I love color, all colors, a variety of colors, and the more vibrant the better, but I like the feel of a black-and-white image every now and then. Perhaps it’s my mood of the day or the mood of a particular image that finds me embracing the abundance of gray tones.
Corpus Christi, Texas
Considering I’m such a fan of color, I always take photographs with color in mind. Thus, the images in today’s post were shot in color then converted into Black & White and further edited in Lightroom.
San Diego, California
Lens-Artist #265 Black & White or Monochrome
This week, Anne over at Slow Shutter Speed invites us to share our images of B & W or Monochrome photographs. Be sure and check out her post for an informative explanation of the differences and similarities between the two.
I’ll admit, I’m usually not a fan of Black and White photography, but some images actually look better in monochrome. There’s something that changes about the mood of a photograph when colors don’t distract the eye.
I personally feel Black and White images have a moodiness about them … sometimes a sadness or mystery. Perhaps it’s because I’m a huge fan of color … color in all facets of my life. I’ve always decorated our homes with a colorful palette, and there’s nothing I enjoy more than a beautiful field of wildflowers in varying colors. Yeah, you can’t give me too much color!
With that said, every now and then, it’s good to step out of our box, and I’m really stepping out of mine with this monochromatic post.
Going through my archives, I specifically looked for photographs that already seemed somewhat monotone to see how they’d look without any color saturation.
After a little peaking and tweaking, I think I found some photographs that might actually look better in black and white than they do in color … maybe!
Texas Gulf Coast
What do you think of the images posted? Do you enjoy Black & White photography? I still have mixed emotions about these photographs. I haven’t decided if I like them better in color or monochrome.
For this weeks photo theme, let’s share Black & White images. Feel free to share a link in the comments below so we can see your photographs or link back to this page on your post.
Wandering Wednesday – Ingrid’s Inspirations
Each Wednesday, I post a different photo theme as a way for bloggers to share their love of photography and engage with other like minded bloggers. Perhaps this prompt will serve as a little inspiration to pick up the camera in search of a composition or a reason to go through your archives. Whether you shoot with your phone, a DSLR or something in-between, don’t be shy 🤗 share and connect!
Upcoming prompts – Reflections, Sunrise, Zoo …. get out and shoot or peruse those archives!
We’re baaaack, comfortably parked in the valley of the sun, otherwise known as Phoenix, Arizona. We arrived in early October and have been enjoying regular visits with our children and a few of our non-RVing friends. We’re staying at a new to us RV park on the north side of Phoenix near the town of Anthem, Arizona.
south rim of the Grand Canyon
The RV park is your usual 55+ pack’m in kind of place, but it’s working perfectly for our needs. Could it be that when we toured this place earlier in the year, the woman behind the counter was hesitant to give me any information. She looked at me and said, “You do know, you have to be 55 or older to stay here?” With a smile on my face and calling her my new best friend, I summoned hubby over to the counter and proceeded to say, “Well, if I don’t look old enough, I bet he does”. A few chuckles later, we picked out a site and our three month reservation was made – Oct 1st to Dec 31st.
Adirondack chairs near Rockport, Texas – pre hurricane Harvey. I doubt they survived the storm … sigh!
I’m not usually a fan of RV Parks, much preferring the rustic scenic landscape of a state park, regional park, or national forest, but wanting a three month stay with full hook-ups finds us homesteading with all the other silvers and that’s ok. For now, we still have plenty of elbow room around us in the way of vacant sites, but each day more and more RV’s are pulling in. I’m sure by the end of December this place will be full, and I’ll be ready to roll, but for now things are going well.
Willis Tower aka Sears Tower Chicago
Over the past few weeks a few things have happened that have put me in a reflective mood. I think it started with the Lake Havasu lighthouses and continued with a photo challenge on Facebook … Seven days, seven photos in black and white of everyday life. No people, no pets, no explanations.
I’m usually not a fan of black and white photography, especially my own, but I was up for the challenge which had me going through a bunch of my photographs ….. a bunch!
As I searched through my external hard drives, I wanted to pick photos of a variety of places showcasing a diverse collection, as well as have the photograph look every bit as pleasing as it’s colored counterpart. I had so much fun gathering these photographs and turning them into Black & White that I thought I’d share them here.
As the week went by posting a photo a day, I reflected upon the memories behind each photograph. For me, they represent a story…. my story. I can’t help but feel fortunate to be able to experience so many beautiful and diverse landscapes.
Dillon Lake, Colorado
The Facebook challenge was just one reason I found myself digging through archives. A couple of blogging friends reached out to me in search of recommendations for their Arizona travels this winter. It’s usually easier for me to search my blog for past posts and then email the links onto them for ideas.
During my search for helpful information, I came across a few posts that brought a smile to my face. Again, I was reminded why I love RVing AND why I blog.
Corpus Christi, Texas
Not everyone gets the whole RVing thing and that’s ok …. actually more than ok. I would prefer this RVing boom come to an end and soon. It’s becoming more and more of a challenge to find available camping which interferes with keeping our plans fluid.
somewhere along the Texas Gulf Coast
Going through my photographs and blog archives not only brought a smile to my face, it reminded me of all the wonderful experiences we’ve encountered over the past six years of RVing.
Trees in the mist – somewhere near the Texas Gulf Coast
For anyone traveling to Arizona this winter and looking for some interesting things to do, here a few links to posts I’ve written in the past ….
If you enjoy wildlife as much as I do (especially birds) then you might enjoy visiting the roosting grounds of tens of thousands of sandhill cranes. I know it was a very special and amazing sight for me. Plus free camping – Sandhill Cranes at Whitewater Draw
We don’t go out to eat very often, but when we do, we try to find unique dining options. This post shares a couple of our favorites – Dining Western Style (unfortunately, the original Buffalo Chip Restaurant structure burned to the ground, but it has since been rebuilt.)
We’ve always had a great time visiting western Arizona. Here’s a couple of posts on those excursions – Hiking Sara’s Crack and Happy Hour
We’re never at a loss of things to see or do while staying in Phoenix – A Tour of Phoenix. Why spring is my favorite time to visit the desert and if you’re looking for an adventurous day trip, the Apache Trail is not to be missed.
Yep, so much fun traveling down memory lane. All these fun excursions have me contemplating the new year. What ever shall we do? Can we top these adventures? Ah, this sense of freedom is the best, and the amazing beauty we get to immerse ourselves within on a regular basis are things non-RVer’s don’t understand. But shhh! Let’s keep it our secret.
***********************************
Guess who got a new camera for her birthday 😎 (affiliate links ahead). Love this little powerhouse of a camera and I haven’t even tried the 4K video yet!
I usually prefer colorful color photos over Black & White photography, but I’ll admit it was fun turning these color shots into monochrome images. I’m still using Picasa as my processing platform and thought it would be a good idea to master this easy software program before jumping into something like Lightroom. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5
Live Laugh RV 