Albert Watson is a photographer who specializes in black and white portraiture.  He has done many photographs including color, however; his black and white seem to be the most abundant.  I personally find his portraits to be striking.  Many of his portraits are simple yet they are aesthetically pleasing.  I appreciate how he is able to make a simple photograph look beautiful.

Watson continues to use black and white photography in an era where it is dying out.  In recent years he has taken portraits of celebrities including Michael Jobs and Snoop Dogg both being in black and white.  Despite not having color both images are very beautiful.  In removing the color I find that Watson has simplified his images.  Color can be distracting in some situations and by removing it the subject matter is easier to focus on.

Watson also keeps his background very simple.  We can see this in the two previously mentioned portraits.  These particular portraits has white backgrounds.  Most of his other works have either white or gray backgrounds as well.  I believe that this is also to add to the simplicity of the photograph and to have the focus be on the subject matter.