A Bit of Black and White, If You Please...

 

I shot these two photos yesterday, the cherry blossoms are in our yard, the two trees stand in a pasture near Butler. I pass them each week as I travel to Columbus, and always take time to look at them as I pass. I have photographed them before.  If trees have personality, they do.

I shot the cherry blossoms just before getting in the truck to go. Have been waiting to shoot them this year, and the blooms were looking really good yesterday. The two trees were done late in the day as I returned home. Rain was fast approaching and the clouds were building up. You can see patches of rain in the distance.

 

The trees just screamed for for black and white, so I obliged them.  The color version was pretty blah.

The cherry blossoms were good color, but I decided to make the background black and white and paint in some color.  Originally was going to do the center of the blooms, but decided to add the leaves. With them black and white, it looked incomplete. Some of the background blooms I left black and white. 

Iris In The Rain

 

We have Iris's blooming right now. Love photographing them. I shot the top photo two days ago, and thought it was kind of neat. The texture and detail did rather nice, and the bricks in the background gave good contrast to the white and green.  But it was just another flower photo.

 

 

I took a look at them this morning, and decided to shoot some more, getting in tight in the droplets of water clinging to the petals. The overcast sky made for really nice, even light, and the drops of water are another element that really adds to the image.

That's  my Daddy,  Dillard Augustus Gilleland. Today is his 100th birthday. He left this world in August 2002, and I still miss him. He set the tone in our home, was stern when he had to be, but he knew the importance of love. And he wasn't afraid to show it. That was one of the most important things I learned from him, the importance of showing and sharing love.

The second photo of him with my Mom was taken in 1948, the year before I was born.  My brother Tony was three years old, and I guess he had been so wonderful, they decided to have another one.  Dad always let us know we were a planned part of his life, very much loved and wanted.  We have always been an affectionate family. The day he died, Deborah and I spent the day with them. As always we greeted each other with a hug and kiss, said goodbye the same way.

 

He was a manly man, riding Harleys and Indians before settling down to married life. Loved working on cars, woodworking. As a kid, it seemed like he could fix anything.  He was good to let Tony and I "help"

him with various projects. A real example of patience.  He taught us to be passionate about life, that success was about loving what you do, and doing it well.  And to put God first in all you do.  Then everything else falls into place.

Happy Birthday, Dad. Thanks for the example you set, and for all that love.

Hey Yogi its Like Deja Vu All Over Again.....

 

Several weeks ago I photographed Jackie in one of Macon's true landmark buildings. The place has fascinated me since I was a kid, going there in the 50's when it was a busy place, still serving passengers who were traveling by train. Then in the 1970's I often revisited with a couple of Nikon's and piles of Tri-X film.

It was empty, deserted and neglected, a place of beauty still. Now it has been reclaimed, and its true beauty restored.

As always, I shot the original frames in color. Jackie fit right in, her colors matching those of the building quite well. The place is really a natural for color, with all the beautiful wood, stone and gold detail, and really quite well lighted.  

 

The second photo, the first of her on the bench, was pretty much as shot in regards to the lighting. I brought the background down for the third image, making her more prominent, and also changing the mood just a bit. This made me go "hmmmmm, maybe black and white"  and so I converted it to a monotone using Silver Efex Pro 2. It is the best program I have found so far to convert color to black and white.

 

The last image was shot available light, in my old style of shooting film....a bit underexposed. Thanks to the wonders of RAW files, I was able to bring out the image. It has a bit of grain, and actually has the look of pushed Tri-X.