Black & White Thread XII
- This topic has 100 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 1 month ago by
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I really had to laugh about with whaty ou Found In The Dryer, Keelin. Maybe lost in the wrong topic? Your ingenious Mouse Witch With Wand in the Clouds-that-look-like-things awaits for a continuation in the next volume, but I don’t have a candidate yet. Can’t take long I hope.
After Some Unskilled Ironing
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Speaking of imagination…Oh my. It seems I mis-read your comment, Hans, and thought you wrote that the emerging being* in the distance has magical FEET. Then, when I saw the image in accompaniment, my eyebrows reached a new elevation of surprise.
* I would like to see the rest of this creature!
Elevation Of Surprise -
A new Elevation Of Surprise! Yes for me too. Love the composition, the curling structure and composition.
As a matter of fact I didn’t look at A Singularity as a creature before, but once seen or pointed out….. Now I am curious for the rest of the creature too. Imagination seems to be boundless.
Boundless
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I’m new to this thread and thought you might enjoy this one. While the photo is not, strictly speaking, a B&W image, it was taken with a camera converted to record only near infrared. Photo was taken using a custom white balance, which produces its sepia look. The picture itself reminds me of “the wings of storm battered dragons”.
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Welcome Don and thanks for this extraordinary post. Love the composition.
Is there any particular reason you make pictures of clouds in infrared? I hope for more sepia dragons (or anything else) from you. Just watch the pictures in this thread and former Volumes to see the variety of cloud impressions in black and white already produced. Take your time I should say. This is already Volume XII and we start a new one when there are 100 posts.
Dragonskin
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A warm welcome to you, Don. Your sepia photo above is quite splendid. You’ve captured a compelling illusion of motion there — as if those battered dragon wings have yet to lose all their flight power. Echoing Hans, I hope to see more from you here— and on other forum topics as well.
Wonderfully detailed texture in your Dragonskin, Hans! Very convincing.
All Fired Up -
Thanks to all for the warm welcome. Regarding IR, I just wanted to see what could be done (I do some B&W also). Not sure where you’re from ,but I thought you could use a view of what Dallas TX looks like at the end of a stormy August afternoon. Reminds me of what Dr Seuss says about “when the storm starts stopping”.
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Great monsooner Don. These are the ones Michael is indeed quite familiar with. I am living on the other side of the pond in the moderate climates of the flatlands, or better the Netherlands.
And wow, Michael, your #186 is FANTASTIC. I have to write this in capitals. The strange round and less sharply drawn lenticular like structure – like a little box that opens – is just behind and in contrast with the sharply drawn cumulus. Together they make a wonderful and surreal composition. Ahhhh!
Here under no monsooner but it comes close. Spotted in France from a driving car.
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Michael, you have transported us! Your #186 is as Hans has declared: FANTASTIC. Surreal beyond my wildest dreams — and they are hard to surpass.
And monsoon (Don) or no monsoon (Hans), impressive shots of magnificent skies above your noggins miles apart. Especially exciting to see as no rain is in sight for us here, and we are so dearly in need of it.
That said, there was a bit of cloud activity last week that caught and held my eye for a few breath-taking moments. The image below proved more intriguing once cropped.
Bejeweled Eyelid -
Keelin..to continue the discussion on ” resolution” and improving your camera..and the B&W thread being a good place to continue the discussion..Let me say..that Photography is about Light.. working, manipulating, shaping, sculpting etc etc..with light…We,,have decided to photograph Clouds…Clouds are for the most part..not sharp, not well defined nor stationary to pose. Doing all the things we can do with light,applied to clouds makes me wonder if we are not masochists. We seem to try to work with odds really stacked against us…So things like ” resolution” really help but can become secondary when other aspects begin to fail or improve and make it even more difficult or easier to ” work” the Light.
To improve our odds in acquiring a good or great shot of clouds we must take advantage of when and where Light is to our advantage..The so called ” magic” hour offers much help to our manipulating Light. Midday sun is the worst with its high contrast. The hour or so after sun up and the hour or so before sun down gives us subdued highlites that we can capture details in without loosing details in the many shadows. IMHO B&W photos of cloud should be taken during these “magic’ hours for most and best effect. Of course I’ve taken shots during high noon but details in either the shadows or highlites paid the price. Using the angle of the sun can make cloud look sharper than it is…can help in directing the eye , create textures, create patterns, create depth, etc. So the best time of the day to shoot is early and late in the day..which also means when the light is less..meaning slower shutter speeds wider f stop or increased ASA rating with attached increase in ” noise” problem. Always a trade off. There have been really outstanding improvements in ” low light” digital photography. Lens and now camera bodies have anti shake built in and CMOS are just better performers in low lite situations. ASA 400 use to be when noise became an issue. Today ASA 24000 is when you have start looking hard for noise. But..a simple monopod or tripod will bring the shakes to a halt as well.
