Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: B/W

(+7 insets!) (Please view large) :) Well, you know what day it is...it's MACRO MONDAY! The theme this week is porcelain. Plates and dishes were mentioned as examples but I could have gone for something different like a porcelain figurine. The thought crossed my mind because I have some lovely porcelain horses packed away that would have been very nice. But no, what I really wanted to do was play with subtle patterning on dishware. Specifically, Steve gathered some dishes from a thrift store years ago to use in food photography. I am crazy about pure white dishware and I've wanted to take pictures since he got those plates so I wasn't interested in straying from the obvious this time. Whenever I do a Macro Monday photo shoot, I intentionally refuse to look for ideas online because I want to see what I come up with on my own. Playing around with different ideas is such fun. The whole process of learning what works and what doesn't is really cool because you slowly solve the challenge of creating a compelling image from something rather ordinary. Some ideas don't work out at all so I have to try again. Or later I'll think of something to try that I didn't think of initially. Adding to my own difficulty, only a couple of plates had interesting patterns to work with but that was enough. I ended up with six extras to share along with my main image that I hope you will all enjoy. I played around with the colors on some of the insets for fun because they are always so cool and pretty! The Macro Monday 2.0 group has been such a great experience for me. Because I'm in the US I am the last person to post pictures each week and for some reason I love that! I make a point of not looking at the contributions until after I've posted my pictures (though I do see a few sometimes because I comment on pictures throughout the day and there are usually a few MM submissions in the mix). One of my favorite things to do is to visit every contribution after I've posted my pictures. It's so much fun to see what everyone else has come up with and to be blown away by everyone's clever ideas and beautiful subjects. I love being able to give a pat on the back to each person too, because everyone likes encouragement and congratulations on doing such a great job! You will also notice that I've posted a panorama of snow on the far hillside across the valley...if you've been reading my blogs, I mentioned yesterday that it was supposed to snow today. Well, it actually DID! The snow fell just the tiniest bit here and the flakes melted instantly but it DID snow. Our altitude is just a bit too low for anything to stick but I thought it would be fun to include some proof of snow. Pam, I did a search for "plate" on your stream and found some very festive images that made me want to run over to your house and demand a feast! I also found this gorgeous image of an actual FLAMING Christmas pudding!! AMAZING!! What a lovely picture, Pam. I have to admit, I didn't have a clue what Christmas pudding tastes like, so I looked it up! I found a super page that talks about it if you're interested, just click on the highlighted words here . Oh dear. Dried and candied fruits and nuts...please forgive me for running away and holding up a chair to fend you off! I am not a fan of candied fruit, but I expect that your pudding was absolutely divine! The flame is incredible too! Thank you for the fun holiday memories, and I'm sending a virtual *HUGGGGGG* your way! Explored on 2/5/19, highest placement, #7.

The theme this week is "Cold", so I went for something easy and fast, since I had a lot of moth pictures to finish up for my presentation. Although I got lots of nice choices to pick from, I only have time to share one this week! Next week I'll be more prepared!! :D

1 picture above in a note :) Here is the same image after using Topaz Lab's Black & White Effects. I chose a lavender wash and I really cannot say which version I prefer...do you like one better than the other?

[best appreciated at full size against black] When you go to most Asian restaurants, you will notice that the usual condiment for flavoring a dish at the table is soy sauce, a very salty liquid made from fermented soybeans, which has the consistency of water and it has a unique flavor which I love. While Steve and I were waiting for our order to be prepared, I had fun taking some pictures with my camera. Without moving a thing, this grouping of soy sauce, salt and pepper sitting on the table next to the frosted-glass window made a cool still life! This image was taken in November, 2011.

[best appreciated at full size against black] There's something so cool about the way fog rolls over hilltops and through valleys. This is one of the ridgelines across the valley from our property covered with morning fog.

A few months ago, Steve and I went to a sushi restaurant and I had a lot of fun taking pictures with my (then) new 100mm lens while we waited for our order. This pair of images is a study in bokeh: distant and near (the other is below). I hope you like them! :) This image was taken in November, 2011.

(For Sunday Challenge: Since it is ok to use an old picture, I thought I'd toss this one in, as I really love love love the mist coming up off the meadows and the fog in the background. The b/w adds to the magic of this picture, so it's one of my most memorable weather pictures!) A few days ago I went out to take frost images, but after I got back inside, I looked out the kitchen window and saw steam rising up off the meadow next to our property. It was so awesome looking that I turned around, put my boots back on, grabbed the camera, and took some pictures!

Sitting on the side of the tracks near the entrance to Tunnel 13 was this axle with set of wheels. I have seen a picture of this with the other axle intact, sitting on the tracks, but I guess someone decided to make off with one set. A shame, but still an interesting image! This image was taken on Saturday, November 12, 2100.

The ceiling within the train tunnel was like a rib cage, and I couldn't help myself from taking many different photos! This image was taken on Saturday, November 12, 2100.

Outside the tunnel, there were a number of abandoned buildings. A couple of them had rows of icicles on the edges of the roofs. Nature's jewelry! :) This image was taken on Saturday, November 12, 2100.

Here's another view of the cool interior of Tunnel 13. One of the people in our group, Andy Spliethof, pointed out that where the tunnel was "ribbed", it was much quieter. He was right! The echoes inside were mostly absent where the ceiling was contoured, and bounced off every surface where the ceiling was just smoothed. This image was taken on Saturday, November 12, 2100.

This is another image from inside Tunnel 13, with a neat lens flare. I've uploaded 5 more pictures from our photography trip to Tunnel 13, south of Ashland, Oregon. I hope you enjoy them! :) Thanks to all of you who have left comments and fav'ed my images! I appreciate them all! If you leave a comment, I try very hard to return the favor on the same day. I consider it both a compliment that you've taken the time to tell me what you think about my image(s) and an invitation for me to come see your photography as well! By the way, for those of you who may not know, there is a very fun, free Flickr competition site which you might like to take part in. It's called FlickrDuel and features dozens of ongoing competitions, or duels every day. You can enter your pictures into many different categories and vote on contests too. It's another way to enjoy your photography! This image was taken on Saturday, November 12, 2100.

Here's another angle of the tunnel, showing the light at the other end. This image was taken on Saturday, November 12, 2100.

[best appreciated at full size against black] While walking along our ridge line, I found some budding madrone blossoms, and I was surprised because I'd never noticed them before! When the time came to work on this picture, I started running into problems. I really liked the depth of field but the colors were all too similar and lacked impact. This is when I start playing with filters to see if an idea comes to mind. I was looking through Topaz Lab's "Lens Effects" suite (highly recommended filters!!!) when I found a Toy filter that changed the image to black and white. BAM! That was it! Suddenly the flowers popped out and the image became dramatic and interesting! If you ever feel like you want to give up on a picture that seems to have some potential, take a walk through your filter library and odds are you'll find something to push you in the right direction! :) This image was taken in April, 2012.