When you have two polar opposites, such as hot and cold, child and adult, black and white, there is usually something between them. I tend to be drawn to this between state, the fluid and the ambiguous and the potential.
In this context, "black and white" is a misleading name for a monochrome image in greytones. Of course you need the contrast between the black and the white, but even more important are the grey tones between the two extremes.
In my image above, what speaks of spring are the gorgeous greys of the Impossible Project Silver Shade film, the hint of leaves and flower petals along the otherwise stark branches.
Spring is in fact a between state in itself.
I write this on May Day, which in Ireland has been called Beltaine, the spring festival celebrated as the end of the dark season and the beginning of the season of growth.
The flipside of Beltaine is Samhain, which morphed into Hallowe'en in the US. On Samhain, folkloric tradition tells us, the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead thins, ghosts walk abroad, and fairies move from their summer quarters to their winter dwellings.
So there is power in the between state, and we, as photographers, can harness this power.
Many of us, myself included, shoot fences – boundaries between yours and mine – for Fence Friday, and who among us have not taken our camera out during the blue hour between day and night? By shooting autumn leaves, we mark the death of summer and the coming of winter. We are always between one thing and another, once we start thinking about it.
Doors and windows are another favourite subject – remember when the Muses had that as a theme? - and this is what makes Ria's image below so powerful: The woman is poised on the brink, full of potential. What is waiting for her on the other side of that doorway? My guess is a perfect summer's day.
Jenny
In this context, "black and white" is a misleading name for a monochrome image in greytones. Of course you need the contrast between the black and the white, but even more important are the grey tones between the two extremes.
In my image above, what speaks of spring are the gorgeous greys of the Impossible Project Silver Shade film, the hint of leaves and flower petals along the otherwise stark branches.
Spring is in fact a between state in itself.
I write this on May Day, which in Ireland has been called Beltaine, the spring festival celebrated as the end of the dark season and the beginning of the season of growth.
The flipside of Beltaine is Samhain, which morphed into Hallowe'en in the US. On Samhain, folkloric tradition tells us, the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead thins, ghosts walk abroad, and fairies move from their summer quarters to their winter dwellings.
So there is power in the between state, and we, as photographers, can harness this power.
Many of us, myself included, shoot fences – boundaries between yours and mine – for Fence Friday, and who among us have not taken our camera out during the blue hour between day and night? By shooting autumn leaves, we mark the death of summer and the coming of winter. We are always between one thing and another, once we start thinking about it.
Doors and windows are another favourite subject – remember when the Muses had that as a theme? - and this is what makes Ria's image below so powerful: The woman is poised on the brink, full of potential. What is waiting for her on the other side of that doorway? My guess is a perfect summer's day.
Jenny
Driven by a beating heart by RiaPereira
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Thank you Jenny for guest musing with us today. If you'd like to know more about Jenny, be sure to visit her flickr stream. If you are interested in a future guest muse role, please email us at mortalmuses9 [at] gmail [dot] com.
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6 comments:
Wonderful images.
beautiful post jenny! i love the pairing of these two images and your take on shades of grey. Thanks so much for musing here with us today!
Wonderful post, now I have some pondering to do.
you gave me a lot to think about in this post jenny. love it. thank you for musing with us today!
Lovely post! Thanks for sharing and musing with us today.
Such a thoughtful post, Jenny! I love the similarities and contradictions. Thank you so much for musing with us.
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