Black & White Photography

Light You Can Touch

2011-07-01T13:43:00.001-07:00

Light You Can Touch, a gallery on Flickr.

Commemorating black and white images with clean beams of light, so solid you can touch. For people visiting from Twitter, thanks to those who have taken the time to retweet and share the gallery with their friends and followers.

No Eye In 'Portrait'

2011-06-21T14:58:00.001-07:00

No Eye In 'Portrait', a gallery on Flickr.

Men In Black & White, Vatican City

2011-05-19T00:33:00.001-07:00

Men In Black & White, Vatican City, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

These guys are from the Arma dei Carabineri. Normally I wouldn't have guessed that RayBans were standard issue, but then these are the Carabinieri. They get lightning flashes on their cars. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arma_dei_Carabinieri

Thanks to Blackfoot Scout for standing in front of this pair to allow a series of candid shots over her shoulder. By way of disclosure I need to state some cloning on this one on the far right where some tourists strayed into shot just below the SH, plus a stray white thread on his tie.

Update: Explored #130. Many thanks to everyone who has commented, fav'ed and viewed. I massively appreciate the interest and insights offered. Thanks to all!

Pioggia Nera (Black Rain), Venice

2011-05-14T04:14:00.001-07:00

Pioggia Nera (Black Rain), Venice, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Very busy at work currently, so, without time to download and process recent shots I'm catching up with some "similars" from series shot over the last few months.

This is from my series last autumn in Venice, caught in heavy rain with a 300D and a 50mm f/1.8. There's plenty technically wrong with the images - soft focus, flare, etc. - but they came out so atmospherically in black and white that I'm keen to get back and shoot some more. Next time I'm in Venice, and I hope it is soon, I will be praying for rain.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far!

World's Edge (Old Harry Rocks), Dorset

2011-05-11T05:35:00.001-07:00

World's Edge (Old Harry Rocks), Dorset, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

So first of all, I promise not to mention UWA lenses in this one. Other than to say this is taken from a razor thin prominence and it would have been lovely to get more of the sea in. The landscape version pushes the sea to the point it flares - a very nice effect. Sacrificing the bottom of the cliffs though, was too great a price to pay.

This is taken at the Isle of Purbeck's superb Old Harry Rocks; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Harry_Rocks.

Fortunately it's another easy one to get back to post-Xmas armed with a non-crop body to go for the wider angle. I reckon I'll try this again pre-dawn for a cool self portrait shot. For now, the figure in the frame is a kind passerby who agreed to take 30 seconds out of her afternoon to go and stand where directed. People prove very agreeable if you ask politely, which is a nice surprise.

Looks very dignified on black, should one elect to depress the "L" key!

Hereafter (World Trade Center), NYC [Film Scan]

2011-05-09T04:39:00.001-07:00

Hereafter (World Trade Center), NYC [Film Scan], a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

One of my first SLR shots, taken in NYC a decade ago. The visit was a 21st Birthday celebration, alongside the gift of the camera itself. This is another scan of an original film image, EXIF data added, but no edits to the noise, scratches, etc. The trip was my compelling first connection to NYC; a city I got to return to a lot whilst studying more recently upstate. It was marked by the drifting mist and cloud in evidence in this view, which, neither undermined my engagement with the city itself nor, especially looking at this image in the years since 911, detracts from the impression it creates.

I would suggest viewing on black, despite the grain.

[From here on, I'm afraid things become a little reflective and over-wrought. It's not intended to offend, and no offence would be taken if you choose to skip it entirely.]

Having worked and studied overseas and in upstate NY, I've obviously made friends with a lot of people with far more intimate and emotional connections to 911 than I have myself. Not wanting to intrude upon or distract those far more powerful accounts, I still thought I might briefly commit some of my rememberings to this posting by way of commemoration and perspective.

On the day itself, we were living in Chipas, Mexico. In terms of timezones, this meant as we awoke the first tower was already on the news. Events unfolded as an American friend and I prepared for a morning volunteering (as English teachers) at the local orphanage. We had to leave for our teaching during the collapse. At the orphanage the kids would ask questions to get to know us, natural to them given their context, but strange to us, like; "Do you have a father/mother?" My friend's father was flying that morning, and he had been unable to contact him before we left, which gave a surreal, uneasy, yet somewhat epiphanic, edge to the morning.

