painting and photographic works

Posts tagged “black and white

Mountain Photography from Kimberley

Here are a collection of my favorite “arty” photographs taken at the Kimberley ski area in mid-February 2024:

Some interesting photos from the chair lift:

More images of trees and snow:


A January Day in Photos

Here are a collection of my favorite winter photos from January 3rd, 2023 in Edmonton’s river valley:


Falling Into Winter 2022

Here are a selection of my favorite photos taken in late-September, October and November 2022, in Edmonton:

And some abstracted photos from mid-October:

Into November, with a rather sharp transition to winter:


The Best of My Summer 2022 Photos

Here are some of my favorite photos (in a variety of styles) taken in July, August and early-September of 2022, in the Edmonton’s: river valley:

Edmonton’s Muttart Conservatory with downtown skyline (Aug 2022).

Flowers of summer:

Here are some favorite black and white or monochrome photos:

In early August I captured some interesting geometric abstracts mostly from at MacEwan University:

and in an abstract vein, using Intentional Camera Movement:

And a few more nature-y images from late summer:

Finally a monochrome photo of Dawson Bridge, with a late-summer evening haze:


Landscape/Nature Photo Art – Spring/Early-Summer 2022

Here are a collection of photos captured from late April into the middle June, 2022, mostly from the river valley at Edmonton, Canada.

The following set of photos are of flowers in bloom at the St. Albert Botanic Park (2022 June 20)


Seeing Winter in Different Ways

Here are a collection of some of my recent photos, of different winter subject matter and processed in different ways:

All of these images were taken in Dawson Park in Edmonton, Canada on 2022 February 11.


Winter Beauty in Photos

Here are a variety of recently (January 2022) captured winter nature photos:


Deep Freeze

The following set of photos were taken in late December 2021 in Edmonton, when the temperatures (daytime highs) were in the -25C range. This made the photography a bit of a challenge as I didn’t want to expose the camera nor my hands to the cold for too long.

The preceding photos were taken on a cloudy afternoon and the following set, on the next day, with a mostly sun and blue skies.


Old But Not That Old

I’ve recently been experimenting with software that simulates the look of photos created through the history of photography. The software that I am using is DxO’s FilmPack 6 (FP6). Among the historical looks that appeal to me and that I have been applying to some of my photos, are the style of the early 1900’s and especially that of Eugene Atget, a French photographer.

I thought that some of my photos, taken in the 80’s, in Paris, might be particularly suited to the historical treatment. My photos from that time were obviously taken on film and I subsequently scanned and digitized them, so they lost some of the detail in the process but given the limits of film and processing from a hundred years ago I think that only adds to the authenticity of the look. Here are two of my photos software-adjusted to simulate the look of photos from around the year 1900:

Here are photos that I took in 1984 at Paris’s Père-Lachaise Cemetery. These are intended to look like something Atget may have captured in the first couple of decades of the 1900’s:

One of my reasons to visit that cemetery was to see the final resting place of Jim Morrison:

So what do I think of software manipulation of photos to give them an antique or historical look? Well it is kind of fun and I’ll probably play around with it a bit more, particularly on old, low quality images. I’m not trying to fool anyone but if the look of the photo contributes to the mood conveyed by the image and that helps tell the story then I think the historical treatment is valid.

Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris (Sept. 1984)


The Sun is Setting

Some images from a late-summer (early-September) evening walk in Edmonton’s river valley – the shadows are longer, the paths are a bit darker and moodier, the white poplar tree trunks seem to jump out of the darkness.


2018 – The Best of Black and White

As much as I love color there is something about black and white images that has always appealed to me. Inevitably when I go out a shoot a bunch of photos a number of them (maybe 10%) will scream out at me to be represented monochromatically.

Here are one of my favorite black and white images, from each month in 2018:

January:

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 Trail in the snow along the edge of the frozen North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton

February:

 

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Plastic pins of a toy for capturing a 3D representation of an object

March:

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An exposed and therefore snow-free, south-facing bank of the North Saskatchewan River valley in Edmonton.

April:

 

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Large chunks of ice at spring break-up on the North Saskatchewan River.

May:

 

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Bridge pillars on the Sturgeon River in St.Albert

June:

 

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The bell of a trombone, at the Edmonton International Jazz Festival

July:

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Trail in Edmonton’s river valley (upper Dawson Park)

August:

 

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Bend in the road (Rowland Road) in Edmonton

September:

 

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Pillar of the Dawson Bridge in Edmonton

October:

 

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Squirrel sounding off.

November:

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Ice starting to form and collect on the North Saskatchewan River

December:

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River ice sheet breaking under pressure.

 


Colorless Autumn

The season known for its expressive color also has a beauty in a black and white expression. Here are photos taken in the river valley of Edmonton in early September 2018.

