Monday, August 23, 2010

black and white landscapes


Have you seen the black and white submissions in the flickr pool? Have you really gone and had a look? If you haven't, you really should...they are stunning. It's been a tough one to choose from, I can tell you but I have so enjoyed it. I remember taking our daughter to Venice when she was three and she was disappointed that the city was not in black and white. She had seen pictures of Venice from a long time ago and had concluded that everything from before she was born actually was in black and white. But she had a point; there is something so timeless about black and white images. The faces, the places, the moods, the quiet moments. All so peaceful and focused in black and white. Thank you for sharing those moments with us.

Here's the landscape we lived with in Italy last week. We really used and abused it; we painted it in watercolours (turns out I may be able to take a photo or two, but painting is really not my thing), drew it in charcoal, ate in front of it, watched sunsets over it, looked at the Perseids over it and even played with light painting using glowsticks in front of it. On the day before we left we watched a storm brewing over the mountains and I remember feeling a moment of tenderness for that lone tree, rooted there while the weather and seasons moved around it. I've done all sorts of things to this picture, but my favourite was sticking it through Photomatix for that HDR effect. It gives that extra buzz to the overcast landscape. It was one of the first ways I learnt to process pictures back in April...so easy and yet the response from friends and family was intense.


Uploaded by drdesigns on February 4, 2010

I chose this picture because of the quiet solitude of the tree in the foreground. And yet that tree isn't alone; the beautiful composition shows the other trees also standing there, in the snow, each one fainter than the next. Go and check it out on flickr with the black background; it looks even more stunning. Perhaps I am mentally preparing myself for the winter and this picture reminds me how beautiful it can be, despite the cold! How those seasons just keep changing and their moods with it...timeless...

17 comments:

AnnGeeDee said...

Holy smokes! Both of those pictures are extraordinary!

Anonymous said...

wonderful photographs. I loved the story of your daughter and Venice. My grandson had the same idea. He was watching an old black and white film on television one day and suddenly said "When did the world change to colour"

Suki said...

Yes, Winter can be beautiful too. Lovely images Kirstin.

urban muser said...

both of these photos are absolutely gorgeous. i can really feel the moments in them.

Unknown said...

i think a third of my flickr favorites are photos of lone trees -- i don't know what it is about them, but they are so compelling!

i love the comment about the city not being in black and white. i just saw a series of russian photos taken at the turn of the century that are in color, and it changes the way you think about the past -- doesn't seem quite so distant. you can see them here:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/08/russia_in_color_a_century_ago.html

Tammy Lee Bradley said...

Truly spectacular! What a wonderful combination.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for featuring my photo! I'm very honored. I love lonely trees too, and am always on the lookout for them.

This shot is from my 365 project this year. I blogged about it here: http://dorisrudddesigns.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/35-365/

Megan Belcher said...

These are phenomenal!

blue elephant photography said...

i love these photos =) there is definitely something beautiful with black and white ♥

Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal said...

I have to agree with your choice today. Just a lovely almost haunting shot. Beautiful!

michel said...

Oh my gosh Kirstin your photo is so Ansel Adams it isn't funny! what a wonderful shot. i love how both of these are a lonely tree even with all their differences. great great pair today! and seriously great job on that shot. amazing

"You don't take a photograph, you make it." AA

Jamie said...

What amazing photos! The are soulful and peaceful all at once.

Jan said...

Gorgeous!
I really enjoyed the B&W's in the group. So much talent! Well done everyone!

Stephanie Smith S.L. Smith Photography said...

Both of these images take my breath away

Maureen said...

Stunning images, both of them in a different way. I love the connection of the lone tree. Well shot, well paired.

Cara said...

Both images are stunning.

Victoria Bennett Beyer said...

Wow! I do love the simplicity in the first shot, but I also love all the complexity of the top shot. There is a lot for the eye to take in that it really takes more than a passing glance to absorb it all.

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