Meanwhile, the close friend of another teacher in our group, was working in an upper level of the second tower. She had been unable to contact her. Understandably perhaps, to avoid panic and potential injury, after the first impact, she later found out that those working in the second had been told to remain at their desks. Her friend left her desk regardless, and, though she was still inside the tower when the second aircraft hit, she was now below the impact zone and thereby survived.

In terms of commemoration, I'd like to suggest, timidly, that one of the greatest tragedies of the day is not the tragedy of opposition - the battle between A vs B, whatever you label A or B, whichever side you take. Given subsequent conflict, right or wrong, that is how this event is often framed by the media. Rather I see it as a tragedy of those who have a side, and those who don't even know there was a battle. However the perpetrators are cast - be in political, religious, non-US extremist or US conspirator - clearly their paradigm was built on an underlying assumption of a conflict, which the victims were unaware of. If we disagree and together decide to fight one another, that is one thing. If we disagree, and I accept or am unaware of our differing thoughts, and yet you strike me down regardless, that is another, to my mind, greater tragedy.

I do hope these notes don't trivialise the event or offend anyone. It's just a record of a couple of stories and the musings that flowed from them. It's not meant as anything more. One thing my scanning of these old film prints has reminded me of is the power of a photograph to commemorate meaning over time. Flickr is chiefly a celebration of the present; of the frenetic energy of now and today. Perhaps one aspect of photography it overlooks is the longer term view. It's the difference between seeing the noise of everything, and stripping that noise away to leave the transcendent moment alone. Both interesting angles, but the latter inevitably absent from this medium, perhaps.

So that's probably quite enough introspection and philosophical declamation for the next few months. I hope you're all very well and have survived my ramble if you were generous enough to follow it. Have a superb week all.

White Out (Leeds Castle), Kent

2011-05-07T10:15:00.001-07:00

White Out (Leeds Castle), Kent, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Snow, freezing fog and huddled forms at Leeds Castle today. Not the classic view, but one I like nonetheless! Nice on black.

Hope everyone is very well and having a great countdown to Christmas.

Quayside Spray & Gondolas, Venice

2011-05-06T00:46:00.001-07:00

Quayside Spray & Gondolas, Venice, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

First picture to be processed on my return from Venice. Lots of these shots - mostly at a much higher tide with waves sweeping in at my feet. I'd imagine more will make it online in due course. This one got the nod for first posting as I liked the lighting and reflection best.

It's the view out from just along from St Marks towards Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore, on which sits a church of the same name which is often mistaken for the main Campanile tower on St Mark's square itself.

This image is actually a composite of two - one lefthand, one righthand, manually blended in Photoshop 7.0 along the dividing line/pole noted above. The mix of spray and boat positions, combined with the lack of viewfinder, made it a little hard to ensure the gondolas' fantastic prows did not overlap with the poles. The "bulge" shown in the note above is unfortunate as it implies lax PS work - in fact it is forcola (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%B3rcola) used to hold the oar, so the gap is quite natural!

Hope everyone is fantastically well and enjoying the week.

Coldfrontation (Bury Lake), Rickmansworth

2011-05-05T00:15:00.001-07:00

Coldfrontation (Bury Lake), Rickmansworth, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

If you are looking at this photo, thank you! I know the thumbnail, which clips the geese, looks about as banal and flat as a pebble dash conference in Scunthorpe. So thank you for clicking through regardless.

Please do view on black!

Quick shot from this morning's wander in the snow and ice. A very foggy morning, so it's taken with the old 18-200mm Sigma lens - fortunately the misty atmosphere meant nothing doesn't resent it's softness! All ice in this shot, with a thin sheen of water which, in the stillness of the fog, created some lovely reflections.

For those few interested, the boat house is indeed the same one as in www.flickr.com/photos/flatworldsedge/5184896770/, shown from the other side this time.

Hope you're all having a great weekend.

