Even on a cloudy, humid and misty day, the Naples Botanical Garden always shares some new visual treats. So much has changed there in one month’s time. First, these pink Calla lilies greeted us at the entrance. These elegant plants thrive in South Florida.
The holiday lights are only a memory, and a massive new landscape project is underway, transforming the island in the center of the lake. Stay tuned for more photos from my recent visit.
Looking through my archives for color photographs that would make a satisfying black and white image made me realize that “seeing in black and white” will make me a better photographer. Any consistently successful photographer will pre-visualize the image before image capture. For starters, one evaluates dynamic range, depth of field, light quality, composition, timing of the action and whether the subject is meaningful.
To choose a good subject for black and white photography there are more factors to evaluate: tonal range and contrast, simplicity, shape, texture, interest. I like my black and white images to be strong. The image has to be eye catching and hold the viewer’s interest without the help of color. I admit, I’m a photographer who loves color, so this challenge is fun for me!
This photograph of a mother Bison and her calf grazing on top of the hillside made the cut for a color to black and white candidate. In my judgement, it has simplicity, large repeating shapes, texture in the fur, wide tonal range and plenty of interest — from the unusual wildlife sighting to the eye contact and tongue in mid-air.
Van Gogh’s Self Portrait was recreated in flowers at Pittsburgh’s Phipps Conservatory. The strong shapes and colors in his portrait allowed the Pittsburgh artists to make a remarkable piece.
The current flower show features rooms inspired by other Van Gogh paintings such as Starry Night, the bar with the pool table, and a Provencal house.
My previous blog featured a landscape photo with clearly defined shapes that are different colors. Do these two compositions inspire your work?
On a summer trip to San Diego, I made a day trip to the Callaway Vineyard in Temecula, California. This view of the undulating hills and the distant mountains caught my eye, and I made this photograph.
I brought home a delicious sparkling rose wine with strong hints of peach and a Cabernet Sauvignon. I was impressed by several wines I tasted. I hope you enjoy the view in the photo until you can get there yourself.
We have had a wet and stormy week in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and other parts of the United States have endured worse — floods or even tornadoes. This late spring/early summer weather can be violent.
So, my mind is traveling back to last week in the dry high-altitude desert. We had cacti all around us in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. The Joshua trees themselves are as numerous as they are unique. This one, uniquely shaped, seemed to point toward the setting moon in the west.
If you think this tangle of cypress trees in Monterey are shaped by a strong coastal wind, you would be half right. The wind was not blowing at the time I took this photograph. But surely, the wind makes a habit of blowing off the Pacific and has shaped these trees over time.
This image invites me to ponder: how much am I shaped by my everyday environment? In what ways are you shaped by your world?
Blog: Cathy Kelly Photography 