On this one the effect is from shooting through wire fencing into the dust and low sun. It was the old Central Hotel that used to be next to the station in the town centre. It was gutted by fire (an insurance scam that EVERYBODY knew about, so how they got away with it, I don't know). I used to walk past it everyday going into work and one day, suddenly half of it had been knocked down. It's all gone now and something new being built. Apartments I believe...
Ad astra per aspera
Hey, Grandma Moses started late!
"What can I do, What can I write, Against the fall of Night". A.E. Housman
I had my neighbourgs of the floor above me who had a washing machine flood, another neighbour called the firemen as nobody answered at the door... The fireman went up the big ladder to get through the window... And fell on the naked couple that must have been quite absorbed !!! "What can I do, What can I write, Against the fall of Night". A.E. Housman
In my town I had handsome grey cat with white tie called Kuzya, I gave him to my sister before moving to India 4 years ago.
My sister barely tolerated him, but niece adored him. Unfortunately for Kuzya niece last year moved to China for study and now he is at mercy of my sister.
Mangooses on the other hand are quite extraordinary, as you can "see" them think and even sometimes, smile of the good joke they pulled upon you ! "What can I do, What can I write, Against the fall of Night". A.E. Housman
The child going to school walking on the open heating pipes, plus the contrasts of the inner yard, symbolise for me the situation at that time !
This one is the reason I was in Leningrad ! To design small prefabricated "datchas" (three morrys, built in one day) that were one among thousands of the "joint-ventures" of that era !
I have fond memories of this work because we changed a factory that was making Kalaschnikov's butt and ammunition crates into a house building company ! We had to work with the district's soviets (ah, those babouchkas !) so it wouldn't be bought and capitalized by the new mafia... Wasn't without danger as one of our "banker" finished in the Neva with concrete shoes !!!
Those should still be at the Lenexpo site !
The first prototype...
Inside the second version, with local made furniture, Finnish style :-) !
Many negotiated with oversea firms they were working for... And many were crying when they had it, because it was the first time they owned a house (not the land)!
Quite an experience ! "What can I do, What can I write, Against the fall of Night". A.E. Housman
Our Veda caught mid-lick
Bodhi sprawled
Man in suit with 'bag o' dookie', I thought it incongruous to say the least...
Neighbor's kid mid-throw
Another of the same kid...
The first was in fact a usual situtation in a train station (Quimper for LEP), but I saw it as an "outcasting" situation... (old vs young, etc.)
Then you have also the photographied photographer (what's he shooting at ? :-) )
Or the more solitary newspaper reader...
Or some famed british architect (Peter Cook)...
Or again the incredibly alert urban writer Françoise Choay..
I am known as the "teacher with the camera", but they agree in most cases, as this student who was very happy with the picture...
For a start we have one of Sam's Grandmother's cats:
That's taken in (very limited!) available light at ISO400 on my new toy, the Ricoh GR-D, of which more later. Once the ISO starts going up I end up turning the pictures into B&W, because the sensor noise isn't as distracting.
This one just works better in B&W. It would also work better if I'd lined up the perspective properly.
I wish I had an eye for black and white, or at least in processing would think about trying black and white when the shot doesn't work in colour. Ad astra per aspera
Her excuse is that it was cold out. So she stole my coat.
I really like the landscape with the leafless tree in B&W... Nice grey values, black is black, great shot ! "What can I do, What can I write, Against the fall of Night". A.E. Housman
I don't think that's a set-up: it's just a tree root.
I dropped the Leica M6 years ago because I couldn't get below 70 cm ! Now I regret having sold it, but then, I needed the money for another camera... Pfff... This is worse the Hi-Fi in the sixties ! "What can I do, What can I write, Against the fall of Night". A.E. Housman
I'll try again, one of theses days :-) "What can I do, What can I write, Against the fall of Night". A.E. Housman
I should start practicing colour. And realistic colour, at that. Difficult! You have a normal feeling for a moment, then it passes. --More--
Visual languages have to be learned. Realistic depends on what you have been exposed to, or experienced. For colour, study the Impressionists! You can't be me, I'm taken
For B&W, I've had better success by shooting the negs with a digital camera... I have a sort of repro flash stand (doesn't seem to exist anymore but you might find some in flea markets) ! Special flash with a diffuser that holds negatives (up to 6x6),a stand for the camera and a macro lens, you shoot and "basta" you have a negative in digital file !
Results are much better as it works as the good old enlarger, with light and optical means, with a distance ! While the scanner is more about surface (and most, even high priced, can't really manage B&W)!
Trouble is, I lent it to a friend and I think he broke the flash lamp and is afraid to tell me ! "What can I do, What can I write, Against the fall of Night". A.E. Housman
There is also a trend in saturated colors ("vivid" they say in manuals), but as Sven said, it's also about culture ! Have you seen any movies from J-P. Jeunet, each has a slight green dominance for drama... He tests his films quite thoroughly and at one time even wanted some 3D software for calibrating some scenes !
