A Photowalk in B&W

After being on the road for a couple months, it felt good to have a walk around the neighborhood again. It is much easier to find compositions in new places where everything is interesting and new. At home, however, where you've shot everything several times already, it is a bigger challenge.

Today we explore a few flowers in monochrome to see if we can see old things in a new way.

I really love the textures and subtle shades of grey one finds in flowers in B&W. the out-of-focus background really does just become a blank canvas. Sometimes, in color, the line that separates a plant from the earth makes a jarring contrast. But without the color, this possibility is gone, it smooths right out.

With enough of the flower in focus, this totally nondescript background gives the image a dreamy look that I quite like.

There are plenty of poppies out these days and these make great B&W images. It is easy to lose detail in these flowers since they tend to oversaturate the sensor with their bright colors. But, if you can tone things down and get the textures, they make delightful images.

Tulips are another choice for this treatment. In the image below, the edges of the petals catch the light adding to the three-dimensional impression.

It is possible to still find new ways to see old things. If I'm in the right mood, I can almost always find something that works. I'll keep looking if you will.