Only Connect (Spanish Steps Candid), Rome [Film Scan]

2011-05-04T00:31:00.001-07:00

Only Connect (Spanish Steps Candid), Rome [Film Scan], a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Another of the decade old film scans, and one which I really like despite numerous flaws and compositional chaos. There are so many elements and stray people that I would now days delete it for, but I find it carries a certain charisma.

To me, at least, it has the impression of a "join the dots" puzzle with the numbers deleted. So many of the odd elements seem to be interacting, although the why and how are somehow missing. I enjoy the way the scale seems wrong too, especially the girl, the Mercedes and the couple between them. The father's missing head and mother's turned back appear somehow meaningful too. There are just two elements I actively dislike, indicated by notes above.

Perhaps it's just nostalgia or an overlooking of fact, but imperfect or otherwise I really like it and hope you can forgive its flaws and enjoy it too! If not, no offense taken! Hope you're all well and enjoying the week.

In Bocca Al Lupo, Rome

2011-04-28T00:23:00.001-07:00

In Bocca Al Lupo, Rome, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

"Crepi". First off and most importantly.

This is some very dignified Roman street furniture, depicting the city's patron beast. The background bokeh is the same car as used in www.flickr.com/photos/flatworldsedge/5072594396/in/photos... - in fact it was whilst taking this shot that I noticed the reflection.

In retrospect I was a bit distracted having seen the next shot, and so this one is probably not perfect. Particularly I'd have gone for a slightly wider DOF to sharpen up the wolf's nose.

Thanks for everyone's recent comments - hope you are well and enjoying a wonderful week.

Update: Explored #292. Many thanks to everyone who has commented, fav'ed and viewed. I massively appreciate the attention and insights offered. Thanks to all! Really pleased the vintage feel came off and people generally enjoyed it.

Still Life (Dead Duck), Grand Union Canal

2011-04-26T00:19:00.001-07:00

Still Life (Dead Duck), Grand Union Canal, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Not sure about this one. Taken back at the start of the year, more out of horror than anything else. I was very sad to see it actually. Never seen a dead duck before. It seemed wrong not to take a picture. And having taken it, wrong not to post it. So here it is.

Lots of cloning to remove spots from the surface of the canal. I wanted a sort of "Han Solo frozen in carbon" effect.

Hope everyone is having a great week.

Beware Of Dog (Leeds Castle Door Detail), Kent

2011-04-22T03:19:00.001-07:00

Beware Of Dog (Leeds Castle Door Detail), Kent, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Detail from the castle doors at Leeds Castle in Kent. Heavy bronze lion's head door knocker and iron studs in old timber.

Not Interested (Italian Waiters), Venice

2011-04-21T00:23:00.001-07:00

Not Interested (Italian Waiters), Venice, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

I don't usually like posting two shots of a series, but I simply couldn't choose between this one and www.flickr.com/photos/flatworldsedge/5206698402/in/photos.... This one offers the better composition and fewer distractions in the background, but it's a shame you can't see the expression on the waiter holding forth to the right.

This is another candid which owes its existence to Blackfoot Scout, my glamorous assistant, who posed in front of the waiters so I could shoot them candid over her shoulder. I've found setting the AF to the left or right most point helps - you can focus and get a light reading from the subject whilst pointing at your accomplice, so that when you swing the camera onto your subject you can shoot instantly rather than risk alerting them to your presence.

Hope everyone's having a great week.

Chimneys, Auschwitz

2011-04-19T14:02:00.001-07:00

Chimneys, Auschwitz, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

From Wikipedia: Auschwitz (German: Konzentrationslager Auschwitz) was a network of concentration and extermination camps built and operated in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. It was the largest of the German concentration camps, consisting of Auschwitz I (the Stammlager or base camp); Auschwitz II-Birkenau (the Vernichtungslager or extermination camp); Auschwitz III-Monowitz, also known as Buna-Monowitz (a labor camp); and 45 satellite camps.

Auschwitz is the German name for Oświęcim, the town in and around which the camps were located; it was renamed by the Germans after they invaded Poland in September 1939. Birkenau, the German translation of Brzezinka (birch tree), refers to a small Polish village nearby that was mostly destroyed by the Germans to make way for the camp.

