monochrome photography

lens-artists: portraits

Ritva has invited photographers “to capture the essence and personality of your subjects. Whether you choose to ask a stranger, do a self-portrait, take the portrait of a friend, family member, or acquaintance, or photograph animals and birds, the goal is to connect with another person or subject and tell their story through your image.”

This past year has engulfed my family into intense grief with the passing of my husband and son-in-law. Both these two men, the bedrocks of the family, endured intense suffering and left us with a deeper understanding of acceptance, compassion, and suffering. There is also gratitude … gratitude for the grounding companionship of emergency response teams, doctors, nurses, support staff, military personnel.

Over the past year, the beauty of the dawn has been a source of encouragement to begin each day anew. An important part of welcoming each new day … its challenges and unknowns … has been photography.

Thank you Rita for this challenge as it invited me to spend a few minutes to play as I explored new ways to perceive life.

lens-artists: just one picture

One picture … an image holding a shared moment during a winter’s drive … a silent memory of the time … the time before hearing … hearing the diagnosis … prostate cancer, stage 4.*

*A 2013 study conducted at the Portland VA Medical Center and Oregon Health and Science University found that Veterans exposed to Agent Orange are not only at higher risk for prostate cancer, but they are more likely to have aggressive forms of the disease. (cited: US Department of Veteran’s Affairs)

Leya’s lens-artists challenge: “use only ONE picture. One that you find important, meaningful to you, maybe sending a message – and then explain why you picked just that picture.”

lens-artists: exploring color – b&w

This week Patti invites photographers to explore a couple of questions in regards to black and white vs color images: 1) When is it best to use one vs the other? 2) What’s the benefit of each one?

First I have to admit that even though I have read various articles about what types of photographs are ideal for black and white, I generally move in and out of an experimental flow of emotional responses.

For example the first image was edited in Capture One from a raw file to a jpg. The black and white image was edited in Silver Efex Pro2. The last was edited in Color Efex Pro 4 which, for me, invokes a stimulus response of soft and gentle.

As I’ve been experiencing difficulties using Photoshop and Capture One due to upgrades, I made the very difficult decision to cancel both subscriptions. Anyone have any recommendations for editing programs that will work with an ISO 13.7.3?

Thank you for visiting.

lens-artists: details

One Red Spot

Within today’s Ted Forbes newsletter he introduces a Japanese aesthetic concept: Koh-ltten, which loosely translates to “one red spot.”

One of the techniques Ted’s dad used to balance his landscape composition is to place a dot of color into a negative space. He wrote that it’s almost like a small light, a point of visual interest.

The “red spot” works as a balancing contrast in two ways: color and scale. Its presence is unexpected, but it often functions to anchor the composition. It can be subtle, only noticeable when you’re really analyzing the work. It doesn’t have to be red, and it not restrained to a”dot” or “spot.” The overarching idea is to provide the viewer with a visual anchor – it serves as a point of contrast to the rest of the picture.

In the Japanese aseptic the emphasis is on subtle contrast, A “spot” a moment, a detail of interest or beauty. It doesn’t stand out too much. Think of it as “quiet.” Beauty is contrast displayed with humility.

In closing, I apologize to Patty (pilotfishblog.com) for taking another pathway to illustrate detail within photographs as I was so engaged with Ted Forbes discussion of the Japanese aesthetic concept: Koh-ltten I had an overwhelming desire to explore and share this quiet detail.

Thank you Ted for your willingness to share your journey and in this sharing teach me so much about photography.