Paying Attention

I spent some time yesterday trying to take photos that reflect what I normally wouldn’t notice, what I would miss if I wasn’t paying attention.  So on a trip to one of our local parks, I decided to change my perspective, bringing only my wide angle zoom (10mm-24mm).  And looking beyond my normal types of subjects.  So, here’s a couple of photos from that walk, certainly outside what I consider my “normal”, but I rather like them.  Which do YOU prefer?  And why? 

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4)

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Throwback

 I took this photo back in October of 2022.  It is along old Rt. 66, I think it was just south of Springfield, IL.  At the time I pressed the shutter, I thought "That's it!".  Later, looking at it on the computer, I was still pretty happy with it.  Then I posted it to a couple of photo sites, and the response was, well underwhelming.  A few days ago, I was posting a few photos to a newer (to me) site and decided to post this there.  While it got a little more response, it was less than expected, and not exactly enthusiastic.

So now I'm sitting here with my "imposter syndrome" flaring up.  

Oh well, I still like this one.  A lot.  Could it be better?  I wish the placement of the cars was different, both are blocked by poles.  But I did take several tries with passing cars.  And I'd like a hint more motion-blur on the cars.  And maybe a more 16x9 kind of crop, to cut out some of the foreground...  Or maybe I should print it and hang it on my wall, and enjoy it as is.

/rant

Throwback Thursday, Hocking Hills

 I was digging through the archives, looking for a specific oldie, and decided to go back to the root, the original "Straight Out Of Camera" file.  Which led me to browse through the other files from that day.  Which led me to finding a couple nice starting points I hadn't processed before.  So here you go:  3 newly processed files from way WAY back in May 2005.

This was Hocking Hills State Park, in Ohio.  I discovered HH during a trip to Columbus Ohio for an industry conference.  I had a free afternoon, and a rental car, and I het the woods!  So here's a few photos.  I was in a b&w mood lately, so that's where went with it:

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These were all taken with my long retired Nikon D70, the first digital camera I really loved (but not the last!)...

Hen House - Before and After

 I was taking the wife-mobile in for emissions testing today, and the closest place to us is Pontoon Beach, IL.  The Hen House restaurant is right at the Rt. 203 intersection with I-270.  Or at least was, as it's closed now, and starting to deteriorate.  I never ate there, but did make a phone call from there when my pickup truck broke down on the way home from the airport (in the '90's)...  Before cell-phones.

Anyway I had to stop and take a photo with be best camera I had with me, my iPhone.  Tweaked on my iPad, using Snapseed Edit:

And the straight from camera version:

Rotate, crop, convert to B&W (with orange filter), a couple of other minor tweaks (call it secret sauce).

Take off for Blue Vervain

 I recently took a photo of some prairie grass while visiting Ballard Nature Center in Altamont, IL.  After posting it to Instagram, I noticed that (from a thumbnail perspective) it looks a lot like another recent photo, of starlings leaving a tree.  What do you think?

Blue Vervain

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Taking Off

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I dunno, maybe I'm crazy?

  

Both photos taken w/ Fujifilm X-T3, taken 2/15 and 3/4.

Throwback Thursday

From way back... way WAY back.

This is from the summer of 1981, between Junior and Senior year of college. One of my friends, who I haven't seen in over 30 years.

Taken with my trusty Canon TX 35mm SLR, using Kodak Tri-X film. Which I would've developed in a makeshift darkroom in my apartment's bathroom. (My roommate sure hated when I was darkrooming!).

Back in 2013 I bought an inexpensive slide/negative scanner, this scan has been sitting around on my hard drive since then. Until tonight!

End Of An Era?

the first I photo posted to TWIBW, 3/26/2012

Way back in September 2012, I was invited to join The World In Black And White (TWIBW), a blog focusing on Black And White photography (duh!).  I thought it was a pretty cool idea, just photos, no text (beyond title and/or comments).  I was recommended by a friend, and I think I submitted examples of my work to be accepted...  The concept was the site would be limited to 25 photographers, and if someone didn't post at least one photo per month, your spot would be given to somebody else.