Auschwitz II-Birkenau was designated by Heinrich Himmler, who was the Reichsführer and Germany's Minister of the Interior, as the place of the "final solution of the Jewish question in Europe". From spring 1942 until the fall of 1944, transport trains delivered Jews to the camp's gas chambers from all over Nazi-occupied Europe. The camp's first commandant, Rudolf Höss, testified after the war at the Nuremberg Trials that up to three million people had died there (2.5 million gassed, and 500,000 from disease and starvation), a figure since revised to 1.1 million, around 90 percent of them Jews. Others deported to Auschwitz included 150,000 Poles, 23,000 Roma and Sinti, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war, and tens of thousands of people of diverse nationalities. Those not killed in the gas chambers died of starvation, forced labor, lack of disease control, individual executions, and medical experiments.

On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops, a day commemorated around the world as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In 1947, Poland founded a museum on the site of Auschwitz I and II, which by 1994 had seen 22 million visitors—700,000 annually—pass through the iron gates crowned with the infamous motto, Arbeit macht frei ("work makes you free").

Priced Out Of Lingerie, Milan

2011-04-18T14:26:00.001-07:00

Priced Out Of Lingerie, Milan, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Female version of my compulsory fashion pictures from Milan. Black and white bra with black chemise.

From Wikipedia: Milan's fashion history has evolved greatly throughout the years. Milan began as a centre of fashion in the Middle-Ages and Renaissance, as in Venice and Florence, the making of luxury goods was an industry of such importance that in the 16th century the city gave its name to the English word “milaner” or “millaner”, meaning fine wares like jewellery, cloth, hats and luxury apparel. By the 19th century, a later variant, “millinery”, had come to mean one who made or sold hats.

In the mid-19th century cheaper silk began to be imported from Asia and the pest phylloxera damaged silk and wine production. More land was subsequently given over to industrialisation. Textile production was followed by metal and mechanical and furniture manufacture. Later, in the early-20th century, Milan became a major center of silk and textile productions. However, the city lost its fashion capital status to Florence, which in the 1950s and 60s was the fashion capital of Italy and home of the Italian "Alta Moda", equivalent to the French "haute couture".

However, in the 1970s, Milan's fashion image became more glamorous, and as Florentine designs were usually very formal and expensive, the city became a more popular shopping destination, with numerous boutiques which sold both elegant and everyday clothes. Milanese designs were known for their practicality and simple elegance, and became more popular and affordable than Florentine and Parisian designs. Milan started to become an internationally successful and famous fashion capital towards the late-1980s and early 1990s. After a brief fall of popularity in the 2000s (when, according to the Global Language Monitor Milan ranked slightly lower than its relatives, such as New York City, Paris, London and Rome), the city has throned 2009's fashion capital of the world.

Milan has been home to numerous fashion designers, such as Giorgio Armani, Valentino Garavani, Gianni Versace, Donatella Versace, Mario Prada, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce.

Going Nowhere Fast (Unhappy Couple On Scooter), Bologna

2011-04-17T11:07:00.001-07:00

Going Nowhere Fast (Unhappy Couple On Scooter), Bologna, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

I think this one makes a nice juxtaposition to my significantly happier couple on a scooter, shot half an hour earlier; www.flickr.com/photos/flatworldsedge/4986711850/in/photos.... I was going to post it flipped horizontally in collision course with that image, but the "Liberty" text on the scooter was too neat to wreck for so minor a thing a consideration.

There's no small amount of supposition in my titling and tagging of this one. If you're one of the riders and you'd like to set the record straight, so to speak, please drop me a note. The expressions are so comically miserable, though, I can only think this follows some epic argument.

Moisturise Daily (Statue at Palladio's Teatro Olimpico), Vicenza

2011-04-16T13:54:00.001-07:00

Moisturise Daily (Statue at Palladio's Teatro Olimpico), Vicenza, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

Close up of a statue in the courtyard outside Andrea Palladio's Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza.

