, I’m a firm believer that the most impactful works are those that have stirred us the most in making them. Passion inspires passion. So, in a world now more saturated with imagery than ever its imperative that you find something that speaks to you and relay it with the utmost conviction. What made a Gordon Parks or Robert Frank wasn’t just their proficiency in the craft but the stories they were uniquely positioned to tell at a specific moment in time. 

MPB: What are essential elements of choosing camera kit for black-and-white photography?

BT: It’s been so long since I shopped for a new kit, but the main thing for me is functionality. I’m not a gear guru. I tend to see cameras as being akin to tools in a tool belt. Each has its own purpose and advantage. My twin lens is heavy, slow to focus, and its square format has helped me to be more intentional in my compositions, (the cost of film compounds that intentionality as well), and coincidently lead me to making more portraiture.

I tend to shoot faster and more intuitively with my 35 DSLR and that works better in certain settings. While, one body of work I produced at night in which I followed raccoon hunters and their dogs through the woods of various Southern forests was shot using a Holga with a ring flash and 3200 Ilford. It was lightweight and versatile for running through Briars and heavily wooded areas, and the combination of camera, light and film created a fast vignette that fell straight to black mimicking the hunter’s helmet lights.

MPB: How do you deal with deep shadows and ultra highlights?

BT: I rarely use artificial lighting unless absolutely necessary on assignment so I’m generally at the mercy of those deep shadows and ultra highlights. Sometimes I might incorporate the use of a reflector for fill. I prefer to look for naturally subdued light, wait until early morning or late evening for direct light, or use the high contrast of a backlit scene to my advantage. In this respect it’s much like a puzzle that I’m physically moving the camera or the subject to solve.

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