Mid-Week Monochrome ~ water

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.

water jug

Drinking water is like washing out your insides. The water will cleanse the system, fill you up, decrease your caloric load and improve the function of all your tissues. – Kevin R. Stone

Posted for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Mid-Week Monochrome ~ cookery

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.

Alley

The greatest dishes are very simple. – Auguste Escoffier

Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors – it’s how you combine them that sets you apart. -Wolfgang Puck

Posted for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Mid-Week Monochrome ~ alley

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.

Alley

We plan our lives in long, unbroken stretches that intersect our dreams the way highways connect the city dots on a road map. But in the end we learn that life is lived in the side roads, alleys, and detours.

Richard Paul Evans

Chairs waiting for someone to stop by

Inspiration comes from not only within ourselves, but also from watching life around us. Anthony – T. Hincks

Mid-Week Monochrome #128-1

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.

Inspiration comes from not only within ourselves, but also from watching life around us. Anthony – T. Hincks

watching the world go by

It doesn’t seem to matter, the time of day, watching people walking by always puts a smile on my face.

following look

Posted for Bren’s Midweek Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Mid-Week Monochrome #127-1

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.

Classy women never lose their dignity.

“There is strong shadow where there is much light.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
ladies

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. – Dorothy Nevill

Posted for Bren’s Midweek Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Mid-week Monochrome #126-1

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.

Roses are beautiful even in monochrome

“There is strong shadow where there is much light.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Take time to smell the roses.

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome  and for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness Challenge

Mid-week Monochrome #129

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.

“It is life, I think, to watch the water. A man can learn so many things.”

“There is strong shadow where there is much light.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.”

“If there are ripples on the surface of a lake, we cannot see the depth. Similarly unless the mind is restful, we cannot experience the harmony and union within us.” – Sri Ravi Shankar

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome  and for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness Challenge

Mid-week Monochrome #128

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.

For the last six days my son was visiting with the youngest of our grandsons, so I have not been very active here, as there was someone wanting attention. An so much more cooking to do than normally.

I did get a chance to get some photographs taken, as I had a lovelu and cute boy to aim my camera to. After the first time, he said to me: Mummi, if these are not good we can take more tomorrow. (Mummi – grandma in Finnish)

and we did the light in my bedroom was better than the the ones I took in the living room. He is a good sport, and a real pro in front of the camera. After some shot he would say to me, let me see? and came to look at the shots on the camera. I am not going to post all of them the first time I took 90 frames and second time 125 frames. Most of them are OK.

“There is strong shadow where there is much light.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Boy, who can resist this smile!

“There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery.” 

Compare the color version versus the black and white one.

This last one was from the first time, we took in the evening and the light was low

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome 

Mid-week Monochrome #127

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.

Not finding the book you want? I had just done my civil duty at the library, voted. I sat waiting for my husband to lend some books.

I liked the line of the windows and the shelves making a leading line. So I set the camera -phone to the floor level and took this photo of three people, they seemed to be nicely situated in also in this lowpoint photo. I also got a shot of the person sitting by the desk reading.

“The eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say.” ~ Gregory Maguire

two men and books

“There is strong shadow where there is much light.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
A boy

“There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery.” 

Compare to edit, color versus black and white version. But I also with the shadows.

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome 

Mid-week Monochrome #126

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.

Light continues tobe the theme, as it is the thing that uplifts me the most at the moment. I posted yesterday shots of advancing sping yesterday. Today it is raining, slush and snow. Well they do say, new snow is the death of old snow this time of the year. Today I converted few into monochrome images.

“The eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say.” ~ Gregory Maguire

Reflections on water

“There is strong shadow where there is much light.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Shadow play on ice

“There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery.” 

Ice and water

Compare to edit, color versus black and white version. But I also with the shadows…

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome 

Mid-week Monochrome #125

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.

This is my week choice – light from above

“The eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say.” ~ Gregory Maguire

“There is strong shadow where there is much light.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery.” 

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Mid-week Monochrome #124

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, I also have a sweet spot for tmy grandkids. I can sit for hours and I watch them play and fight…no thats not true, I cannot watch them fight 🙂 I end up telling them to stop.

They are lively and to get them to sit down and giving me a chance to get a photograph of them is not that easy. This time I did not give them an opportunity to refuse. I sat them by thhe window so I could use the natural light and get nice contrast and shadows, Then I edited them in this moody way, I know childrens photos are not usually edited this way, but I liked them. What do you think?

Portrait #1

“There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery.” 

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Mid-week Monochrome #123

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, I also have a sweet spot for the ocean and waves. I can sit for hours and I watch the movement of of the water.

As I have been editing my beach photos lately, I did try to convert them to black and white, and I believe that the beauty and power of the moving water even without the colors comes across. Here are few photos from Ocean Ridge beach.

seagulls at the beach

“There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery.” 

