So much for writing...

[cairistiona]

Brain is still fogged, but the sun was at the right angle, so I took the camera out to the garden to play around with black and white photography, something I've not dabbled in much. But I wanted to focus on the shape and form of a flower, in this case a peony, which tends to be my floral muse each year. I can't resist playing with images of them.

Before we get to the b&w images, a color one that I took yesterday. The day was cloudy, with diffuse light that didn't provide enough contrast for good black and white images, though I do love how soft the bloom looks in color:



Today the sunshine was very bright, which, as I hoped, lent itself well to more drama:



This next one is a bloom well past its prime. In color, it's drab, all the pink faded to dull white with brown spots, and overall it looks about as you'd imagine. But I think it gets a new lease on life in black and white:

Comments

[shirebound]

Lovely images. It's very sad how little I know about photography and what a camera can really do.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I've had my camera for about three years now, and I only recently figured out how to set it for taking b&w. LOL (I guess I could have read the directions, but where's the fun in that...)

[j-flattermann.livejournal.com]

Lovely shots all of them.
B/w is so forgiving on wilting blossoms, great picture this.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

B/w is so forgiving on wilting blossoms, great picture this.

It really is forgiving! I took that shot on a whim and it's actually my favorite one. Go figure!

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Stunning photos!

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It felt good to get out and take some again.

[suzll.livejournal.com]

Aaaah these are gorgeous!!

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

The black and white are dramatic - but I still prefer the coloured one!

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

I rather like b&w photography, both for the challenge of taking decent ones (it's harder than it looks) and for the sort of graphic quality of it. You focus on form and texture more than color, and that's a nice change now and then.

[ysilme]

There are terrific! I love black and white photography very much, but I most confess as gorgeous as your shots are, the coloured one is my favourite. ;o)

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I tend to waver back and forth about whether I prefer B&W or color. I think in some instances, you just *have* to have color... otherwise you never catch those beautiful shades. But sometimes, like some have mentioned, b&w can bring new life and perspective to a subject. I love it that digital cameras can do both with a simple change in settings. :)

[ysilme]

Have you ever compared shots taken in B&W to shots changed afterwards to a grey scale? That is what I do sometimes; my SLR doesn't have a B&W setting. I could program one of the three custom setting options for it, but so far couldn't be bothered, TBH, since it seems so much easier to do afterwards. But I don't know if this makes a difference.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

I've tried the greyscale post-edit, too... it does a good job on some photos but not others, I've found (or at least the "auto convert" feature does an okay job on some but not others... I guess if I were more of a photoshop genius I could convert any photo manually but that's a little beyond my skill set!). If there's good contrast on the original, the greyscale conversion looks better, to my eye. For me, taking the photo to begin with in b&w usually gives me more control over the outcome because I'm taking the shot deliberately for b&w effect--so I'm looking more at shape and light and shadow rather than color. But most definitely, if you don't have the b&w setting on your camera, it's a good alternative. And it's fun to play with converting for creative effect. I just love all the tools digital photography offers!

[mikononyte.livejournal.com]

*gasp*
Awwwhhhhhhhh
So beautiful!

That's it!

I'm moving to Misserabluri. LOL
So pretty.


And I was thinking of you all this morning too; 1 year anniversary to that horrible Tornado in Moore. I was remembering them, and the school you showed us in your town. And thinking, watching the building in Moore - that people seem to bounce back, regardless.

(hugs) Love ya, sweetie!

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

If you don't mind the occasional tornado, sinkhole opening beneath your house, earthquake and blizzard, Missouri's a great place to live. LOL Actually, I do love it here, and those hazards (except the blizzard) don't hit *everywhere*, so it's not much of a risk, day-to-day. And yes, when they do, people tend to bounce back and rebuild. Strong folks here in the heartland, for all that we usually get stereotyped as nothing but brainless hicks in flyover country. :/

Glad you liked the photos!

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

Beautiful photography! Wow!

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[mrowe.livejournal.com]

Very nice:-)

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Black and white certainly gives new lease to otherwise so-so pics! I remember taking a B&W pic of my kid's rickety old bike which had gone rusty with the trainer wheels almost off, the pic turned out almost a masterpiece ( if I may say so heheh )!

Yours are absolutely gorgeous, the first one, too.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

B&W has an artistic quality to it that sometimes color does have... not that color can't also be artistic, of course. :D But I find b&w has a way of making ordinary things into much higher art than you'd think... like old rusty bikes. *g*

Glad you liked these!

[estelcontar1.livejournal.com]

Exquisite!

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[imbecamiel.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. It's amazing how striking black and white images like that can be... The hints of color in the top one are really lovely too. Very nice work!

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I do really like b&w... but it's so doggone hard to get *right*.