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Edmonton’s Dawson Park, September 2018


In a January Fog

While not unheard of, foggy days in Edmonton are also not very common. This last weekend in Edmonton was however one of those times – a fog  just heavy enough to hide the far side of the river valley and flatten out depth. The high humidly and sub-zero temperature resulted in a delightful, frosty coating on the trees.

Combining the fog, frost and late afternoon/early-evening light lead to these moody,  black and white images:

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Frosty Thorns

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Poles in a Frosty Landscape

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The Five

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Three, with Frosty Wires

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Rowland Bend


River’s Edge

A look at the shapes and tones at the edge of the North Saskatchewan River in Edmonton (in early April 2016). A few weeks earlier the river was covered in ice but now the river is clear with just a few big chunks of ice sit washed up on the shore. The ice decaying but reveals a captivating crystalline structure:

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Paths – in Black and White

Here is a collection of photographs of paths, taken in Edmonton’s river valley and Mill Creek Ravine on 2016 April 9.

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Path to the City

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Pleasant Path

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Light at the End of the Path

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A Rooty Path

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Bends Through the Spring Woods


Spring Arrives – in Black and White

Perhaps I should say “winter departs” – somehow spring doesn’t feel imminent until color returns to the landscape. While there was the bit of exposed green moss or grass and blue sky as I hiked Edmonton’s river valley, for the most part everything is a shade of grey or brown.

That said, here are 5 photos that “don’t need no stinking color” to look interesting:

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Arrival

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Ravine Path – Shady and Slippery

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Slope and Sky

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Nothing but Sticks

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Spring Sky over a Late-winter Valley

These images were taken in Edmonton’s Dawson Park on 2016 March 25th.


Trees of Late-Winter

Here is a little collection of photos of trees, taken on the last day of winter (2016 March 19) in Edmonton.

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Greenless Golden Path

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Tangle to the Sky

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Under the Spruce, Between the Fairways

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Character Tree

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Gnarled Trunk and Twiggy Shadows

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Way Up

 

 


Moodier in Black and White

Here are some photos taken on the same outing as my hike last Sunday in Edmonton’s  Mill Creek Ravine – but taking out the color the images have a much moodier feel.

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Spring Slope

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Stairs and a Patch of Snow

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Trunk on a Diagonal

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All Quiet Under the Bridge

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Tangled Slope

 

and as a bonus, a black and white image from beside the river in Edmonton’s Louise McKinney Park:

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Promenade Beside the Ice


Late Winter – Black and White

Here is a little collection of black and white photos themed around the patterns and textures of late winter (late February at my home here in Edmonton).

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“Last Year’s Plume”

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“Irregular Patchwork”

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“Up”

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“Ice and the Far Edge”

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“Temporary Condition”

A few more photos from this photo shoot may be seen on another of my blogs: YEGmonton.


Lines in Black and White

Take away the color and you are left with line and value.

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Up Stairs 1

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Art of the Curve

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Hangin’ From the Moon

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EPCOR Waterfall in Edmonton’s Churchill Square

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Up Stairs 2


Winter Nature – Black and White

Here are a few of my recent black and white photos showing Edmonton’s river valley in early January.

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Path Through the Riverside Brush

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Snow Covered Tangle

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Patterns In and On (and the Edmonton Queen)

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Up a Snowy Trail

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Downtown Edmonton Over the Frozen North Saskatchewan River


Snow and Shadows

A New Year’s Eve afternoon walk in Edmonton’s river valley revealed interesting patterns made by snow and ice, trees and the sun.

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Blue Diagonals

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Alien Icescape

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Foot Paths

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Tangled

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Crystalline Edge

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Trampled

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Like Flakes


YYC – A Morning in Black and White

I was in Calgary (Alberta, Canada) on 2015 September 12 for a meeting of the Provincial Council of the Alberta Society of Artists. I had an opportunity to spend some time walking and photographing in the downtown core that morning. This group of photos I present in black and white which suits their emphasis on form.

C-Train Line

C-Train Line/Station in Downtown

Tunnel Entrance

Going Underground

More Towers Rising

More Steel Rising

Soft Shadows

Soft Shadows

Easy, Like Sunday Morning (but it was Saturday)

Easy, Like Sunday Morning (but it was Saturday)


Mill Creek in February – Photos

On the south side of Edmonton lies a deeply wooded ravine in which runs the Mill Creek. In winter it will be frozen over in some places and have flowing water in other locales. Here are some photos from 2015 February 8th:

Far From the Core - The downtown Edmonton skyline in the distance, near an access to the Mill Creek Ravine.

Far From the Core – The downtown Edmonton skyline in the distance, near an access to the Mill Creek Ravine.

Creek Opening

Creek Opening

Snowy Creek

Snowy Creek

Snow and Reflections

Overwintering - Mallard ducks in  Edmonton's Mill Creek

Overwintering – Mallard Ducks in Edmonton’s Mill Creek in February

Bridge Over Mill Creek

Red Bridge Over Mill Creek