Farewell to Summer

 

September steps in fall, but the weather is still gorgeous. I however started to feel the chill early in the mornings. My flowers are pretty much past their prime period and the immigrated birds are ready to head south soon. I think it is about the time that I send summer off. Time to forgo flower close-ups and birds shots.  A bit of forlorn and a bit of reluctant to let go, but season changes and our life goes on.

Bright and vivid summer colors are stunning and exciting. I also think that I should not let season changes impact my good spirits and therefore I decided to shoot and show a few black and white images. Although I have not done many B&W pictures, I do have a special liking for them. Black and White images appear to be simple but their impact seems contrarily deeper.

For colored images, I found my attention is on colors. And, for black and white images, I am drawn to details and in some cases, emotion.

Crowned

This cornflower (Double Scoop Bubble Gum) is one of my favorite additions this year. The color is beautiful and the blooming time is long. The original color image is striking and I like its dainty pedals.

When there is no color distinction between the upper scoop section and the lower long pedals, I begin to see a bride's bouquet, or an award ribbon. Instead of glamour, I see elegance.

White Corals

If not for the simple tonality, these Lantana would not look like the white corals adorned with diamonds. They are originally yellow and creme two-tone flowers which look like buttered popcorns. I am not using the best resolution pictures for  web posting; otherwise, you would enjoy the crystal clear 'diamonds' even better. Between popcorn and diamond, what is your pick?

the Tradition

As I just mentioned in my last blog, Chinese tea set designs look more subtle and understated. With the colors removed, I think the image fits even better to portrait that old traditional and solemn look.

It reminds me of a traditional living room with a pair of honored and wealthy parents as well as their sons and their wives. The seatings are in a U shape. Parents sit in front followed by two rows of next generation who all carefully follow their tradition: tea to be served to the older first and parents have absolute power over the children.

There are authority, ranking, respect, and rituals involved in the scene. You surely would not hear any loud laughter or see kids running around. It is a very disciplined and controlled environment.  Wanting to know why Asians tend to be more well-mannered and quieter? There is a long and hard tradition going around for thousand years.

cottonwood seed pod

Claradendrum is a fast growing flowering tree. We were given a starter by a precious friend. Just about 6 months period, it has grown to 7-8 feet high. Not only that, this tree has been putting out lots of babies. Flowers are small but a whole cluster of them. Multitude of anything cause distraction. I originally aimed for this single flower, but the tiny cottonwood seed pod suddenly flew into the scene and became my subject. If not for the black and white, it would be buried in the colors. 

Bathed in Sun and Drew

I cannot identify this flower any more after it has been growing in my yard for 16 years. Just like Claradendrum, its roots grow aggressively and expand speedily. The deep peach color is quite dramatic in fall, but I seem to enjoy it even more when they are secretly hidden under the maple tree and quietly sucking in the morning drew. 

I have taken quite a few shots of Great Gray Herons, but they have always been too far away from me and too sensitive to my existence. But not this morning at Delta Pond, he was waiting to fetch his prey in the pond. Very slowly and cautiously I walked towards him, but he did not make any move.  To play safe, I started to shoot from distance and moved in closer till it was about 30 feet away. There was no more foot room and this is the best I could do.  To my surprise, I did capture his eyes, clear and vivid. And, I see he has no fear. 

If it is a color image, the gray heron will blend in with the murky pond water and 'disappeared' in the scene.  Besides, the black and white presentation makes the image resembling an impeccable pencil drawing. It conveys ancient and more a traditional Chinese heron painting that I used to see. This image concludes a great summer for me and I am looking forward to the next one and the next.

Lost and Found

Last year was the first time when I tried to grow vegetables. Without any previous experience, I purchased mostly starters and two bags of green bean seeds. I thought I could get a jump-start with starters. I planted the seeds though I did not think that I could grow anything out of seeds, not my kind of patience. As it turned out, other than lettuce, I barely harvest much of anything. The only thing growing like crazy is the green beans, the one I started with seeds.

This year I furnished more photography gears and also had more exposure to wider ranges of photography.  My Honeysuckle was doing very well last year. The plant was prosperous and the flowers were popping one after the other all season long.  I took quite a few shots and was thrilled with the results. I had my mind set to take better images.  The plant is now more mature and buds are everywhere. I smile at it every day since spring sun started to pour on the ground.  But the buds remain buds for quite some time.  I grew curious and came close to check on them last week. There were small green spots all over the buds. With my Marco Lens zoomed in, OMG, aphids invasion! I took care of the buggers, but the buds did not bounce back.

I cut out all the infected buds from my honeysuckle plant, and I don’t expect to see any new growth for a while. Well, what’s next?  Photography has become my daily routine. If I don’t shoot something in a day, I feel that I cannot call it a day.  My eyes were back to my Verbena which is full-grown and beautiful. However, the purple flowers are so tightly bonded that I could not get what I wanted, a simple and clean shot. Before hitting the ‘delete’ key, I hit the black and white conversion key, and here they are. The black and white colors have taken away the complexity that I don’t care for.