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Mid-week Monochrome #122

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, I was once again reminded about the importance of exposure, light. It is the key element in these photos.

This house in the corner of the street in Savannah appealed to me, with its tall arched windows and ornate ironwork balconies and fences. The peeling paint gives it a artitic feel that looks great in photos, well that’s my opinion anyway:-) With this first edit I tried to capture a old time feel to it. The two others are more clear and crisp with slightly different composition.

A house in Savanah – Black and white photography erases time from the equation.

“There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery.” 

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Beautiful in Black and White 15

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, I was once again reminded about the importance of exposure, light. It is the key element in these photos.

There’s so much grey to every story – nothing is so black and white.

Lisa Ling

A man eating ice-cream
A man with a white beard

The way that light hits objects, I think, is one of the more important things that sculpture and photography share. – Rashid Johnson

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Lens Artists Challenge #236: SouthMeets North


Amy’s topic for this weeks Lens Artists Challenge #236: East Meets West, This week we are exploring the different cardinal points East – West or South – North

I thought about this, as I live in North, in Finland. Arctic Circle is about 850 km from my home – so I live in the south of Finland.That could be one way to look at this challenge, or even more extreme could be Finland versus Australia down under. Or I could think about it as just the directions seen from my summer house as I sit in the yard and watch the sun move around it. … still thinking about about this:-)

First is the difference between light in the north and south of Finland during winter and well also in the summer.

There are four distinctly different seasons as far up north . However, locals think the conditions are in a constant state of change and say there are up to eight seasons in the year: midwinter, snowy spring, spring, summer, harvest season, autumn leaf colour, first snowfall, and Christmas. The photo is from Santa’s village.

The blue twilight of the Polar Nights last from mid November to Mid January. the light is this blue hues. Not black. This is Midwinter. This period takes place in January-February and is also known as the heart of winter. With only a few hours of daylight, a rather mysterious air of silence and peacefulness shrouds the natural surroundings.

The Midnight Sun is a natural phenomenon that takes place on and above the Arctic Circle in the summer months. On the Arctic Circle, the sun officially stays above the horizon for a full 24 hours on summer solstice, 21st or 22nd June. However, the Midnight Sun period in Rovaniemi lasts for a month, from 6th June to 7th July; this is due to the Earth’s slightly tilted axis and refraction of sunlight. The nights are white throughout the summer from late May until early August

So below you can see the blues of the day on North of Finland during the day. Also the landscape of southern Lapland is quite flat. There are few lakes, but forests, swamps, rivers and streams form diverse ecosystems. In Western Lapland, the flat and same level coast changes as you go further north: there are more and moreforested hills, the highest or northernmost exceed the tree line, and are therefore already actic hills.

Water reflections – obviously easiest to do.

In terms of topography, Southern Finland is a low plain. On top of the bedrock there are fine-grained soils. The climate is favorable for cultivation, so agriculture is productive, especially in the areas of the clay fields in Eastern Uusimaa.


Considering the large population, nature can be close to people even in Southern Finland. The most difficult and rugged areas can have natural areas.

There are rocks and small lakes in the Nuuksio National Park. There is a forest area of several thousand hectares in Sipoonkorpi, with rocks, groves, natural streams and traditional meadows. The Repove National Park has steep rock cliffs and the Valkmusa National Park has an oasis nature. Porkkala, which I have written about before. Porkkalanniemi is in Kirkkonummi, that is where I live.. The area consists of rocky shores, pine forest, and beautiful outlooks onto the sea. The Porkkala cape stretches far out to the sea and is one of the best places to watch arctic birds migrating. Seabirds thrive in the area due to its rich and diverse habitat. Porkkala has a considerable population of common eiders and is also an important resting area for long-tailed ducks. Lucky visitors may even spot moose or white-tailed deer in Porkkala.

The light is different in south, the sunrises here in the winter even if for a short time. Less snow for sure. In the Summer, the sun sets even if for a short time, but it does not get really dark. More humidity as we are closer to the sea.

Porkkalanniemi – Kirkkonummi in Southern Finland

As I’ve stated before I am not a very technical photographer, more into composition, mood. I do my magic on the edit table mostly, if you can call it magic, more like my interpretation of places and people. I am also not one to write all that much, let the photos speack for themselves.

I have two cameras an old reliable SONY SLT-A65V, and I have two lences I use with it one for Macro Sony Macro 2.8/50 and portraits. The other for nearly everything a Sony 18-200mm.

The Sony has been in less use since I bought a new lighter one to carry around, its a Olympus E-M10 Mark II with a 14-150mm lense and I have a OM-D M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8 for street and portrait photography

LAPC #235: Shadows and Reflections in Monochrome


LAPC #235: Shadows and Reflections in Monochrome, Patti’s looking for shadows a/o reflections but in monochrome. 

