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

Lens Artists Challenge #225: Wildlife Close to Home

Ann from Slow Shutter Speed A photographic journey hosts this weeks Lens Artists Challenge #225: Wildlife Close to Home. Wrote; Stop. Look. Listen. Doing those three things will help you discover the abundance of wildlife you have nearby. You have wildlife in your yard, nearby park, local pond or lake and just about anywhere around you.

My contribution this week are these images. Animal Photography is not my forte, I don’t have the patience or the equipment to get the best shots, but I occasionally get a shot.

Birds big and small that I have been able to capture. this type of photography is not my forte.

Capturing this Seal was just a happy break, I was at a right place at right time.

From my archives – ‘Annabelle’

November will be filled with photos from the archives .

Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’

This plant gives pleasure when from middle of the summer until late fall, these photos are from late fall when the flowers have already turned brown. Still beautiful with all it’s details.

Since I am sharing close-ups, mostly of flowers I’ve decided also to participate in Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge

Annabelle hydrangeas

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

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #224 – Exposure

SOFIA ALVES from PHOTOGRAPHIAS is hosting the challenge for #lens-artists

LENS-ARTISTS CHALLENGE – EXPOSURE she wrote the following:

For this challenge, it is up to you how you work on exposure. You might, like me, prefer to use shutter speed to change the exposure balance when shooting. You can also play with aperture. Or you can have fun changing the exposure settings while editing. The idea here is to see how the mood of any photo depends on its exposure.

I am posting three sets of photos that I have over – or underexposed in post edit. I usually shoot in automatic mode for exposure and edit the photo to suit it to way to capture what I thought I saw or change the mood. exposure, light and contrast are the main things I work with when editing my photos, but over the years I have learned few more tricks to get the photo to express more of what I want to show in it.

Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography. – George Eastman

Contrary to the general belief about photography, you don’t need bright sunlight: the best moodiest pictures are taken in the dim light of almost dusk, or of rainy days… – Jack Kerouac

All these shots except the portrait were taken late afternoon or at dusk so I wholeheartedly agree with the quote above.

I feel that this side profile mood is totally different in these shots, other is more hopeful and often overexposed shot is more forgiving to the person at least if you have lots of lines on your face 🙂

Shooting in nature with backlight has its challanges and you have to be careful not to over light the front,so that is doesn’t look unnatural. Obviously the what the eye sees and camera captures are often totally different in these situations.

This image is one more sample of mood changing light. The raw materials of photography are light and time and memory.

From my archives – Peony

November will be filled with photos from the archives .

The luxurious flowers of Peony ‘Double Pink’ are ruffled and petal packed, unfurling from round buds in early summer, revealing petal after petal until fully open. Large, flamboyant blooms coupled with a sweet, light fragrance.

Peony ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ is an exquisite herbaceous peony with ruffled, flamingo-pink, double blooms that open from large, and rounded buds. This RHS AGM variety has been popular since its introduction in 1905, and still beguiles gardeners with its sheer flower power. With a slightly taller habit than most, this beauty is one for planting towards the back of perennial borders, where its glamorous blooms will rise above a clump of deeply divided, dark green foliage.

I don’t know which one these are, I do know I love peonies, one of my favorite flowers. I some how was able to kill mine at my summer house, but then again I don’t remember planting it, it appeared and after several year it disappeared… but it was lovely addition to my very scantly garden

Since I am sharing close-ups, mostly of flowers I’ve decided also to participate in Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge. 

Pink Peony

From my archives – Iris

November will be filled with photos from the archives .

Iris germanica ‘Black Dragon’ , Black Iris was a delightful find as was Siperian Iris, and the last one is a Bearded Iris- I think 🙂

Since I am sharing close-ups, mostly of flowers I’ve decided also to participate in Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge. 

Siberian Iris

October close-up – oak tree leaf

October surprises with frost and colorful leaves 🍃 afters a cold night. The splash of color got my attention, here are more shots of the frosty morning.

Since I am sharing close-ups, mostly of flowers I’ve decided also to participate in Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge. 

lovely greens
A fallen leaf in the grass
Light captured the leaf of an oak tree

October close-up – leaves of colors 🍃

October surprises with frost and colorful leaves 🍃 afters a cold night growing in the embankment at my backyard. The splash of color got my attention, here are more shots of the frosty morning.

Since I am sharing close-ups, mostly of flowers I’ve decided also to participate in Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge. 

lovely greens
Light captured the frost on the flowers
A ray of light came onto out backyard
Still some frost left on the pine

October close-up – leaves of colors 🍃

October surprises with frost and colorful leaves 🍃 afters a cold night growing in the embankment at my backyard. The splash of color got my attention.

A ray of light came onto out backyard

Since I am sharing close-ups, mostly of flowers I’ve decided also to participate in Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge. 