Walking down the path by the river, I was drenched by park sprinklers.  Wet and cold, I was about to complain and I found myself stepped on a patch of poppy flowers. They are everywhere by the path, and I usually don’t look at them close. Today we are all drenched. They are happy but I am not.  I glance at them the second time acting undefeated… and at that moment, I saw the droplets. I snapped a shot which has turned my dismay to a smile:

My husband and I were looking for some place up high, like the top floor of a high-rise building or a hilltop to take some bird-view like shots. We eventually landed at the top of Skinner Butt. But the area was fairly small and we could not find a good spot for the photo that we have in mind. While we were ready to hop back to the car, I spotted this beautiful church building standing. I have never known that there is such a beautiful church in Eugene. My husband identified it as First Christian Church where we tied our wedding knots.  Isn’t that interesting?

What I am learning here is to take one day at a time. Enjoy each new day that God has made. Cherish every moment of a day and embrace the unexpected, either positive or negative. We may not always have our wish fulfilled, but the loss of something seems always to lead us to something else, and from there we found something new or we were lifted up to another level of understanding or appreciation.  Expect the unexpected.

Expect the Unexpected

Since last week I have been exploring black and white images, and they are growing in me. I started to check out the black and white version of all the images I downloaded. It is amazing to see how different they are, and how far I can go with a completely different prospective. Digital camera gives us freedom to shoot in quantities and we can eliminate them in second if we don’t like the outcome. I have tendency to delete a lot when I go through them the first time. This experimental and learning process have taught me to be more objective to the images I took. View once, leave them alone for couple days and come back with fresh mind to review.  I also tried to leave the images in my Trash for a while before I emptied it in case I change my mind. Art is abstract. You just never know.

I joined an evening outdoor shooting event with my photography group last Friday.  It is a long exposure photography with fireworks display created using steel wool as media. Put steel wool inside a whisk and attach the whisk to a chain with consider length. Light steel wool and quickly swing the chain in circular motion.  Steel wool lights easily and burns fast. When the chain swings, it is like a fire calligraphy, beautiful and stunning. Night deep blue sky, black background with golden firework and sparks. It is quite spectacular. If you are interested to try, get the step-by-step safety instructions from website. This can only be performed in a large open space and safety is priority.

This kind of shot needs to use Bulb mold for long exposure. This shot was taken using F6.3, ISO100, and 8 second exposure. Exposure time depends on the length of the firework display. Original firework is in gold color. It is dramatic, but gold makes me think of fire and danger. I changed it to a black and white images, and I like it better. The silver tone looks artistic and peaceful while it maintains its glamour.

“Should I use this image colored or black and white?” I have this question in my mind throughout the entire week. I am not kidding.  Out of about 12 images I am happy with, I like 7 of them in black and white.  Here are some of them. Completely unexpected, I am liking simple black and white images. They are appealing to me because they seem to be more profound and mysterious.  And, that ancient, authentic and strange old Asian feel keep coming up on me...

A beautiful spring so far, but most of my flowers have not bloomed or the buds opened. I grabbed my camera and tripod and walked up the hill in my neighborhood. Other than wild Iris, there were nothing along the path. I came across this dandelion and thought, why not give it a shot. But before I was ready, I knocked out part of its fragile ball with my tripod. An ouch was barely over, I burst out a wow.  Check out the intricate details! Can you believe that God even gives His attention to this weed that people often ignored along the road?

Taking a walk by bike path, I walked by Owen Rose Garden. There were no roses, not even one. I am not a rose fan, so I still strolled down the path anyway just to see if anything else was there. I ran into a local artist and she told me that she was looking for poppies in that garden. There were some poppies, but they were barely open. Poppy has a very dramatic center 

if the flower is wide open.  I don't have my macro lens with me, so I chose to shoot the flowers in a different angle with my 200mm. The flowers are yellow and they don't look very attractive to me, and, you may have guessed... I changed it into a black and white image. Nothing spectacular, but I seemed to be drawn to it again and again.

I say this is the magic of embracing all the possibilities and being open-minded to the impossibles. Expect the unexpected and be objective at all times.  Close-up photography has trained me to monitor micro details and not to overlook the neglected.

Less is More - Day of a Dreamer

When it comes to women's fashion, colors overcome the world. It is also the same for photography. In this digital photography era, most people shoot color photos while a smaller percentage of people are dedicated to black and white photography. In most of the cases, we shoot color photos first and later turn them into black and white images should the author found B&W version looks more interesting or interprets his/her intent better.

Earlier of the week I made attempts to shoot something more suitable in black and white colors, something with simpler subject and more visible contrast. However, after I downloaded all my photos. I discovered that my pre-visualized black and white candidates are not necessary the better choices. Some of very colorful shots are contrarily more appealing to be in black and white. Expect the unexpected when you are out shooting.

We went to Crystal Spring Rhododendron Park in Portland over the weekend for flower pictures. There are flowers but not in full bloom. We ended up shooting water fowls and landscape.  It was my first visit to the park and I was surprised to see the beautiful wooden walking bridges and classic looking railings. The park is well-maintained and tastefully landscaped. A golf course is adjacent to it and its rolling green adds a manicured border to the park. It is pleasant just being there.