Overall, it's been a good site, and my posts tended to get orders of magnitude higher for views/image compared to my personal black and white site (Happenstance Photography).  However, it has kind of lost it's way, and I'm pretty sure that it hasn't even had a moderator in a couple of years.  No new photographers have been added in ages, and only 6 people have posted in 2019.  The person who recommended me hasn't posted to the site since early 2016.

Looking at the last 3 months (Dec/Jan/Feb), this year compared to 3 years ago:  Overall views per post is down 71%, views per day is down 58%.  And number of posts is down 32%. 

Or looking at just my photos, and activity per year:

Any way you slice it, it is still ugly.

So, after 6.5 years, I think it is time to let it go. Even though I still get 4-5x the views there, it it trending the wrong way.  I won't rage-quit or delete all my photos or anything, rather just fade away...  like the site seems to be doing.

You can see all the images I posted to TWIBW here.



Aside:  Happenstance Photography blog has been around since  September 2006, but I evolved it into a spot to focus on my Black and White images in August, 2012 ( month before I joined The World In Black and White - probably NOT a coincidence).  Before that it was mostly a venue to talk about microstock photography, which I did for a while.  I continue operate Happenstance on a similar basis as TWIBW, but usually include camera info and location data.

52 Week Challenge, Week 3 - In And Out

OK, I'm behind.  At least behind here.

As previously noted, I'm doing a 52 week challenge over at 365project.  I posted (here) for weeks 1 and 2, but forgot week 3.  So today I'll do week 3, and tomorrow week 4.  And I'll beg for forgiveness.

Meanwhile, you can see all my entries here.

The theme for week 3 was Technical: Full Manual.  Not really a good theme for me, I didn't have any sort of automatic capabilities for the first 25-30 years of photography.  While these days  I tend to shoot automatic most of the time (usually aperture mode), I do pay attention to shutter speed / aperture.  And I frequently use funtions like exposure compensation to over-ride the automatic.

That said, I did this one fully on auto:

 

I wanted lots of depth of field....  and auto exposure would tend to be too dark, overcompensating for all that white snow.  Anyway, there you have it.  Shot full manual (on my compact digital).

7 Days...

So, there has been a challenge floating around Facebook, to post 7 Days of black and white images.  One per day.  The guidelines seem to vary but as challenged to me state:

Seven days, seven black and white photos of your life.  No people, no explanations.

Well, that's pretty much right in my wheelhouse, so I was happy when my oldest daughter challenged me.  I did add a couple of personal twists.  All of the images were shot with my humble iPhone 7.  All (well, 7 of 8) were processed on my iPhone.  And all feature minimal adjustments.

Here's the 7 photos I posted:

Day 1:  Thursday, November 2

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Day 2:  Friday, November 3

 

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Day 3: Saturday, November 4

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Day 4: Sunday, November 5

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Day 5: Monday, November 6

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Day 6:  Tuesday, November 7

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Day 7: Wednesday, November 8

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BONUS:  Day 8, Thursday, November 9:

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So there you have it.  Seven days (+1) and Seven B&W photos.  Hopefully each says a little something about me.  I'm torn about adding explanations, but for now, I'll not.

The Point

Just one of those little moments I tend to notice.  Walking back to our car from Soulard Farmer's Market, along the sidewalk by Soulard Park.... That's the spire for Trinity Lutheran Church. 

I liked the parallel of the steeple vs the fleur-de-lis patterns on the fence...  framed by the overhanging trees.   But I suppse it is like a joke, if you have to explain it, it didn't work.  Whatever, I rather like it.

Halls Of Learning

Hanging out on a Friday evening...  digging on some tunes (Little Feat via Amazon Music), sipping a beer (Boulevard Brewing's Spicy Rye Ale), and trying to process a photo or two.  It's been a dramatic dry spell on the photo front.not taking many, and not finishing those.  Been busy at work and home, had a few health "things"...blah blah blah.  Hopefully I can get rolling again.

