Still life: Calla Lilies in Black and White

A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and so on).  wikipedia

One goal I set for myself this year was to work harder at my photography; read more, take lessons, get out of my comfort zone, etc.  Practice practice practice!   Recently I’ve been trying still life photography.  I believe I have the basics as far as the camera aspects are concerned, it’s just coming up with the subject matter that’s been giving me some trouble.  Here is one of my first attempts, a vase of calla lilies shot from above in monochrome.

Mohican Wildlife Weekend

This last weekend of April saw the 16th annual Mohican Wildlife Weekend.  What is that? I’m not quite sure I know either but we got caught up in it nonetheless.  You can read all about it here since I’m still not quite sure what it was all about but I did learn that it takes place in several different areas here in Ohio.  We went to the Ohio Bird Sanctuary to see and take photos of the birds there which happened to be one of the areas involved in the weekends events.

The birds were beautiful, I learned some new things about them, I could’ve sworn one crow said Ohio (or perhaps it was just Hi) and DH got really up close and personal with a Blue Jay.  Can you find the little Screech Owl, Laz,  sitting in this tree trunk? He blends in very well which you will see next.

 

Lenten Rose

The gardens here besides being filled with tulips and daffodils (many that may have been blown away by age and a recent rain storm) also have a great deal of these flowers in different colors.  This week I will be featuring the other blooms that are in season now at the Inniswood Metro Gardens.

 

Color and Monochrome – Why they both work

Yesterday I featured this tulip in black and white and today I will compare it to it’s original color version.  In my opinion, both images stand well on their own “stems” (pun very much intended) for similar and different reasons.  With a color image the eye immediately takes notice of the colors – the white, yellow, pink and then green.  From there you begin to take in the entire image; the shape of the tulips petals, how they are arranges and the patterns in the petals.  I’ve found that while my eyes do notice the colors and the striations on the petals, I am drawn right to the center of the tulip by the leading color lines of the petals.  But what about the monochrome version?

In black and white, the eye is still drawn to the shape of the tulip and it’s petals and they do lead your eye right to the center of it but there are differences.  Obviously there is lack of color to attract you but that is replaced by the shadows and the contrasts; the darks and lights in the image.  What stands out more in this image than the color are the details of the tulip.  In monochrome the the variegation and the middle line in each petal revealed better.  Also the textures of the stigma, pistil, anthers etc. really stand out in monochrome as compared to color.  The texture of the anthers (those black stick like parts) really pop in black and white.  Viewing them close up in this version they remind me of used coffee grounds.

As stated early in this post, they are both good images for similar and different reasons.  Can you think of any other ways that they are the same or different?  Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

 

Monochrome Macro

Not every image that is in color will work well in black and white – and vice versa – but sometimes when there is enough contrast, details and texture in the subject as with this tulip, it converts very well.  I did a tight 1:1 crop on this photo in order to fill the frame with just the tulip bloom and added a warming filter to cut back on some of the cool tones of the original black and white edit. Tomorrow I will show you this tulip in color and talk about (in my opinion) what comes through best/better in one edit as compared to the other.

 

Scenes from Town Square – Everyday I’m Texting

Whatever would we do without our mobile phones? 😉

 

 

Scenes from Town Square

The Village Green situated in Bar Harbor, Maine is the spot on Main Street where you can purchase a park pass to Arcadia and then take a shuttle bus to the park.  You can explore restaurants and shops, take a walking tour or just sit and watch the world go by.  It’s a beautiful little square in the middle of all the goings and comings on the nearby streets.  It was also pretty good for street photography.

How I wish the weather here was as nice as it was the day I captured this gentleman soaking up the sun on a warm September 2016 day.