In a colorful, digital age, there are three local photographers who go against the grain by showcasing their unique styles through manually developed black and white prints.

The Triptych exhibition, which ran from Feb 18 to March 12 in the Art Gallery at San Jacinto College South Campus, showcased the work of Texas photographers Bill Daniel, David Adam Salinas, and Joe E. Winston III.

Art Gallery Director and Curator, Dixon Bennett, explained the meaning behind the name of the exhibition.

“Triptych generally refers to one artwork made up of three parts,” Dixon said. “I didn’t use the word literally. There are three photographers (the three parts) exploring the contemporary use of black and white photography.”

Although all three featured photographers differ in style, they all share one significant similarity.

“All three of us have very different photographic practices, but we all work in darkroom-based analog black and white photography,” Daniel said.

Daniel’s work has been featured in many exhibitions and has received countless awards including a showing at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship.

Daniel said he aims to portray the eventual devastation of the world in his photographs.

“I try to make work that suggests that catastrophic environmental degradation is sneaking up on us,” he said.

Furthermore, Daniel takes a very traditional approach to his work adding,

“I like to use my hands and I like physical tools, not computers.”

Meanwhile, Salinas’s work has enjoyed many local showings including with the Houston Art League and Houston FotoFest 2012, as well as in the United Kingdom and Dubai.

Likewise, Winston, a faculty member at San Jacinto College, has been featured in numerous publications including SITE Magazine

According to Bennett, Triptych was very popular and well received by the community. “We have had hundreds of visitors to the exhibition with numerous positive comments.”

Daniel credits the trio’s success to the avoidance of digital technology and allowing the images to form by “… manipulating, experimenting, and allowing the photochemical process to be visible in the work.”