Comparing color and black and white images

 So this post is about comparing and considering images that were shot digitally in color as black and white images. A look to see how contrast, color and even composition impacts the image and how it engages the viewer. As is always the case these images have had only minimal edits done to them. Nothing more then could have or would have been done in a darkroom using filters or selecting paper or development times. I hope you enjoy. As always, thanks for looking. 

Pink Rose in Black and White

Pink Rose in Color

Birthday Roses Black and White 

Birthday Roses Color 

Pink and Red in Black and White

Pink and Red in Color 

Bridges and Power Station Winter Black and White

Bridges and Power Station Winter Color 

Vault and Lantern Black and White 

Photos shot with a 10 year old Nikon D2hs

For the photographers who come to my blog.
All the photos shot from this past Saturdays game of the Clayton boys LAX were shot on an oldy but goody. Using my 10 year old Nikon D2hs and my Nikon 300 2.8 telephoto of about the same vintage! Dollar for dollar a very good sports set up considering that I paid $100 bucks for the D2hs body on EBay!  Now that is what I call a shoe string. See Ken Rockwell's recommendation information. This is a an old professional camera with all kinds of control and bells and whistles but a small sensor and 10 year old technology. What it offers is pro-shooting speed. The D2hs can crank at 8 shots per second relentlessly. It seems to be best in daylight which allows for fast focus and you can't crop the images very much do to the size but it is a trooper. The one I picked up shows plenty of wear but still goes with no problems. In some ways it runs rings around my D600 in battery life and shot speed. The images coming off the D600 are much larger and much better over all which allows me to crop significantly and still get great detail. But for someone who is shooting action frame speed can often make the difference. I find myself bumping into the D600 buffer all the time.

Ian Reim Playing Defense - Image shot with D2hs and  Nikon 300mm f2.8 AFS of approximately 13 years old.  

Some Recent New Images from St. Louis

Here are some recent new images from around the St. Louis area. These images did not make the cut for a recent photo competition/exhibit at the Sheldon Gallery celebrating the cities 250 year anniversary.
 

Stan Musial Veteran's Memorial Bridge

Railroad Trestles

Library

Roberts Tower 1

Roberts Tower 2

Giro 1

Giro 2

Giro 3

In Formation

5 Arches

Modern Art in Snow

Interesting Photographers Work

Blog Site for Mikko Lagerstedt

So in my relentless searching to see what others have done and what they are currently doing I came across this site. This is a young photographer completely embracing the capabilities of digital with a great sensibility for composition and emotional connection. Enjoy!

North Rim of the Grand Canyon

North Rim - Through the Rocks

On the Edjge-Looking North

Blue Sky and Stripes

Toadstools as the Storm Approaches

It has been a while since I have posted. I have been traveling to the Desert Southwest. In particular to Kanab Utah to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. For this trip I rented a Nikon D800e and tonight I am posting my first images from the trip. The shear size of the sensor and the amount of detail in the images is amazing for a DSLR. I need to enlarge some images on our large format printer/plotter to see just what kind of image quality/size they are producing. Clearly reducing the images for publication online changes them somewhat but still this was an amazing camera compare to my normal cameras, the Nikon D200. I have many more images to edit and I will posting as I select them.

Steeple and Bridges in Snow

Old Cathedral

Today's post is again from the garden of death. Bellfontaine Cemetary.

Today's post explores a wide interest in the built environment and architecture as seen through the camera lens. Taken on a crisp sunny Saturday morning and within close proximity this series of photos display a wide range of imagery. From urban shotgun houses to silver chemical storage tanks to a stately classical gate denoting an elite neighborhood. If you like these images please comment. I would love to know you impressions of my work. As a photographer I find the images compelling. The tanks are very sculptural. Like modern abstract sculpture they are pure in form. They remind me of organ pipes on a distorted scale. The column capital is pure classical architecture from a time when rules and specifics defined art and beauty. Rules that are no longer applicable for either art or architecture today. Yet these classical, formal details do posses and convey  a very real sense of order that cannot and should not be ignored.

Flora Place Gate

Corinthian Capital

Details

Hey Brother!

Organ Pipes

Tanks

Factory I

Factory II

Lone Shotgun

Keeping up with the Jones's

For those who are familiar with St. Louis. The tanks and the shotgun houses are in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood. a neighborhood that is seeing considerable redevelopment and revitalization. Yet the "old" neighborhood and the "new" are in great tension. There was a double homicide one block away from where the "shotgun"  houses were photographed. Reminding us that our city and our society are in constant push pull of evolution.

Painting With Light

Tonights post are some shots that I call "Painting with Light". They are experiments with intentional  movement with light to capture colors in an abstract way. I am sure that many have done this before but I wanted to see just what would happen.