Patti from P.A. Moed CREATIVE EXPLORATION IN WORDS AND PICTURES Wrote;

This week, we’re challenging you to show us photos with reflections and/or shadows captured or processed in monochrome. Feel free to process your image in different shades of blue, green, brown, or gray. You can also shoot your image in a setting that’s predominantly one color–like a blue sea and sky, for example. I’ve checked quite a few experts who agree that black and white photos are not two colors, but varying shades of one color–gray. Purists will refer to black and white images as grayscale. So, for our challenge, black and white images fall under the category of monochrome.

The photos below are from our recent trip to the southern states, South Carolina and Georgia.

Water reflections – obviously easiest to do.

Birds and reflection from Florida, and lake reflection from Nastola, Finland

Under the bridge in Kivenlahti, Finland on a February afternoon. Below also one from a pier in Savannah.

As I’ve stated before I am not a very technical photographer, more into composition, mood. I do my magic on the edit table mostly, if you can call it magic, more like my interpretation of places and people. I am also not one to write all that much, let the photos speack for themselves.

I have two cameras an old reliable SONY SLT-A65V, and I have two lences I use with it one for Macro Sony Macro 2.8/50 and portraits. The other for nearly everything a Sony 18-200mm.

The Sony has been in less use since I bought a new lighter one to carry around, its a Olympus E-M10 Mark II with a 14-150mm lense and I have a OM-D M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8 for street and portrait photography

Beautiful in Black and White 14

 

I took several winter wonderland photos last week, so I thought I’d try them as monochrome. Misty fields and snow-covered
roads with trees heavy with snow surrounding it. 
This is how they turned out.

It is nearly Christmas, and I hope that
these winter shots will help you to get into white Christmas spirit.

Snow covered lane

The way that light hits objects, I think, is one of the more important things that sculpture and photography share. – Rashid Johnson

 

 

Spruce trees by the side of the snowy road

Beautiful in Black and White 13

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, I was once again reminded about the importance of exposure, light. It is the key element in these photos.

Roses, they look lovely in black and white

SONY DSC
Roses

The way that light hits objects, I think, is one of the more important things that sculpture and photography share. – Rashid Johnson

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Beautiful in Black and White 12

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, I was once again reminded about the importance of exposure, light. It is the key element in these photos.

Clouds work well in B&W as do distinct shapes. I took these when visiting Queensland few years back

Bearded Dragon sign – Bearded Dragon Hotel Tamborine in QLD
Wind wheel sign in Queensland

The way that light hits objects, I think, is one of the more important things that sculpture and photography share. – Rashid Johnson

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Beautiful in Black and White 12

Amalfi Cathedral is a 9th-century Roman Catholic structure in the Piazza del Duomo, Amalfi, Italy. It is dedicated to the Apostle Saint Andrew. Predominantly of Arab-Norman Romanesque architectural style, it has been remodeled several times, adding Romanesque, Byzantine, Gothic, and Baroque elements.

Amalfi Cathedrals Pilars in the garden

The Exterior, the Romanesque style bell tower is off-center. The structure includes four small towers of Arab architectural type that are adorned with arches and are covered with majolica tiles. During times of war, the bell tower was purposed for defense.
The garden contains colonnades, arches and sculptures. My photos this week are of the garden area.

More ℹ https://www.livesalerno.com/amalfi-cathedral

Amalfi Cathedral garden

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Beautiful in Black and White 11

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, I was once again reminded about the importance of exposure, light. It is the key element in these photos.

Sunset in B&W is it’s own thing to capture once again it comes to the light, lowlight in this case. How it enhances the shapes and creates shadows.

Sunset in Naples Pier. Unfortunately it was destroyed in Hurricane Ian, but I have a memory.

Naples Pier, Florida
Sunset in Miami

The way that light hits objects, I think, is one of the more important things that sculpture and photography share. – Rashid Johnson

Key West sunset

Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness

Beautiful in Black and White 10

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, I was once again reminded about the importance of exposure, light. It is the key element in these photos.

“Available light is any damn light that is available!” ~ W. Eugene Smith

Above is so importat during these gray November days.

Older trees have so much character
Mist in the forest in autumn

The way that light hits objects, I think, is one of the more important things that sculpture and photography share. – Rashid Johnson

when all the leaves are gone

Beautiful in Black and White 9

I have a soft spot for black and white photography, I was once again reminded about the importance of exposure, light. It is the key element in these photos.

The photographer is a manipulator of light; photography is a manipulation of light. – Laszlo Moholy-Nagy

the nature is gorgeous even without color
Ogegon coast is really beautiful and mostly it shines best in colors but in black and white photography the structure and shape are in important role.
Oregon coast with its rock formation

Beautiful in Black and White 11

Moving Up and down, I’ve also linked this to CBWC

Firefighter
using your feet to climb up the mountain

repairs

Escalator and lots of reflections

Beautiful in Black and White 7

Trees I’ve also linked this to CBWC, I had to do this again as I somehow deleted it and totally made a mess.

Bahia Honda Bridge and a tree trunk
Clouds and tree trunks