So, heres a little something from last month's college visits w/ my son.  This is at Purdue.  Taken w/ my iPhone...  Not bad, at least IMHO.  

I suppose in B&W I should've posted at Happenstance....  but I chose here.

Mournin' Blues

The other day my son wanted to record one of his songs.  He wanted to use the two keyboards at our church:  the grand piano (because it sounds awesome) and the electronic keyboard (because it has MIDI recording capability).  Anyway, I went with him, just for company.  And to sneak a photo or two.  Like this one.

Exposure is 1/8th of a second, to show motion.  Handheld, but braced on the drumset....

Better By You, Better Than Me

Two slightly different takes on the same scene.  I go back and forth between which I prefer.  Both were taken from the same spot, at the same time.  

The top one is from my DSLR.  A little tighter view, and more focused on the expanse of water.  With a "standard" 3:2 crop.

Nikon D3200:    1/640 Sec,  f/8.0,  ISO-200

Focal Length - 98mm  (equivalent in 35mm format)

The lower photo is from my Compact Digital, with a much wider angle.  Shifted right included the near shore for perspective, and boosted the contrast a bit more.  An non-standard, semi-panorama crop (1.8:1), but more standard placement of the horizon.

Nikon P340:   1/1250 Sec, f/3.4,  ISO-80

Focal Length - 45mm (equivalent in 35mm format)

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This is the Mississippi River, looking upstream from a pull-out along the Great River Road.  Between Alton and Elsah.  The island on the left is Eagle's Nest Island.  The center/right is Piasa island, with the Illinois shore in the distance.  Based on Google-Maps, this is about a mile south of Piasa, and 2.7 miles from Eagle's Nest...  The Mississippi river is right at 1 mile wide at this point.

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Just for giggles, below you'll see the approximate angle of view for the two images:

 Post title is a reference to song by Spooky Tooth

On The Hunt

Seems like I've been doing a LOT of B&W lately.  Is it because of the barren nature of winter?  My historical basis in B&W film?  Or the new Photoshop plug-in I received for Christmas? 

Regardless, hope you don't mind too much.

Lost In My Dream Of Fear

I was taking a lunch-time walk earlier this week, at Pleasant Ridge Park.  We're at that time of year (late summer into fall) when the foliage is at its most dense.  And the overall feeling can be foreboding...  That's the feeling I was trying to convey here:  Dense, challenging, walling a viewer off from the light.  I'll let you judge if I was successful.  Also posted over at 365Project.

In pondering a title, I settled on "lost", and skimming through my iPod, "Lost In My Dream".  This is from the old Spooky Tooth song.   This (naturally) led me to play the song, which led me (somewhat predictably) to do a Genius Playlist based on it.  Which supported my commute, and my morning background music today.

Here it is:

• Lost In My Dream - Spooky Tooth
• Simple Sister - Procol Harem
• Take A Look Around - James Gang
• Heavy Load - Free
• What About Me? - Quicksilver Messenger Service
• Shanghai Noodle Factory - Traffic
• Do What You Like - Blind Faith
• Anyway - Stephen Stills / Manassas
• Sunshine Help Me - Spooky Tooth
• Eyes Of A Child - Moody Blues
• Special Care - Buffalo Springfield
• Woman - James Gang
• The Barbarian - Emerson Lake And Palmer
• Shine On Brightly - Procol Harem
• Remember - Free
• Just Call My Name - Poco
• Try Me - John Entwistle
• That Was Only Yesterday - Spooky Tooth
• Still I'm Sad - The Yardbirds
• Fresh Air - Quicksilver Messenger Service
• Heaven Is I Your Mind - Traffic
• So Deep Within You - Moody Blues
• Rock And Roll Crazies / Cuban Bluegrass - Stephen Stills
• Funk #48 - James Gang
• I Got A Line On You - Spirit