Its working the Light..seeing the Light and using it to your advantage so that resolution isn’t even considered when looking at the final product, that is what I’m gettin at. Here in Arizona an overcast day is a great day to shoot clouds.as long as there are clouds lower than the overcast. Our midday sun is really just too much but putting an overcast on it..makes the Light workable. True, overcast days in Phoenix are rare and don’t last a whole day anyway.
Another thing is the CMOS,,a lot of them but not all,,are sensitive, they record, they ” see”..further into the infrared than our eyes/brain do. B&W can show this ” advantage ” well especially when using Adobe Lightroom. ” Clarity function brings the unseen to visibility.
I guess Im saying even a inexpensive camera takes a great shot if the operator knows how to work the light,,knows how to anticipate the light and be patient for the Light to be right. So, don’t be afraid to work up the chain of cameras. As your ability and fun and creativeness grows with working Light ,,the need for better and better technology grows..but it all starts with working the Light.
On a side note..used cameras mite be something to look into..Cameras don’t hold their value very well,,except when retail outlets try to make high profits…Ebay etc etc mite yield you a really good camera for cheap..used..just make sure you get instruction manual AND photo processing software( on a DVD usually) and computor cords for downloading pics. With point and shoot cameras..be careful with how they are powered..” special” batteries or regular AA or AAA or etc batteries..If buying a used camera make sure battery charger comes with it unless it takes regular AA etc etc.
anyway..
Arizona B&W187
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Thank you, Michael, for shining a light on LIGHT. To be sure, I’ll be holding onto your thoughtful and generous reply for guidance as I wade through camera options. This may take some time, but meanwhile, I will try to apply your keen insights on timing and patience.
With An Eye On Future Possibilities -
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Keelin, The Subtle Shades Of Mystery leads the eyes perfectly to the to the left bottom of the picture where the mystery of soft textures and crepesculars hold the eyes in wonder. Love it!
Michael, I had to look up who Claudette Colbert was. Great B&W! Your Arizona B&W #197 with this name attached to it intrigue me. What kind of a puzzle this is?
Outwards
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Danke je, Hans! And speaking of mysteries…
Michael, you teased us cleverly with Arizona B&W#197. My brow also furrowed for a moment, but once paredolia glasses were donned, Cloudette Colbert stepped out of the shadows with a starlet look upwards as if to say: Is my bouffant in place?
And in your image above, Hans, the look of softness and sense of motion reminds me of pulling on a favorite warm sweater before stepping out into the autumn chill. Just in time to go Outwards and…
Give The Duster A Good Shake -
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Michael – The sci-fi buff in me says : Arizona B&W # 199 looks like the Starship Enterprise. Perhaps Cpt Kirk really did visit Earth in our century.
Above and beyond that, the arrangement of the (lenticulars and cumulus ?) makes a wonderful; photo. The cropping of the photo really emphasizes them, as there are no distracting elements.
Thanks for your continued inspiration. You make me want to move away from my BBS.
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Well, looking up really pays off! Love the fine structures in Mysterious Forces Keelin. B&W #203 and #204 by Michael are both wonderful compositions. Forgive me my pareidolia, but I see bright white teeth (#203) and a close up of an elephant (#204), while #204 also gives this abstract feeling of an infinite space.
Centrifugal
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No doubt about the elephant — a fantastic image, Michael! It’s a bit mesmerizing, and I was happy to see it did not take on a pinkish hue after staring at it for quite some time. #205 also sets the mind to seeing things without the aid of alcohol or advanced pareidolia. Another fine shot.
Having set my mind to wander, I mis-read the title of Hans’s following image as Wired Circus (honestly, no imbibing was involved!). I like the wild vertical dance of clouds you captured there, Hans, while Centrifugal gives the feeling of a look out the back window at warp speed. I wonder where we’re headed next…
Above and Beyond? -
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Fantastic photos, Hans and Michael! Impossible to say one is favored over another as each image displays its own beauty and mood. Today, the clouds took on a formation that surprised me in its vastness. The same texture continued to the right of the sun filling most of the late morning sky.
