Week 22 - 2017 in Photographs

Day 148

I was going to open this photo blog with a sentence about this being a week of black and white photography. But that is not entirely true. Day 149, the photograph directly below, is in fact a color photograph. And Day 151 is a sepia treatment. Sepia is a color. As a painter I can say that black and white are also colors. 

This week I decided to focus on the bones of the composition. The tones. The lights and dark. And that is easiest if the brilliant colors, my usual favorites, are stripped or minimized. I used to hate it in college when my instructors forced me to work with black and white film. But that is the bare bones of photography. And a cheaper dark room. And Ansel Adams was the master to follow.

And color film was not that dependable then. And when I got out of college and had to take my black and white film to developers I had no control of the product. I dropped black and white and switched to color slides.

Digital DSLR's have given me the freedom to return to the lessons I learned in college and add a few more. Winter has helped too. I am back in control of the post processing of the image. And my camera is not loaded with a whole roll of color film I have to complete before loading black and white.

Day 149

When I decided to begin again to practice black and white I read lots of articles on it. One tip was to consider black and white from the moment you take the picture as if your camera has only black and white film. Well, that didn't work for me. Except in winter where snow storms erase color.

Another tip was a noisy sky. Not in the photo above, and no sky in the one below.

Day 150

The two photos below have noisy skies. But the last photograph, my favorite in this series, does not. After a winter of playing around with this discipline I have decided it is all about the light. But then photography, color or black and white, is all about the light. And the bones of the composition.  

Day 151

Day 152

Day 153

When I am reviewing my captures on the computer the questions I ask myself are whether color is necessary, and is it a better photograph without that distraction.

Day 154

Week 50 - 365 Day Photography Challenge

Day 344

There is a lot to be said for the 365 days of posting photos. And more than just making you take the camera out or uploading your photos or opening your post processing program. It makes you look at different subjects and different ways to capture them. In the photo above it was not just the orchids I wanted to capture but the light and the shadows they cast. Placing them against a red door awash in the afternoon sun coming through the windows achieved that.

Day 345

Same afternoon sun on this yellow beauty but I left it where it was on the edge of a shadow cast on the wall behind it. I think it framed the bright flower beautifully. Just a bit of misting to get the droplets of water and it was ready for its closeup.

Day 346

The columns of shadow cast on the wall were created by the alternating of windows and wall. In the late afternoon on a winter day they provide a dramatic backdrop for flowers just barely capturing the last few rays of sun. I played around with black and white on this white orchid.

Day 348

Yes, the above photo is out of order but I was talking orchids and light and shadow. This is the same orchid as the one in photo number one but back to its normal spot on the plant stand. I had just finished the black and white of the white orchid and decided to try the same on this more colorful flower. Taking its color away highlights the veins and structure of this flower and makes it more important than the shadow it cast.

Day 347

On last Saturday I drove down with a friend to Albuquerque to view the ANMPAS show. We both had photos entered which were accepted. And we both didn't win anything. But it the biggest photography show I have been accepted in. Driving back we were racing a snow storm moving in and I captured this picture of the light on I believe the Ortiz Mountains. The week of photography was about light. Photography is light and shadow.

Day 349

The pattern on the wall was cast by the sun streaming through a stain glassed window. It blends well with the painted patterns on the chairs. In this photograph it seems to be all about the light.

Day 350

And in this picture and others I took on the same day it seems all about the shadows. But they are not easy to separate. But time of day is crucial. All these pictures were taken in the extremes of the day. And they are not about orchids, mountains, chairs or trees. They are about light and shadow.