monochrome

MOVING WATER IN BLACK & WHITE – Marilyn Armstrong

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Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Moving Water

There was a time when I thought I might eventually shoot every dam in the valley, but not all of them are accessible to traffic. A lot of mills were built by dams deep in the woods whose only access was by train — or barge. Short of going there by train (there is a train, but it only runs once a week at 5 mph) or canoe, those dams are forgotten. If they had names, they have been lost to time.

Mumford Dam, Uxbridge

Photo: Garry Armstrong – Roaring Dam, Blackstone

White water at the dam

Near Milford, name of dam unknown

Dam in Northbridge

Manchaug

Whitin’s pond

Cee's Black-White

 

DREAMING IN BLUE – Marilyn Armstrong

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Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Flower of Any Kind
Spiderwort – FOTD – June 8, 2019

This challenge came up exactly when I needed it. For reasons best known to my cameras — ALL my cameras — I cannot get pictures of my spiderwort in their actual color of dark blue. They always come out some shade of pink. It must have something to do with the light and that in the leaf, there is a lot of pink and that’s what the camera picks up.

Since this is a monochrome challenge, I could finally make my Spiderwort their real color: blue. If I could figure out what filter would alter the pink back to it’s “real” color of blue, I’d have done it by now. I have spent hours trying to make those pink flowers the color my eyes see them. Lacking that, here are my monochrome cerulean Spiderwort!

Dreaming in blue –and that is very close to the flower’s actual color — except the leaves would be green.

All dynamic cerulean blue!

This monochromatic coloration is called “bluesy” …

Solid, hardcore cerulean spiderworts

Cee's Black-White

MONOCHROMES AND MONOTONES: CEE’S FUN FOTO CHALLENGE – Marilyn Armstrong

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Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Colorful Monotones

Monochromes (monotones) are a favorite of mine and really, I have a lot of them. Except I can’t remember where they are, so I found a few and rest are hiding in all my folders.

There are so many folders. Years of folders and then there are the other folders. If I don’t remember the month in which I took a picture, I have no way to find it. I really do need a better organization system!

Our fireplace in the living room is entirely brick

Green Japanese Maple tree

Tomatoes in summer

A beige woods

FIELDS – CEE’S BLACK & WHITE CHALLENGE – Garry Armstrong

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Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Field

Really, we live in a field, except it doesn’t look like a field because it’s full of trees. It’s hard to take pictures of a field with so many huge trees on it. They tend to block one’s view.

So I have settled for more open spaces, except for just one of the walls of Fenway Park. Because you can’t come from this area and not include Fenway!

If I think about it, this area is nothing BUT fields!

Field by the river – Photo: Garry Armstrong

Field of snow – Photo: Garry Armstrong

Mountainous fields in Arizona – Photo: Marilyn Armstrong

Fenway Park – the oldest baseball field in the U.S. – Photo Marilyn Armstrong

Cornfield at harvest time – Photo: Marilyn Armstrong

Photo: Garry Armstrong – The landing field at the Tuskegee site

Photo: Garry Armstrong

Photo: Garry Armstrong – Field of green by the river in June

 

CIRCLES AND CURVES: CEE’S BLACK & WHITE CHALLENGE – Marilyn Armstrong

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Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Circles and Curves

This first shot is the camera that took the rest of the pictures. It is a Panasonic Lumix FZ-1000. After I gave Garry the FZ-300, I realized I didn’t have a long lens anymore since the 300 was my long lens. It was why I’d bought it and it had been brilliant in the pursuit of small things a long way off.

Panasonic Lumix FZ-1000

There wasn’t any (affordable) upgrade version of the 300, but I found a really good price on the FZ-1000. It does a lot more than take long shots with its zoom. It is a very smart camera. Sadly, I am not as smart a photographer and though it is some months later, I’m still learning what it will do.

Lots of curves and circles but you’ll have to look for them.

One of the things it does (finally!) better than any other camera I’ve owned is to take pictures in “real” black & white rather than “sepia” and white.

Utensils in a form titled “Ice Cold.” Maybe because it’s so blue?

Taking originals in black & white leaves limited ways you can use color in the final print since there was no color in the first place. Using monochrome filters, I’ve been able to find some interesting variations on a theme of black & white.

Garlic drying in a barn

From antique to sparkling, it’s kind of amazing. I think I will own this camera for years and never fully grasp its capabilities. There is a manual, but it was not written by a writer.

Yellow berries along Manchaug’s stream. This is where I start to wonder where monochrome ends and some version of B & W begins. This is considered a monochrome format and to a degree it is. But … is it really? I love the texture of the berries and leaves, so I included it … but still, I wonder.

Many of its abilities are not explained in a way that makes sense. To me. I’m sure someone understands what’s being discussed, but I am not one of them.

Over time I will, presumably, figure them all out.

BIRDS IN BLACK & WHITE – Marilyn Armstrong

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Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Bird

Birds look either great or awful in black & white. Much depends on the background. If it’s busy with trees and all sorts of other jungle, it can be very difficult.

So I went for the simplest construction — birds against the plainest background I could find.

The wan in the river

Black-crowned-night-heron

Whitensville Pond

Silhouettes

A great blue heron

 

BLACK & WHITE STRUCTURE – THE BLACK & WHITE CHALLENGE

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Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Structure

I love black & white structure. If I have one favorite thing to do in monochrome, anything structural from a cathedral to a scaffold is fair game. And, coincidentally, I’ve been reworking a lot of pictures from the past and many of them in black & white.

The ultimate t-shirt shop

Briefly, on the subject of black & white versus black & white with bits of color: I eventually decided I like black & white to be at least monochrome. If not actually black and white, at least one tone and whitish. I’m not sure why I feel like that because I quite admire what other people do with color as focal points. Maybe it’s because I’m not all that good at it.

Street corner in Gettysburg

PATTERNS IN BLACK & WHITE

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Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge:
Outdoor – Patterns

Patterns are fun in black and white. You can really see the repetitions without the distraction of color. Textures and forms always seem at their best in monochrome.

Beacon Hill patterns

Patterns in a fence

Patterns in sepia – wall of the barn

Patterned chrysanthemum

Beacon Hill patterns

Patterns on Fenway park

BLACK & WHITE DOGS, SNOW, AND A HAZY MOON

/ Marilyn Armstrong / 11 Comments

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Open Topic

I haven’t been getting out lately, but fortunately, there always stuff going on inside. Dogs. Snow. Toys. I suppose these could just as easily be considered oddballs!

A hazy super-moon

Snow of the week through the window

Gibbs of the Long Nose

Sleepy Duke is growing up. Nice pair of jowls he’s got these days!