Embroidered -
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A great capture in Shadowing, Hans, mystery to spare in that one. And thanks, Michael, for your comment on textures above. Your Altocumulus example from two perspectives is a very interesting study in the almost physical feeling of rising /falling the images evoke. And your most recent B&W#124 is a stunner, the physical reaction was a dropped jaw on seeing that one!
A different sense of motion is what moved me to take the photo below. The clouds looked intent on heading somewhere, so full of purpose in this moment.
Directionally Unchallenged -
You describe the movement in Directionally Unchallenged just it just as it shows Keelin. Love its texture and composition.
And Arizona B&W #214 seems to show two sitting ghostly figures on a bench Michael, but I know you prefer the abstract approach and also that way you got me with this mystic virga formation.
The last weeks the sky over here is dominated by too much featureless variations of all kinds of stratus, but my archive is of help. I once spotted something beary clawing its way through the sky.
Something Beary
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Lots of time I go for that instant reaction. Perhaps that very first impact, very first reaction by the viewer , as being the truth for the viewer and the shot itself. Sometimes I have difficulty with a shot after assessing it for too long. Trying to hold on to the very first moment isn’t easy. Sometimes “weird”, the surreal, makes it easier. I very recently stumbled across an internet article on the Lundehund of Norway. Having 6 toes is one feature that makes this dog unique. Hans, your picture above is now so associated and my original take of it has dimensions to its “truth” I had not even conceived of…yes, directionally unchallenged!
Arizona B&W#215
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Mchael, you surprised me with your cryptic and even mystic comment and also with your Arizona B&W #215, which seems to be a picture of the Hound Of The Baskervilles in reply on Something Beary. I googled for the Lundehund and found out it is an amazing breed, but why in heaven meant for hunting these beautiful puffins?
A Hill Where Puffins Might Live
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Are you sure the Something Beary was clawing through the sky, Hans, and not a Lundehund paddling in the sea? To the eye (the good one that still works) of this paredoliac (if this isn’t a real word, I think it should be), I could not help but see an otter giving in to insatiable curiosity. It is a marvelous bit of mystery and a breathtaking, dreamlike image. I like it very much indeed.
And thank you, Michael, for sparking curiosity about the Lundehund. Pleased to hear they’re being saved from extinction, but hope Puffin is no longer on the menu. The swirls in your Arizona B&W#215 look to be forming a fiery lemniscate. Lovely!
Below The Puffins’ Perch -
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Thanks for kind words, Michael. According to Wikipedia: “Lemniscate, in algebraic geometry, is the term for any of several figure-eight or ∞-shaped curves.” It isn’t a word I come across often (being from the other end of the campus), but it came to mind with your Arizona B&W#215.
Below is the upper portion of a photo (posted under Cloudscapes, December 13, 2018) that also appears to hold some possibility of forming an infinity symbol. I jokingly suggested calling it Cirrus intortus lemniscatus. While the drifting clouds never quite completed the left-side loop, it was fun to watch and worth the wait regardless.
That said and settled, I like the soft winged look of you image above. Beautiful!
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Keelin, someone understands these higher dimensions:
Abel Prize
The winner received the prize for ‘ “fundamental work in geometric analysis and gauge theory,’. The article says ‘… of minimal surfaces, such as those formed by soap bubbles and more general minimisation problems in higher dimensions.’
So next time you feel raindrops falling on your head….
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Great texture in Arizona B-W #219 Michael. And the composition as well.
What caught my attention is what Keelin bounced back! Love that one and I can’t help but I see a front view of a horse’s head. It also looks like something thrown to the viewer leaving a trace and – indeed – bouncing just in front of us. Amazing.
Untitled
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Into The Unknown
Underlying Influence
Found This In The Dryer
Scorched
Rough Draft
Elevation Of Surprise
All Fired Up
Bejeweled Eyelid
With An Eye On Future Possibilities
Lightness Of Being
What Goes On Below The Surface
A Whale Of A Splash
When The Breeze Takes A Breath
Faeries In The Forest
The Subtle Shades Of Mystery
Give The Duster A Good Shake
Found This Under The Bed
The Irresistible Urge To Explore
Mysterious Forces
Above and Beyond?
Couldn’t Be Closer (without getting wet)
Embroidered
Directionally Unchallenged
Below The Puffins’ Perch
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