53Weeks 287 of 371: Black and White and Rain [BlackWhite 6/7]

The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain. 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

There is a house around the corner from me where their yard is a mini floral garden. This was growing in the flower bed next to the road. The natural colours were a delicate pink and green - but this is black and white week! so you get the sepia version.

 I should also mention that when trying to shot for black and white to switch your camera to a black and white mode. It helps train your eye to see in black and white. I shot RAW so on my computer I still have the full colour version to finish the way I want.


Black and White and Rain [BlackWhite 6/7]
Silver Efex Pro2 - High Structure Smooth
105 mm f/4 1/25 ISO 800
Canon EOS 40D EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM

53Weeks 286 of 371: Cabbage [BlackWhite 6/7]

Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education. 

Mark Twain

Cabbage [BlackWhite 6/7]
Silver Efex Pro2
105 mm f/4.5 1/30 ISO 800
Canon EOS 40D EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM

53Weeks 285 of 371: Warped [Blackwhite 5/7]

Suppose we were able to share meanings freely without a compulsive urge to impose our view 

or conform to those of others and without distortion and self-deception. 

Would this not constitute a real revolution in culture. 

David Bohm

Warped [Blackwhite 5/7]
SEP2 - high contrast and structure
105 mm f/5.6 1/25 ISO 800
Canon EOS 40D EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM

53Weeks 284 of 371: Bottomless Lake [BlackWhite 4/7]

This is a small kettle lake not far from where I grew up; about a Km from my first school. The playground scuttlebutt was that this was a bottomless lake! If you fell in you would drown and sink forever. They would never be able to find your body.

This is not an infrared image. The yellow autumn leaves came out quite white against the darker blue sky.


Bottomless Lake [BlackWhite 4/7]
Haynes Lake,Richmond Hill,
SEP2 - high contrast and structure
40 mm f/5.6 1/200 ISO 400
Canon EOS 40D EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM

53Weeks 283 of 371: Kayak at Dusk [BlackWhite 3/7]

The sun has just set below the horizon. Blues, oranges, yellows and reds all drained from this lake view. The shape of the distant shoreline, the paddler and the lone bird are all that remain.


Kayak at Dusk [BlackWhite 3/7]
Lake Wilcox,Richmond Hill,Ontario
Silver Efex Pro2
24 mm f/7.1 1/200 ISO 400
Canon EOS 40D EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM

53Weeks 282 of 371: Patio [BlackWhite 2/7]

I really liked the patterns of light and dark created by the holes in the wall and ceiling of this patio space.

Patio [BlackWhite 2/7]
3 image HDR with silver efex pro2
47 mm f/7.1
Canon EOS 40D

53Weeks 281 of 371: Bicycles [BlackWhite 1/7]

After a week of colour, the natural thing is a week of Black and White, yes?
 To start the week off this is my interpretation of "Forever Bicycles 2013" by Ai Weiwei.


Bicycles [BlackWhite 1/7]
Nathan Phillips Square,,
3 shot merge to HDR, finished with SEP2
24 mm f/7.1 ISO 400
Canon EOS 40D

Project365 259: Chained in Black and White

This bike caught my eye because of the massive chain used to lock it up. I tried several treatments but preferred this dark variation because the weight of the blacks seemed to match the weight of the chain.


Chained in Black and White
1/25 f/9 ISO 800 EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 60 mm Canon EOS 40D
Union Station,Toronto,Ontario
Silver Efex Pro2

Project365 212: Seeing into the Shadows

Most of my images for this weeks shadow theme have been of those of shadows cast by an object. Today is different in that the shadow is being cast directly on the camera. The layers of leaves creates a variety of tones.

I shifted the white balance in Lr after the BW conversion.


Seeing into the Shadows
1/30 f/6.3 ISO 800 EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 40 mm Canon EOS 40D
,Richmond Hill,Ontario
Silver Efex Pro2

Back Alley

A lone smoker in a dingy back alley.


Back Alley
Jordan and Melinda,Toronto,Ontario

I did a lot from the original to make this image. Pixels were severly tortured. As my work is not photojournalism I am free to manipulate it to my liking. What did I do? I cloned out an pedestrian, a security camera, and an AC unit. The tonal balance was shifted significantly. Photoshop was used for most of that work, plus a bit of Lightroom. The "film noir" preset from Silver Efex Pro2, a little more tone shifting and framing.

Project365 116: Braced

I am literal not very far from the concrete concept today. It is a good thing they are renovating the entire roof of the train shed at Union Station, me thinks.

Black and White Processing with Silver Efex Pro 2 - Film Noir 1 preset.

Braced
1/15 f/5 ISO 800 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM @ 70 mm Canon EOS 40D
Union Station,Toronto,Ontario

Project365 110: Bridge over Bay

Union Station has some really interesting architectural features. The train bridge over Bay Street has steel walls with these windows in them.

There is a photographic rule that says never place your subject in the centre. I say tough, this is where I wanted it.

The black and white styling was achieved using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 and the Film Noir 2 preset.