I agree however that color isn't easy, most times it goes for a "busy" picture... But you can also almost have a B&W "colored" effect in some...
This was a quick shot in "clair obscur", "The writer" ! (a fellow teacher) :-)
Wonderful shot. You have a normal feeling for a moment, then it passes. --More--
Fascinating photos this week, and interesting discussion on B&W!
The Friday Photography Blog series is just wonderful, and I look forward to it every week.
I like the "more then open" feature of the flower with a shallow depth of field ! "What can I do, What can I write, Against the fall of Night". A.E. Housman
Should have done that in the first post ... :)
Shenandoah Valley I can swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell. _ Blood Sweat & Tears
Here is another image from the same canyon that I posted on an earlier blog. I think it represents more accurate colors.
I can swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell. _ Blood Sweat & Tears
And where is Nasreddin Hodja ? "What can I do, What can I write, Against the fall of Night". A.E. Housman
mullah nasruddin!
What in the World Were You Smuggling? Nasrudin the smuggler was leading a donkey that had bundles of straw on its back. An experienced border inspector spotted Nasrudin coming to his border. "Halt," the inspector said. "What is your business here?" "I am an honest smuggler!" replied Nasrudin. "Oh, really?" said the inspector. "Well, let me search those straw bundles. If I find something in them, then you are required to pay a border fee!" "Do as you wish, "Nasrudin replied, "but you will not find anything in those bundles." The inspector intensively searched and took apart the bundles, but could not find a single thing in them. He turned to Nasrudin and said, "You have managed to get one by me today. You may pass the border." Nasrudin crossed the border with his donkey while the annoyed inspector looked on. And then the very next day, Nasrudin once again came to the border with a straw-carrying donkey. The inspector saw Nasrudin coming and thought, "I'll get him for sure this time." He checked the bundles of straw again, and then searched through Nasrudin's clothing, and even went through the donkey's harness. But once again he came up empty handed and had to let Nasrudin pass. This same pattern continued every day for several years, and every day Nasrudin wore more and more extravagant clothing and jewelry that indicated he was getting wealthier. Eventually, the inspector retired from his longtime job, but even in retirement he still wondered about the man with the straw-carrying donkey. "I should have checked that donkey's mouth more extensively," he thought to himself. "Or maybe he hid something in the donkey's rectum." Then one day he spotted Nasrudin's face in a crowd. "Hey," the inspector said, "I know you! You are that man who came to my border everyday for all those years with a straw-carrying donkey. Please, sir, I must talk to you." Nasrudin came towards him and the inspector continued talking. "My friend, I always wondered what you were smuggling past my border everyday. Just between you and me, you must tell me. I must know. What in the world were you smuggling for all those years? I must know!" Nasrudin simply replied, "donkeys."
Nasrudin the smuggler was leading a donkey that had bundles of straw on its back. An experienced border inspector spotted Nasrudin coming to his border.
"Halt," the inspector said. "What is your business here?"
"I am an honest smuggler!" replied Nasrudin.
"Oh, really?" said the inspector. "Well, let me search those straw bundles. If I find something in them, then you are required to pay a border fee!"
"Do as you wish, "Nasrudin replied, "but you will not find anything in those bundles."
The inspector intensively searched and took apart the bundles, but could not find a single thing in them. He turned to Nasrudin and said, "You have managed to get one by me today. You may pass the border."
Nasrudin crossed the border with his donkey while the annoyed inspector looked on. And then the very next day, Nasrudin once again came to the border with a straw-carrying donkey. The inspector saw Nasrudin coming and thought, "I'll get him for sure this time."
He checked the bundles of straw again, and then searched through Nasrudin's clothing, and even went through the donkey's harness. But once again he came up empty handed and had to let Nasrudin pass.
This same pattern continued every day for several years, and every day Nasrudin wore more and more extravagant clothing and jewelry that indicated he was getting wealthier. Eventually, the inspector retired from his longtime job, but even in retirement he still wondered about the man with the straw-carrying donkey.
"I should have checked that donkey's mouth more extensively," he thought to himself. "Or maybe he hid something in the donkey's rectum."
Then one day he spotted Nasrudin's face in a crowd. "Hey," the inspector said, "I know you! You are that man who came to my border everyday for all those years with a straw-carrying donkey. Please, sir, I must talk to you."
Nasrudin came towards him and the inspector continued talking. "My friend, I always wondered what you were smuggling past my border everyday. Just between you and me, you must tell me. I must know. What in the world were you smuggling for all those years? I must know!"
Nasrudin simply replied, "donkeys."
BTW, is there some kind of innuendo in posting a picture titled "interspecies communication" as the first comment on your return?...;-) "Dieu se rit des hommes qui se plaignent des conséquences alors qu'ils en chérissent les causes" Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
