Black and White Photography

All posts tagged Black and White Photography

Wednesday ~ July 20, 2022

Posted by Dave Updegraff on July 20, 2022
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Happy Wednesday!

Talk about a contrast.  Yesterday colorful flowers and today black & white old machinery.  As I was traveling the other day I stumbled across this area that had a bunch of old bulldozers and construction equipment.

As soon as I saw these machines I knew I had to photograph them and I wanted them to be in black and white.  I like to photograph older things in black and white to preserve the character of the subject.

It was very hot this day and I didn’t spend a lot of time inspecting the equipment or photographing them from different angles.  I just wanted to get the shots and get back in the AC.  🙂

I’m sure if these old machines could talk they would have lots of stories about the things they helped to build.  Hope you enjoyed the old construction equipment.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Tuesday ~ December 04, 2018

Posted by Dave Updegraff on December 4, 2018
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Happy Tuesday!

It’s been a fair amount of time since my last post.  I have been busy working on some projects and just plain lazy.

Yesterday I had lunch with some friends and then wandered through the country side looking for something to photograph.

It was cloudy, gray, and somewhat depressing environment so I decided to photograph in B&W to convey that feeling.

As I start my tenth month of full retirement I have experienced a range of emotions, many of which I had not expected.  In my mind I have composed  an essay about those feelings and at some point I may put them to paper.

I, for example, never thought I would miss working and in most respects I really don’t.  I enjoy not having the stress of demands and time limits hanging over my head.  What I do miss is my work.   I was able to help people solve problems both in their work life and personal life.  That gave me a feeling of purpose and fulfillment.

I really miss the connection I had with my friends.  I have lunch with many of them each week but I can tell in some cases the connection we once shared is becoming more blurred.

Left on my own, I find that I can spend hours reading blogs, taking lessons, playing games and napping.  One of the things I’m going to work on in the coming new year is putting more structure in my life.  I can do that with photography.

Okay, that’s all the babbling for today.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Friday ~ September 15, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on September 15, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , .

Happy Friday!

I have three images for today all in black and white.  I haven’t processed many images in black and white for sometime and I realize again how powerful some images can be in black and white.

One of the photography websites that I check everyday has a fair amount of black and white photography and whether it’s people, landscapes, or wildlife black and white photography does add an element of intrigue (for me anyway) to the image.

Hope you enjoyed the excursion into B&W.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Sunday ~ March 26, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 26, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Happy Sunday!

Okay for the record, today is Gabby’s birthday.  I was a day early.

I photographed this tug boat pushing another tug boat last Friday on my visit to the River Walk.

It was not a bountiful day for photography that day but I had forgotten about this guy.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Monday ~ March 06, 2017

Posted by Dave Updegraff on March 6, 2017
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

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Happy Monday!

I only have one image for you today.  I’ve been struggling with a nasty cold and just haven’t felt like doing much of anything.  I have been working on a project for one of your banks and I should be able to finish that up today.

The weather forecast is for storms most of the day so likely I won’t get any photography in.

Better days ahead.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Tuesday ~ December 06, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on December 6, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

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Happy Tuesday!

I have three black and white images for you today.  Why black and white?

I went out yesterday to look for some snow images and was greeted by a dense fog.  Not the best formula for landscape photography, however you take what Mother Nature gives you or you don’t make any images.  🙂

I see this bridge to no where everyday on my way to work.  It’s on the far side of the road and the sun is usually shinning directly toward the camera so I don’t often make an image of it.  Yesterday however I had the time and the inclination so I crossed the road (think chicken) to capture this image.

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The Hurstville Lime Kilns always make for a good shot.  I liked the way the snow interacted with them.  Remember you can click on the images to see a larger more detailed version.

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Finally for my good friend Betty.  There were some geese on the “duck pond” resting from their journey.  I couldn’t pass up a chance to photograph them.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Saturday ~ November 05, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on November 5, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

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Happy Saturday!