Bridge over Bay
1/60 f/7.1 ISO 800 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM @ 200 mm Canon EOS 40D
Union Station,Toronto,Ontario

Project365 105 : "Todmorden Mills"

For as long as I can remember this brick chimney has been standing guard next to the DVP. A textured sky and some pre-leaf forest provide an image with three simple elements.

This image was processed and framed in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2: picked a preset, applied a curve, a red filter, and added a wide frame.

Todmorden Mills Plate 1
1/8000 f/4 ISO 640 EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 95 mm Canon EOS 40D
Todmorden Mills,Toronto,Ontario


As a comparison to what basic Lightroom Balck and white conversion can do - with about as much effort - is this frame. No doubt an Lr Black and white expert might be able to do more with it than me. For this I adjusted the clarity, exposure and played with the targetted adjustment tool until I was done.


Todmorden Mills Plate 2
1/8000 f/4 ISO 640 EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 95 mm Canon EOS 40D
Todmorden Mills,Toronto,Ontario

Project365 076: Black Beauty

It is spring time and the crocuses are blooming. I am always eager to make images of them, but usually do the straight up version of them. So today I applied a yellow filter which turns the purple part dark and let's the yellow stamen stay bright.

This was all done in Nik's Silver Efex Pro2. Canon 500D Macro filter lens also used.

Black Beauty
1/20 f/9 ISO 800 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM @ 195 mm Canon EOS 40D

Lying in a Manger

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:16-20 (NIV)

A week ago we were at a family get together. My wife was holding our new grandniece, who at the time was about as active as a drop of water on a hot grill. When she saw me getting in close with my camera she knew what I was after - perhaps better than I did.

At the time, I didn't know what I was going to do with the shot, but then as I was trying to decide what to post today - after a long period of blog-silence. I decided this would make a pretty good image for Christmas Eve.

A very Merry Christmas to all.

1/100 f/4 ISO 1600 EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 105 mm Canon EOS 40D

P.S. When taking photos of Christmas morning - don't forget to get in close.

As the wheel turns

The sun dies down
The moon rises high
Another day gone
In time's painted sky
What did you do
When did you do it
And are you happy
As the wheel turns
Through it - Shadow Man.

I have never heard of Shadow Man before but I found the words to be somehwhat fitting for this late afternoon photo.

 
1/250 f/4 ISO 800 EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 28 mm Canon EOS 40D
Black Creek Pioneer Village,Toronto,Ontario

Just Milling Around

The 19th century water-powered grist mill was a very important commercial part of the pioneer community. The ones that survived now serve as a fascinating glimpse into the industry and ingenuity of past generations.

They are also a common photographic subject. They have lots of character. Since they are next to bodies of water, there are clear lines of sight to the building and water makes for reflections. Black and white conversion done in LR2. My project idea for my Christmas vacation is to make a series of black and white prints. I intend to experiment with Nik Software's SilverFX Pro and see how much better a result it produces. I have heard many good things about it.

.
1/250 f/4 ISO 800 EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 24 mm Canon EOS 40D
Black Creek Pioneer Village,Toronto,Ontario

The School House

The first school I attended was a one room school house, but long before my time. I don't recall how many classrooms it actually had in the addition. I was only there for a year before they retired the facility. I can't imagine what the classroom dynamics would be like if you had all eight grades learning together.

This school was previously located at Dickson's Hill in Markham. It looks like it traveled well. I wonder what mischief occurred underneath these windows during recess?

The black and white conversion was done in LR2. The sky was pretty much a Grey blanket on this day, so there wasn't any detail to save. I did think about being lower, but I liked the window sills being eye level. I now wish I had done the lower angle as well so I could compare.
 
1/400 f/4 ISO 800 EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 24 mm Canon EOS 40D
Black Creek Pioneer Village,Toronto,Ontario

UPPERCASE lowercase

Did you know that these terms came from the old print shops? Individual letters were engraved on steel pins an organized into standard arrangements in a pair of boxes like shown here. The printer would pick out the individual letters to make a block of text like seen to the right of the cases. Capital letters were not used as often so were stored in the upper case and small letters were in the lower case. Those names have stuck.

The black and white processing was done in Lightroom. The next few days will feature black and white imagery.

 
1/20 f/4 ISO 800 EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 105 mm Canon EOS 40D
Black Creek Pioneer Village,Toronto,Ontario

What's he doing Mama?

Do you find that horses, more than most other animals seem to be thinking when they look at you? Douglas Hofstadter, in his book "I am a Strange Loop", talked about the idea that various animals have different sized souls. Perhaps within the animal kingdom, horses are larger than most. This not-so-little foul was bery curious about what I was up to, but never ventured out from behind his mother's 'skirt'. Mom seemed to keep a pretty focused eye on me as well.

The black and white conversion was done in Lightroom. Since the horse in the back was much redder than the foul, I lightened her up to give more tonal separation. If I had a choice I would have preferred to not chop the nose of the rear horse, but my timing (and the foul's) was just a little off.


1/400 f/4.5 ISO 400 EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM @ 120 mm Canon EOS 40D
Schickendantz farms,Markham,Ontario