Processing your photographs in black and white is usually a choice (at least for this photographer) that is made before going out on assignment. But after shooting the 18th TD Beach to Beacon 10K this morning in Cape Elizabeth, it came to me after.

Part of the challenge and the beauty of photojournalism is adapting to what’s in front of you. Once I realized the great faces and light that I had to work with, I immediately went about trying to make a set of pictures that would tell the story of this race through the feelings of the runners that were competing.

The beauty of the race was in the athletes and their forms. And this is why I realized afterward why the pictures worked so well in black and white. It takes all of the other distractions away and allows the viewer to focus just on what was going through their minds and the challenges of one of the toughest road races out there.

See more of Gabe Souza’s work at gabevsouza.com.


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