I have three images for you today.  Yesterday morning I went down to the river as I wanted to get some early morning shots of the river with the soft morning sun.  Unfortunately the sun did not cooperate because of a dense fog.

I thought about waiting it out but who knew how long that would take.  Then this lone duck swam by barely visible to me and I grabbed a few shots.  I was lucky enough to catch one in mid quack.  🙂

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Since I didn’t want to come home with an empty card I looked around for other images.  The fog was so thick that I could only see a few feet out and then nothing.  If you have any floaters in your eyes it was a weird experience because against that stark gray background every floater in my eyes became very visible.

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I didn’t capture these images to be in black and white but I tried this one and I liked it much better than the color rendition.  There wasn’t much color to the original but the removal of all color made it a more interesting image in my view.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.

Enjoy your day and be careful.

Sunday ~ August 14, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on August 14, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

August-13-2016

Happy Sunday!

A couple of weeks ago my friend Andreas posted an image on his blog that he took of the iconic Julian Dubuque Bridge that goes between Iowa and Illinois.  He shot it from an angle that I was unfamiliar with.  I’ve taken hundreds of images of the bridge from both sides of the river but I really liked what he had captured.

So last week Jeanne was gone to Chicago and so I set out to see if I could find the location where he made his image.  I tried both sides of the river but ran out of energy and patience before finding it.  🙂

Yesterday we did our annual journey to the Farmers’ Market and after an hour or so I told her I wanted to look for the location again.  Jeanne is always game for a photo exploration so we set out to find it.   I’ve lived here 37 years and have never been where we were yesterday.  🙂

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This is an image of the JD Bridge from the Illinois side of the river, which I took a week ago and it gave me a clue as to how to get to the location I was looking for.  It’s not an easy trek and not without some peril as the rocks are large and very difficult to walk on.

Click on the image to reveal a larger more detailed version.

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On the way back to the car I saw this structure protruding from the river.  I assume it is some type of tie off for river boats or barges.

It was a fun Saturday morning and I got some interesting images from the Farmers’ Market.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Thursday ~ May 12, 2016

Posted by Dave Updegraff on May 12, 2016
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

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Happy Thursday!

Only one image for you today.  I found this old tractor-trailer sitting near a barn on someone’s farm.  No one was home at the time and I didn’t want to walk on private property so I shot this photograph from the shoulder of the roadway.  I would have enjoyed getting up close and personal with this old work horse and really exploring it with my camera.  The good news is I know where it is and I’ll go back and get permission to photograph it.

Very busy but rewarding day yesterday.  Then had a real treat.  Angie called in the morning and said they had some morel mushrooms and would we like to come over for dinner and enjoy them.  Let me think about that for a minute…  YES!!

Great evening with the kids and grand kids.  Wonderful dinner and a little wine.  Very nice way to end the day. 🙂

That’s it for today.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and be careful.

Sunday ~ November 15, 2015

Posted by Dave Updegraff on November 15, 2015
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

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Happy Sunday!

I have some black and white images for you today from my River Walk on Friday.  I saw this couple sitting by the water’s edge conversing about who knows what and it appealed to me so I made the image.  In post processing it did not convey what I thought I saw until I made it black and white.

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If I make one image in black and white then they all have to be black and white.  At least that’s the way my brain works.  🙂

I love this old iron railroad bridge that crosses the Mississippi River.  Every time I see it I am reminded of the great drone loss.  That doesn’t ring a bell?  Click here if you want to learn more about the great drone loss.

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I have shown images of the riverboat Twilight on this blog many times.  It is a wonderful excursion boat that makes the trip from the Quad Cities, over nights in Dubuque and then returns to the Quad Cities.  I have never seen it in dry dock.

When I first saw it I thought it was just floating in the ice harbor but as I got closer it was obvious it was actually in dry dock.  I thought it made for an interesting image even though I was shooting directly into the sun.

That’s it for today.  Enjoy your Sunday.  We’re having nice weather in the mid-west right now so I plan to get out today and do some photography.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Be careful.