black and white photography

seeing differently: 3rd of 15

For the third submission to Robin’s photo challenge, Seeing Differently, I decided to walk about the Colorado State University’s Flower Trial Garden with a Nikon D750 and a Nikon Macro 40 mm lens with an intention to look for repeating patterns.

The Flower Trial Garden sets aside about 20,000 square feet for planting annuals from late May through October.  This color-filled garden is located across the street from the University’s Center for the Arts and even though the garden is about research it does offer an inviting environment for both students and non-students, alike.

I find that my eye generally tends to favor black and white images: yet, the color version of the image seems more dramatic and gentle to the eye.  What are your thoughts?

macrobckofford-20164-5dsc_1236oct-04-2016bwmacrobckofford-20164-5dsc_1236oct-04-2016

 

initially posted in October, 2016

lines to patterns

In all things, the Way does not want to be obstructed, for if there is obstruction, there is choking; if the choking does not cease, there is disorder, and disorder harms the life of all creatures ~Chuang-Tzu*

linesandshapes (4)

When I chisel a wheel, if the blows of the mallet are too gentle, the chisel slides and won’t take hold. But if they’re too hard, it bites in and won’t budge. Not too gentle, not too hard–you can get it in your hand and feel it in your mind.  You can’t put it into words, and yet, there’s a knack to it somehow. I can’t teach it to my son, and he can’t learn it from me. ~Wheelwright P’ien*

*cited in:

Tao of Photography Seeing Beyond Seeing

Philippe L. Gross & S.I. Shapiro

initially posted on September 21, 2013

peace lily

merging lines with light and shadow

peace lily

the eye that is penetrating sees clearly,

the ear that is penetrating hears clearly,

the nose that is penetrating distinguishes odors,

the mouth that is penetrating distinguishes flavors,

the mind that is penetrating has understanding,

and the understanding that is penetrating has virtue. ~ CHUANG-TZU

initially posted in August, 2012

six word saturday: arisings and ceasings within each ksana

The arising and ceasing within a ksana* occurs very rapidly. During any particular moment, we see flowers as red and leaves as green. In reality, they are constantly changing from ksana to ksana, and after a while, they will wilt. Within each ksana, they are perpetually growing and wilting. 

In this world, how can there be any flowers and grass that will never wilt? How can there be any tables that will not be subjected to destruction? Because all phenomena and existences are arising from ksana to ksana, all phenomena and existence are therefore ceasing from ksana to ksana. There is a saying, “When a young man snaps his fingers, sixty-three ksanas have gone by.” Time goes by very fast. Youth can disappear in a flash. A ksana is indeed an extremely brief and short span of time.

*A ksana is a tiny unit of time, approximately one seventy-fifth of a second. It is an imperceptibly small amount of time, and all kinds of things happen within the space of a ksana that elude our conscious awareness. For example, it is said there are 900 arisings and ceasings within each ksana. I suspect the number 900 is not meant to be precise but rather is a poetic way of saying “a lot.”

Six Word Saturday is sponsored by: Travel with Intent

Cited: http://www.ibps.org/english/master/Time%20and%20Space.html