Beyond Color: Exploring Hocking Hills with a Black and White Mindset
Why Hocking Hills in Black and White
Every time I hike into Hocking Hills with a camera, I’m reminded how much this place thrives on subtlety. It’s not just the waterfalls — though Upper Falls and Cedar Falls are always stunning — it’s the quiet textures: wet stone, layered bark, filtered light through hemlocks. And when I shoot in black and white, those subtleties come alive.
Quiet forest reflection along the trail to Cedar Falls, Hocking Hills.
Color can be beautiful, no doubt. But in a place like this, it can also get in the way. Monochrome forces me to slow down and look differently — to think in terms of contrast, shape, and emotion. It’s about how the mist softens a forest path, or how a long exposure turns rushing water into silk. It’s about seeing the bones of the landscape.
In this post, I’ll walk through how I approach black and white photography in Hocking Hills. I’ll share techniques I use in the field, how I decide between film and digital, and what kinds of scenes lend themselves to monochrome treatment. Whether you’re shooting with a large-format camera or your phone, I hope this gives you something useful — or at least encourages you to see this place with fresh eyes.
Visual Opportunities in Hocking Hills
Hocking Hills is full of visual gifts — you just have to slow down enough to notice them. When I’m shooting in black and white, I’m not chasing color or drama. I’m looking for structure, contrast, and mood. And this place delivers.
Waterfalls are a great starting point.
Cedar Falls - soft water meets rugged stone, while exposed roots and quiet shadows anchor the scene in timeless stillness.
Upper Falls, Cedar Falls, and Lower Falls each possess their own unique rhythm and character. When captured in monochrome, the flowing water transforms into a soft, delicate ribbon or a sharp, stark white streak, depending on the length of your exposure. The surrounding rock formations — with their layered sandstone and moss-covered ledges — provide abundant texture and detail to complement the scene. I often choose longer exposures to gently smooth the water’s movement, allowing the intricate shapes and patterns of the rocks to take center stage and tell the story.
A ribbon of water descends through shadow at Ash Cave — framed by backlit trees and sandstone walls, light becomes the subject.
Forest scenes are where things get subtle.
The canopy filters light in beautiful and unpredictable ways, and that’s truly part of the magic of the forest. You’ll often discover fleeting moments where a single shaft of light pierces through the leaves, illuminating a tree trunk or a delicate patch of ferns, and suddenly you have the perfect composition in front of you. Shooting in black and white helps to isolate and emphasize those moments — it becomes less about the color green and more about highlighting what’s glowing with light and shadow.
Intimate landscapes are my favorite challenge.
Layered sandstone and forest textures along Old Man’s Cave Trail, Hocking Hills.
These are the intimate close-up scenes: a delicately curled leaf resting gently on the ground, a smooth wet stone glistening softly in the light, the unique way bark naturally peels and curls on a sycamore tree trunk. They don’t shout for attention, but rather whisper quietly and beautifully in rich, nuanced monochrome. I search carefully for tonal variety and intricate texture — those subtle, often overlooked details that will hold their own and convey a profound sense of depth and character, even without the presence of color.
What’s especially compelling in the image above is how the light works. It doesn’t flood the scene — it grazes it. That soft illumination brings out texture without overpowering it, allowing the viewer to explore the image slowly. The small pool of water at the base adds a reflective pause, a quiet counterpoint to the stone’s weight.
This is the kind of scene that rewards patience. It’s easy to walk past it on the trail, chasing waterfalls or wide vistas. But when you stop and look — really look — you find a composition built on nuance: shape, texture, and mood. That’s the heart of intimate landscape work.
Don’t overlook the atmosphere.
A slender waterfall in Conkles Hollow gorge slips through shadow on a misty morning. Light, texture, and stillness converge in a quiet monochrome moment.
Fog, rain, and overcast skies are truly your friends here. They gently soften the light, minimize distractions, and create a rich, atmospheric mood. Some of my favorite black and white images from Hocking Hills were captured on days when most people chose to leave their cameras safely tucked away in the car.
Fog, rain, and overcast skies are truly your friends here. I captured the image above while a misty light rain was falling. The light of soft and the mood very quiet, save the gentle sound of the ribbon—like water fall splashing aganst the rocks as shallow pool below. The softened light striped away distractions and let the quiet drama of water and stone take center stage. The mist added a sense of mystery, and in black and white, these conditions revealed textures and tonal depth that bright sun would wash away. Some of my favorite images—like this one—were captured on days when most chose to stay dry, missing the gorge at its most evocative.
Best Way to Shoot Hocking in Black and White
Tree roots over sandstone along Old Man’s Cave Trail—strong texture and tonal contrast for black and white study.
Remember, when shooting in black and white, color is not the subject. Black and white is all about tonal contrast. When scouting for black and white landscapes, color becomes irrelevant—but structure, texture, and tonal contrast take center stage. This scene, where tree roots grip and twist over stone, offers a perfect example. The subject isn’t chosen for its hue, but for its expressive form: the tension between organic and geological, the interplay of light across rough surfaces, and the way shadows carve depth into the composition.
Why Does the Decaying Tree Trunk Work?
Dead tree trunk leaning against cliff wall along Old Man’s Cave Trail—strong diagonal form and texture for black and white composition.
1. Tonal Separation and Contrast
The pale trunk stands out sharply against the darker rock face, creating immediate visual tension.
This kind of contrast is essential in black and white, where tonal relationships replace color dynamics.
2. Texture as Narrative
The barkless trunk, jagged limbs, and mossy cliff offer rich surface detail.
In monochrome, texture becomes a storytelling tool—here, it speaks to decay, resilience, and time.
3. Simplified Composition
The diagonal line of the trunk adds structure and movement.
Without color distractions, the viewer’s eye follows the geometry and tonal flow.
2. Texture as Narrative
The barkless trunk, jagged limbs, and mossy cliff offer rich surface detail.
In monochrome, texture becomes a storytelling tool—here, it speaks to decay, resilience, and time.
3. Simplified Composition
The diagonal line of the trunk adds structure and movement.
Without color distractions, the viewer’s eye follows the geometry and tonal flow.
Aid To Help Your Monochrome Mindset
If you are shooting digital, as most are these days, I would recommend you set your LCD screen or picture style to black and white (or monochrome, depending on your camera menu). If I am shooting digital, I do this for two reasons: First, I can get a feel for how the image might work in black and white; Second, I am not seduced by the color of the image.
I know some may just argue that they will just decide later on convert in post. That’s true, and there is nothing wrong with that. For me, I work better if my mind is totally into working in black and white. Now, understand I am not suggesting that you set you camer to shoot black and white only. You should still be shooting RAW but you LCD will give you a monochrome representation. When you import your file later, it is still a RAW image containing all the color data.
Now, if your shooting film…that a whole different blog post. But also, check out a related blog post - A Photography Composition Mystery
