Black and White 8

Hello Bangkok Call 17***

Panorama of the Sky Train at one of the stations. The title is taken from the billboard in the image left.

Black and White 7

It's that time of the year again...

 

 

 

And it starts earlier each year it seems. We saw the first Christmas decoration on 1st of November. This is crazy. And since I'm not in Christmas and shopping and celebrating etc., its even more annoying to me.

 

Pointer

 

 

 

So what do you do while going out for a walk in November? Yes, take your camera with you. And once in a while there is a sudden and unexpected motif. This is simply some platform of planks with a lantern on it. But the low sun made a perfect shadow and voila - here's your daily abstract :-)

Black and White part 6

 

Tuk Tuk



 

 

We used the TukTuk not that often while in Bangkok. My girglfriend told me that mostly tourists take a TukTuk. Thai themselves drive with a scooter or motorcycle. In fact it's true, if you pay attention you'll notice that there are many tourists in these vehicles. Thais prefer the more cheaper means of transport.

Taken in Bangkok in November 2013.

 

White Stairs

 

It's funny to title this image "White" stairs. But in the original color version the stairs and walls are of a bright white, indeed. Only the black and white version turned the contrasts upside down and the walls turned dark. Though, this darker variant has its own appeal and looks as good as the white image.

Taken in Greece in 2005.

Black and White part 5

Ye Old Scooter

 

 

This old scooter was in Bangkok's street, just as thousands other bikes, mopeds and motorcycles. It's one of the major transport means in this city. I guess they are used until they break and won't move again.

Taken in November, 2013.

 

 



Brother

 

 

That's my brother, Peter. I took this image at a BBQ we had in his garden in 2007. I often think that black and white doesn't do peoples face a favor, because the skin gets so dark and you can see every wrinkle. But on the other hand it fits him very well, the look is strong and the rich texture gives him an experienced and tough looking face.

Black and White part 4

Continuing the black and white series:

 

The Weird Skyscraper

  

 

 

Only in black and white this reflection looks good. The wobbling patterns makes a great contrast to the straight lines of the glass facade.

Taken in Bangkok, November 2013.

 

Up!

 



 

 

These stairs on a large tank gives a nice impression of "upwards". Reducing it with black and white to simply lines and spaces, it looks almost abstract.

Taken in Linz, October 2014.

 

Black and White part 3

Here some more... the first is even a new one I created right now :-)

 

Natural Abstract

 

 

This already looks great in color, but it is even more impressive in black and white. I just love the textures and shades of gray.

 

12

 

 

Passageway at the train station in Linz, Austria. While the original was much brighter, in black and white it looks better when darkened.

Black and White part 2

Here the next of my black and white Images I created for a Facebook challenge.

 

White Stairs

 

 

Actually this is an all white image, but after processing for black and white, some tones turned to dark gray. The contrast between the steps and the wall got even more dramatic. The result is completely different to the original but still looks great.

Image taken on Santorini Island, Greece in 2005.

 

 

At the Butcher's

 

 

An image you seldom see in Europe these days, fresh meat in the open. Reducing the brown and red colors got me lots of texture and contrast which fits the subject very well.

Image taken in Australia in 2007.

 

 

Black and White

Via facebook I've been "challenged" by fellow photographers to upload 5 b/w images. Just to show new stuff and to compare with other's images.

So here you see the first two of some b/w images I've shown them.

Hopeyfully you like them :-)

Mishap

This is one of my earlier shots when I started to take photography more serious. I had the idea when I finished the bottle ;-) So be assured it's only water you see here. I would never spill that precious liquid.

Taken with a Canon EOS 300, Fujifilm Sensia 100, Scan from slide.

Arc

Even earlier (2004) is this picture, as you can guess it's been take in Venice, Italy. I noticed the nice arc given by the bridge and that angel-like figure. It looks good in color but I think b/w is even better.

Taken with a Canon EOS 300, Fujifilm Sensia 100, Scan from slide.

Look Up!

This was a great winter day, I walked up a seldom visited side valley near Hinterstoder. There I reach the Dietl Alm, in spring it's a beautiful alpine pasture. Now in winter all is covered in thick snow and its very quiet and tranquil.

After walking to the end of the valley, right before the mountains' walls, I stopped and enjoyed the scenery. There was total silence, not even a bird was flying or singing. Lookup I noticed that gorgeous blue sky peeking through the white branches. It was amazing!

The image got really well, the bright contrast between the snow and the sky is perfect. I also managed to have all trees point to the middle.

If you ever need a break from everydays hustle I recommend a walk in the forest. Best you can do for your soul.

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Island

While we were in the Tux valley I did a short walk in rainy weather to get some fresh air. As usual I took my camera with me - you never know what to find. Near some depots filled with heaps of shavings I found a rusty and weathered white container. Actually I passed that place many times and never noticed anything special.

Not until this day, the weather was not good and I had time to stray around. I inspected that container and found it was full of bright orange rust marks. So I started to shoot in macro mode and looked for unqiue and different abstracts of rust.

There were lots of them! The image shows a figure that resembles a flower, corn or and island. The black lines of the flaking paint are a wonderful detail. And the orange of the rust harmonizes very well with the bright white of the paint.

You can see more of the series here.

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Mystery

I don't take pictures of clouds that often. Most of the time they are nothing spectacular and look plain boring. But this one caught my eye.

It was a bright sunny day last weekend. We hiked in the Alps and while walking we watched clouds coming our way from the horizon. It's been said that rain and thunderstorms will approach til the evening. So initially we were not happy to see clouds above us at noon.

Then I turned back and looked up to see this gem of a cloud. It's shape was changing by the minute because of the strong wind. First it reminded me of some U.F.O, then streaks and lots of details became visible. Fascinating to watch! It looked so vivid, light and fluffy.

I took some shots, all with a polarizing filter to get a strong blue/white contrast. The final image is very nice, I think of making a print of it and hanging it above our bed. Will look nice, I guess ;-)

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Chimney

It's a bit funny I took this photo in Greece, because one will not think the Greek need to have chimneys at all. Especially on the Mediterranean islands like Santorini where I found this. Usually it's hot most of the year and the winters are mild. But I guess this is of a bakery or it's just decoration, I don't know.

The white color of the flat roof and of the chimney looks great in contrast to the blue sky and sea. The fluffy clouds add some nice details, too. It just looks as if they come from the chimney...

I like the typically Greek colors blue and white with a rather unusal motif. It was worth to climb on and around the houses of Oia :-)

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Up Or Down

One of my all-time favourites. I guess the simplicity and the white makes this so attractive to viewers. On Flickr and RedBubble this has thousands of views and hundreds of "Favs".

Taken on the Island of Santorini, Greece, while our vacation in June 2005. It was the time when I started to take photography more seriously. After our very old Canon EOS 750 had broken we bought a used Canon EOS 300 and I started to look for motifs everywhere. And Santorini is a great place to take photos. Granted, its often pure Kitsch and far from "original" Greece. But why not, you won't find a place that beautifully located in the Mediterranean that easy.

This image was taken on a walk through the village of Oia where we also stayed for about two weeks. I guess this staircase has been photographed a million times, you can find similar images on any photosharing site. Nevertheless I like mine best ;-) I think most of the other photographas suffer from bad light or shadows.

Despite it is a slide (Fuji Sensia 100) and scanned (Nikon Coolscan V) it turned out very well. Only a bit post processing took place. I have a print of it hanging on the wall and I'm proud of it (silly, I know ;-)

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