Light captured the colorful leafs
how nature finds away to grow
Still some frost left

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

October close-up – leaves of green

October surprises me with this green plant growing in the embankment at my backyard. The fresh green got my attention.

Still found some green

Since I am sharing close-ups, mostly of flowers I’ve decided also to participate in Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge. 

how nature finds away to grow

October close-up – Oriental bittersweet

October berries of Oriental bittersweet.

Celastrus orbiculatus is a woody vine of the Celastraceae family. It is commonly called Oriental bittersweet, as well as Chinese bittersweet, Asian bittersweet, round-leaved bittersweet, climbing spindleberry and Asiatic bittersweet.

Oriental bittersweet

 

Oriental bittersweet growing on our fence, needs yearly cutting.

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

Inlet in Porkkala

Autumn tones at the Inlet in Porkkala
The colors continue to amaze me- autumn
zoomin in into the inlet

View from the rocks 2

Fall, Autumn, ruska, all words that are presented in this shot in my humble opinion. Porkkala, views there are so delightful.

Porkkala- Kirkkonummi -Finland

Three ways to look at this path

Since I do post editing on my art, and my photos, I also do several variations of them, so this is great challenge for me to participate in LAPC #220 One Subject Three Ways. These are very similar, but slightly different –by zooming in on the details or stepping back for a wider view. Sorry, there is four images and a header. 🙂

End of the path

Summer season ended, we closed our summer house for winter on this beautiful October day. The autumn colors are so lovely.

Lower view of the path
and lower you go still keep the focus in the front
Place the focus to the end of the path, and you get a different mood.

Magic mushroom

Magic mushroom

I have no idea as what magic mashroom this is, but it looks like Psilocybe mexicana a psychedelic mushroom. Its first known usage was by the natives of North and Central America over 2,000 years ago.

We did not pick them up, they ended up being cut down by the lawnmower.

I just took photos necaused they looked great, like from a story book.

More Magic mushrooms
Magic mushroom growing in my yard

October’s colors

October colors

Autumn iis about letting go of summer and preparing for winter. Greens give way to dead stems and yellow drooping leaves. Darkness slowly takes over the time of light, but how beautiful it can be at the beginning of autumn🍂

yellows ang orange, in a misty setting
Looks so pretty!

Oh, A 🦌 Deer

Today, I saw this lovely deer ,from the window facing my backyard, posing on the hill. It would have been nice to go outside and take the photosthere, but it would have run away, if I’d gone and opened the door. So, I took these through the window, taking this to consideration they came out ok.

A deer standing on a hill

It stood there on the hill for a while, looked around and finally turning and walked away. Just to lay down and rest on the hill behind a fallen tree, so that only the ears were visible.

🦌 Deer

Lake Pikku-Kukkanen

We had an amazing weekend to capture, clouds and reflections.

These are taken at lake Pikku-Kukkanen (Small flower) I was able to capture beautiful reflections on the lake and there were two swans further away, so I really missed noth having my camera with me. In the first shot the exposure was low so the clouds came out really dark. I like the intensity of the atmosphere.

Reflectiond on Lake Pikku-Kukkanen in Nastola, Finland
Lake PIKKU-Kukkanen

Lake Iso-Kukkanen

We had an amazing weekend to capture, clouds, mist and rainbows as the weather was mostly cloudy, but few moments of light. I happened to be in those to capture some beauty. Most are taken by mobile phone, because, well it was so cloudy when we left, and I thought that there would be nothing to photograph. How wrong I was! I usually have my camera with me, once again a great reminder that, Ritva, keep it with you, you never know what you can see.

These are taken at lake Iso-Kukkanen (Big flower) I was able to capture beautiful reflections on the lake.

Reflectiond on Lake Iso-Kukkanen in Nastola, Finland
Lake Iso-Kukkanen

Lakeview

I often go to this lake as it near my summer house, this year the water level is very low. That is what I went to see, but I did also find beautiful reflection on the lake. The weather was cold, this year the autumn turned on like somebody had turned a switch on. From high twenties to temperatures near ten celsius is huge drop. Despite the that, it’s still a pretty place.

Usually the water level is where the dock starts, at this time you certainly should not dive in the water at the end of the dock.

Sparganium gramineum, in finnish it is called Siimapalpakko, is a floating-leaved aquatic plant , which is found in Northern Europe. The species is a very relaxed, genuine aquatic plant, with a meter-long stem and coiled leaves and floating leaves. In deep and clear waters, the species’ growth forms a sheltered spawning ground for fish, and its seeds are food for at least some ducks. In the Nordic countries, the plant has been used as livestock feed.

Country roads

I like driving these old winding roads at the countryside.

country road

“An old road always looks richer and more beautiful than a new road because old roads have memories!” – Mehmet Murat ildan

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