Perhaps you heard of the Black and White Photography Challenge? It was going around Facebook and I enjoyed seeing people's daily photos. Then a dear friend asked me to do it and I was elated. The Shot above was my favorite, showing the shadow of a potted plant on our patio. You were not supposed to say anything about your photos on Facebook, something I did not realize until I was almost done with the Challenge -- oh well. I found that taking photos with an eye to black and white and choosing seven to share was an enriching experience.
Yes, doing the Challenge made me re-appreciate black and white photography, even though today no film is used and we all have an array of apps and effects we can play around with on our phones and elsewhere. For me, looking at black and white images is calming, meditative, rich and soothing. I took many more shots than I could use for the Challenge. This one is a favorite, taken years ago, showing rain drops on the inlaid stone surface of the Labyrinth at the University of St. Thomas.
I took this shot of cowboy hats for sale at the Fiesta grocery store and it struck me as a very Texan image. I did use it for one of my Challenge uploads.
Here are some collage scraps in my desk drawer. My art room is full of scrap boxes. I have to stay organized or I'd go crazy. I should do a whole series of Collage scrap photos! Though perhaps color photos would be more interesting...
I have quite the collection of black and white rocks. My love for them goes back to my upstate NY college days, when I began finding them on the shore of Lake Champlain. I knew I had to shoot my rocks for the Black and White Challenge!
Here is a shot I could not use for the Challenge, as there was a stipulation you could not photograph people. It shows my shadow with our Havanese dog Dylan early one morning this past fall. Sadly, we lost the dog at the end of November. He was quite rambunctious and managed to get away from my husband one Sunday and ran into traffic. He was immediately struck and killed. We only had him 6 months. He was a joy and loved everyone he met. He was a very happy dog. I am glad he did not suffer a lingering death. Bless his sweet soul. This photo now looks to me like the closing image to a chapter in the book of our lives with Dylan. And because of the time of day, it truly was a black and white photo. This month we adopted a rescue dog we are calling Riley. I will post his photo another time...