I lingered at the bridge for a long time because the atmosphere is just so lovely and delightful. I would say, the bridge construction has an Asian flare. It reminds me of Yu-Yuan Garden 豫園 in Su-zhou 蘇州, China and also Lan-Su Garden in Chinatown, Portland. Lan-Su was designed to mimic Yu-Yuan in a much smaller scale.  

I first thought this picture is nice because of its intense colors. What I did not expect is, it looks even more interesting to me when it is in black and white.  It resembled a classic version of Chinese garden with dense greens and slow running water. Except, instead of lotus flowers and peonies, there are azalea and rhododendron. The bridge is not arched and I don't recall that I see a gazebo inside the park.

The colored shot draws my eyes to large orange leaves and pink flowers while the BW picture has its focal point on the bridge and its structure details. Also at this point, I then noticed the black tree reflection to the right.

This image brought me back to Su-Zhou, to ancient China, to the famous poet Li-Bai 李白 and to the porcelain art. I am a dreamer. I cannot rationalize myself how my mind wandered as such, but there was a little episode....

Yesterday somehow I decided to shoot something from my kitchen and convert it to black and white images. I started from tea kettle, tea cups and finished it with teacups and a glazed flower case in my shot. This vase has a handle which makes it look like a wine flask. I think this picture looks like a shot of saki or moonshine was being poured into the cup. 

Who needs a shot of hard liquor? Perhaps some artist needs instant inspiration or someone is really depressed and need a lift? Li-Bai was indulged in alcohol during his late years, but his poems of romanticism only got better. (The original color image just does not have the same impact as this one.)

This 'flask' reminds me of the yellow glass art piece that I found in Seattle Glass Museum. The museum does have some nice glass pieces there. Out of curiosity, I convert the color image to black and white, and I simply love it.

Color enhances our life, but sometimes it divides our attention. While we can focus on two colors (and their gradient tones), we are drawn into a wild wild world packed with huge pool of color spectrum. People like varieties and arrays of colors are exciting. However, we may be able to appreciate and observe our subject in more depth when the visual is simpler and we are not so overwhelmed by it.

In any case, it is always interesting to see how things turn out so differently when we perceive them from different perspectives.

Heaven and Earth - black and white photography

Sound like a big subject, but it is not.  I am just pleased with what I captured. It was on a Valentine’s Day and my husband secretly arranged an overnight stay at Mount Hood Lodge. I have looked at this gorgeous mountain (the highest in Oregon) very many times and from different angles.  Its perfect peak looks prominent, sacred and peaceful.

That was the first time when I was actually right on the foothill of Mount Hood to pay it my respect.
This picture was taken early in the morning with thick cloud dwelling outside the lodge. I was first drawn by the steaming cloud. When I walked down to the edge of the road, I was completely stunned by the scene.  Honestly, at that moment, I had wondered where I was.  I was above the cloud feeling that I was floating in the air.  And yet, I know I was absolutely standing on a solid ground with grass, on the earth.

Heaven and Earth

Still early in the year, snow-covered mountain and cloud are white. Grassy ground is in the shade, so the ground looks dark and grass almost looks black. I named this picture Heaven and Earth because of its contrast in colors and also because it prompted that thought into my mind.

Strolling around the foothill area, our feet were buried deep wherever we went. The sun was shining, bright. The snow was taking over the ground, deep and white. There were still spots of small creek waters running here and there with icicles hanging down.  People were walking on snow, black footprints on white snow.

Nature presents its natural colors. When we observe the details only through black and white two colors, we actually perceive more truth and details. Monotone looks compelling when the subject is simple and the background is not too complicated. I was kneeling down the ground to peek the snow pack from the side. It looked like ocean waves and also reminded me of Chinese brush painting strokes for some reason. In fact, I think I know why, I miss my deceased Dad too much. He wrote beautiful and powerful Chinese brush stroke calligraphy 毛筆字.

I have not done much black and white photography, but I happened to take these pictures, naturally, black and white and I love them.  I am not a professional photographer and not looking into photo quality perfection at this point.  It is more about the content of what I captured and the emotion that I was engaged during the process.

Every once a while, I found some color images that I think better in black and white format.  When a picture is colored, our attention is on colors. I am a female and colors mean everything. But I discovered that black and white images tend to show more details and we pay closer attention to the visual content while not distracted by colors. 

I took above picture when I visited Spanish Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain. I’d toured inside the palace provided by palace administration and seen all the glamorous  chandeliers, famous paintings, intricate tapestries and fancy furniture.  But among everything I’d seen, my eyes were set on this guy who played accordion to entertain the visitors outside the palace. 

He played jazz music and with an easy smile on his face.  Not being disturbed by the crowd and obviously not in for the pennies, he was just here enjoying himself and to help others enjoy themselves. I found him my most attractive subject for the day. Just for you to compare it with original color image. Accordion is classic. Black and white colors seem to portrait that nostalgia flare more.