The Teatro Olimpico ("Olympic Theatre") is a theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy: constructed in 1580-1585, it is the oldest surviving enclosed theatre in the world. The theatre was the final design by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, Renaissance, and was not completed until after his death. The trompe-l'œil onstage scenery, designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi, to give the appearance of long streets receding to a distant horizon, was installed in 1585 for the very first performance held in the theatre, and is the oldest surviving stage set still in existence.

See Statue at Palladio's Teatro Olimpico on Flickr for additional notes and comments.

Lake McDonald (Glacier National Park), Apgar

2011-04-13T05:27:00.001-07:00

Lake McDonald (Glacier National Park), Apgar, a photo by flatworldsedge on Flickr.

View up Lake McDonald, looking North from the Apgar Campground in Glacier National Park. For more comments view Lake McDonald (Glacier National Park), Apgar on Flickr.

Apgar Village is one of the main villages in Glacier National Park (U.S.). Apgar is located on the west side of the park about one mile in from the West Entrance. Apgar has one of the most popular campgrounds in Glacier Park, and is always quite filled. Apgar Village is also home to a visitors' center, a general store, and a large gift shop. Apgar Village is also one of the main places to purchase the famed Red Jammer Rootbeer drink, and also is the starting point for almost all Red Jammer bus tours on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Apgar's campground is connected to the village by a road, and a bike path through the woods, in which smaller wildlife can be seen. Though Grizzly bears have been seen close to camp.

Apgar Village takes its name from Milo Apgar, an early settler in the Lake McDonald area. In the 1890s, Apgar along with Frank Geduhn and Charlie Howe built homes at the lower end of the lake with the intention of farming the area. Farming proved impractical, so they and other settlers quickly became involved in servicing tourists visiting the park. As these services increased, the village that grew up around them gained the name Apgar[2].

Apgar Village also has two small hotel buildings, operated by the same company. Apgar also has its own boat launching ramp, and a boat rental dock on its portion of Lake McDonald. Apgar Village is within a twenty-minute drive from the Lake McDonald Lodge.

Glacier National Park is located in the U.S. state of Montana, bordering the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The park encompasses over 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km2) and includes parts of two mountain ranges (sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains), over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants and hundreds of species of animals. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centerpiece of what has been referred to as the "Crown of the Continent Ecosystem", a region of protected land encompassing 16,000 square miles (41,000 km2).

The region that became Glacier National Park was first inhabited by Native Americans and upon the arrival of European explorers, was dominated by the Blackfeet in the east and the Flathead in the western regions. Soon after the establishment of the park on May 11, 1910, a number of hotels and chalets were constructed by the Great Northern Railway. These historic hotels and chalets are listed as National Historic Landmarks, and a total of 350 locations are on the National Register of Historic Places. By 1932, work was completed on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, later designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, which provided greater accessibility for automobiles into the heart of the park.

The mountains of Glacier National Park began forming 170 million years ago when ancient rocks were forced eastward up and over much younger rock strata. Known as the Lewis Overthrust, these sedimentary rocks are considered to have some of the finest fossilized examples of extremely early life found anywhere on Earth. The current shapes of the Lewis and Livingston mountain ranges and positioning and size of the lakes show the telltale evidence of massive glacial action, which carved U-shaped valleys and left behind moraines which impounded water creating lakes. Of the estimated 150 glaciers which existed in the park in the mid-19th century, only 25 active glaciers remained by 2010. Scientists studying the glaciers in the park have estimated that all the glaciers may disappear by 2030 if the current climate patterns persist.

Glacier National Park has almost all its original endemic plant and animal species. Mammals such as the grizzly and mountain goat as well as less common ones such as the wolverine and lynx are known to inhabit the park. Hundreds of species of birds, more than a dozen fish species and even a few reptile and amphibian species have been documented. The park has numerous ecosystems ranging from prairie to tundra and the easternmost forests of red cedar and hemlock normally found in large numbers closer to the Pacific Ocean. Though larger forest fires are uncommon in the park, in 2003 over 10% of the park was impacted by fires.

Glacier National Park borders Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada—the two parks are known as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, and were designated as the world's first International Peace Park in 1932. Both parks were designated by the United Nations as Biosphere Reserves in 1976, and in 1995 as World Heritage sites.