 Overall, it's a really strong playlist, only a couple of head-scratchers.
I found almost all of it on Spotify (except "Try Me"), so I made a playlist. 
Check it out:  Lost In My Dream

Man's handiwork - no more than the molehills that dot the fields

I've been reading Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Complete Sherlock Holmes", in and among other stuff....  I founf the following at the beginning of "The Adventure Of The Golden Pince Nez", and was quite struck by it:

  "It was a wild, tempestuous night, towards the close of November. ... Outside the wind howled down Baker Street, while the rain beat fiercely against the windows. It was strange there, in the very depths of the town, with ten miles of man's handiwork on every side of us, to feel the iron grip of Nature, and to be conscious that to the huge elemental forces all London was no more than the molehills that dot the fields/"

Great stuff...  I always like things that remind us that all of Man's handiwork are inconsequential to the huge elemental forces.

Or as a later wordsmith put it:

History shows again and again

How nature points out the folly of men...

The image is a real oldie, at least 15 years back.  I'm sure it has been posted here several times.  But hey, call it a throwback!

Winter Relapse (Happenstance / The World In Black And White)

After our wonderful weather earlier in the week, it turned colder, and and there was notable snow not too far north of us.  I had the opportunity to capture a couple of images yesterday near Potiac, IL, about 2/3 of the way from St.L to Chicago.  One from my other site, Happenstance:

Click here for larger version

And one from a site to which I occasioanlly contribute, The World In Black And White:

Click here for larger version

These were taken at the same spot.  In fact, the same little tree is in the back left of each photo.  I rather like these, but I'm also more than ready for warmer weather.

Patiently (Happenstance)

I posted this one over at Happenstance today, but wanted to add some details / discussion here.  See, I made a decision a while ago to keep that blog as "clean" as possible...  white backgrounds, just the facts:  Camera, settings, location.  But larger versions of photos.  And (for now at least) all in Black and White...

(larger version @ Happenstance)

On to todays image:  Beautiful weather the past 2 days, a real harbinger of the impending Spring,  I've taken the opportuntiy for some nice lunchtime walks.  This set of grain bins are across the street from O'Fallon Family Sports Park, which is a great walking spot, not too far from my office.  I snapped this with my smart phone yesterday.  I took it with the intention of playing in snapseed, a fun little App.  It's actually a pretty powerful tool for the platform (I have it on iPhone and iPad), and I've done several images I rather like (here, here, here, here).  Obviously, one needs to be careful, it is easy to get overly enamored with effects.  But....

Another One Bites The Dust?

Psoted this image over on Happenstance today, but wanted to add some discussion here...

This is (or was) Danny's Brushless, Soft Cloth car wash, in Collinsville, IL.  I drive by this place just about every work day, coming and going.  This business has been around since 1/1/1984.  A whopping 30 years, a veritable institution.  On the other hand, I've never used their service.

Meanwhile, I noticed the other day that the door is covered in signs saying "Location Closed"....  Now my first thought was what a shame to see a business gone after 30 years.  But I noticed that one of the signs refers customers to Danny's Express Car Wash.  Which is a relitively new car wash, about 3 miles away in the rather new Collinsville Crossing development.  Closer to Wal-Mart and Home Depot.  So it's not quite as sad as I originally thought.

I imagine that something new and shiny will rise at this location.  Given that there's a Walgreens across one street, a CVS Pharmacy across the intersection, and an Aldi's across the other street...  I don't see this site festering.  But who knows, in today's economic climate.

It's worth it.

Just a little something from a lunchtime walk at O'Fallon Family Sports Park.  I ventured off the nice, paved trail, and explored one of the drainage areas...  Or should I say ditches?  An interesting diversion, but I did end up tracking a it of mud back to my office.  That stuff packs in the tread of my shoes, until I dig it out w/ my pin-knife.

It's worth it.