There was a time when photography had no color. Since the discovery of color in photography we have been seeing color everywhere. Black and white still captures the world in all it's essence and beauty. Even today when we revisit pictures in black and white, a sense of purity and simplicity prevails. So, on one hand, color attracts the viewer with its catchy designs and color, black and white attracts the viewers by it's composition, lighting, focus and the story in the picture. A beautiful excellently executed black and white picture can surely beat a flashy color picture. I love color and capturing it is just what I do, but lately I've been attracted to the black and white. There are so many tones to black and white and capturing the right one for the right thing is just as important.
The topmost picture is of Holland Beach. It is a sunset at the Great lakes. The colorful sunset can be captured in black and white with equal drama even without color. Click on the images to view a larger version.
Shutter speed - 1/40 secs
Aperture - F10
ISO - 100
The picture on the right is of Fredrick Meijer Garden. It has sculptures of various artists. That day, when I reached the garden it was closed , so I could only take shots from outside.
Shutter speed - 1/1000 secs
Aperture - F4.5
ISO - 100
The clouds and the sky can change your black and white picture from ordinary to dramatic.
This is a picture from the Zoo. This is the African elephant. Note the skin has come out beautifully in the black and white version. The wrinkles in the skin have come out perfect. They give the texture to the picture against the blur background.
Shutter speed - 1/320secs
Aperture - F7
ISO - 200
I have even added a new gallery for black and white on my website www.dipalis.com. Feel free to visit and leave your feedback.
The other thing I've been working on in the last few weeks is Illustration. Hope to share a few in the next posts.
Hope you all will enjoy these pictures as much as I did capturing them.
Taking a picture in studio is like creating art, while capturing something in nature, or architecture or landscape is like capturing art. I like to do both the things but some photographers think that in studio pictures do not take much effort. It is more difficult to create than to capture , I believe. I say this because the past week I have been trying to create and for that you need fresh ideas and fresh mind, which were both not possible this week as I have exhausted myself with work. This is a random thought which came to my mind, anyway I was lucky to take a few pictures of the first snowfall we had this season. Here are a few...
In this picture I found a few leaves on the path leading to the woods which I thought would look good in SC.
Shutter Speed -1/60 secs
Aperture - 4.5
ISO - 125
As this was the first snowfall , there are a few brown, red leaves on the Oak trees even now. So this shot is of 8:00 am in the morning when the sun was lighting up the leaves on the top of the trees. The golden hour light is always considered the best time to take pictures outdoors. The pictures are soft and magical. I usually miss this time when I am not on vacation, which means I am working as this is the busiest time. That day I left everything and shot a few first snow pictures. It looked magical. Being a photographer you are blessed with such views and feelings. Very often you can just admire the beauty that surrounds us.
Shutter Speed - 1/60 secs
Aperture - F16
ISO - 100
This picture is of the snow on the deck. Just loved how the leaves are sitting there and the sun rays dancing it's way through the railings of the deck. You will be seeing a lot more snow pictures from me as it's here to stay for some four-five months. Hope you enjoyed the view too and hope you all will have a nice weekend.
Shutter Speed -1/20 secs
Aperture - F16
ISO - 200
Temperatures are dropping and it's raining outside - it's time to stay indoors. Would definitely want to go to some warmer place for a vacation. Thanks giving is around the corner and I might as well plan for one. Lets see how it goes. For now I am stuck indoors as it's not very feasible to go out to take pictures. A very good way to entertain is to cook food, take some pictures and then consume the food.
This picture is of before cooking the food - the ingredients for a hot cup of tea.
Shutter Speed - 1/6 sec
ISO - 200
Aperture - F11
Flowers
are great subjects to click in an indoor setup too. Though most of the flowers have worn away,
but there are some that remain. One of them are Roses. I had plucked a bud which was somewhat open a day before and just in a day it bloomed to a beautiful flower.
Shutter speed- 1/10 sec
ISO - 400
Aperture -F 6.7
I end this post with a goodbye to fall season with a basket full of fruits very common in fall. Will be seeing snow very soon. Make some nice pumpkin pies and pumpkin curries to take relief from the flurries. Have a nice weekend!
Shutter speed - 1/6 secs
ISO - 100
Aperture - F8
Saw the first frost last week in the morning. Beautiful fall colors are covering the paths. The leaves which have fallen from the trees are no longer with us but they have transformed the place into beautiful paintings.
This is my capture of the frost.
Shutter Speed - 1/20
ISO - 200
Love the Oak leaves. They have lots of curves and are bold in shape.
A path in the park will give you a good idea of what the fall in Michigan is like this year. This was taken in the evening at the time of the golden light.
Shutter Speed - 1/13
Aperture - F13
ISO - 100
This is a short post as I have been busy with kid's stuff. Not much accomplished in the field of photography this week. Just working on my other passion and that is web designing.
Hope to get some pictures for my next post. Wish you all a happy Festival season. From the place where I come, we have Diwali - festival of lights, which is a four to five days long festival. Wish you all a very Happy Diwali!!!!
A photographer should literally have a backbone. How cheap can one sell? Jokes apart... I mean seriously, having a backbone is so very important for a photographer. I realized this when I fell yesterday, flat on the ground, on my back, and now have a back pain, not a severe one just a nagging pain which won't let me bend and take pictures. I can sit for a bit and do some work on the computer, that's all. So here's a post with animal shots which I clicked last week. These guys were roaming everywhere in the Zoo.
Shutter speed -1/350 secs
ISO - 100
I have always known from my experience, that animals are the greatest
posers and great subjects to take pictures of. So, I went to a Zoo, yes I
do not live in a forest to capture wild life.
I do not have any models that I know of,
so I am not very good at people portraits, though, I would like a few
models whom I can click occasionally. Ha! Ha! My family doesn't even want
themselves to be clicked. So I am just left with candid shots of them.
Animals are my only chance.
Adjacent is a green Lizard.
Shutter Speed - 1/30 secs
ISO - 400
To the left is the King of the jungle - The Lion King. Lazing on a rock with no worries. Could hear an occasional call back to it's mate. This is the most powerful animal after Man I know of, you can see that in it's eyes. Man is even more powerful than any creature on Earth, I believe, not by muscle but by brain. This is why this great powerful beauty is in a Zoo and Man is not. Well, this is what I think, others may differ on this.
Shutter Speed - 1/45
ISO - 100
This is all for now. Hope everyone will stay safe and have a nice weekend.
It's something about Nature that it draws you to it. This is a trail at the back of my house. Don't you think it's inviting? The fresh green color and the breeze, with wet leaves fallen on the ground. It is this time of the year when dew drops are very common on leaves and trees. This year we are witnessing a very beautiful Autumn or Fall season. Love all the colored leaves. The play of light and shadow on the leaves makes it even more dramatic.
So this weekend I stepped out into the woods even deeper, looking for mushrooms as this is the season for mushrooms.
I saw this growing on the wood chips. Looked papery and the light falling from above gave this a lighted look.
Shutter Speed - 1/8 secs
ISO- 200
I love the way the bokeh has formed in the background by the shadow and light passing through the leaves of the woods.
Some of the fallen leaves. They can glow in moonlight. All the yellow leaves glow when there is moonlight. Looks beautiful even in the night.
Shutter 1/60 secs
ISO - 100
This is all for now. Have a nice week!
As Autumn arrives, you see all the beautiful colors of goldens, reds, purples and browns. Another thing that crops up during this time of the year are Mushrooms. Yesterday, I went for a walk in the woods and found lots of different types of Mushrooms growing in the woods. As the plant world prepares itself for the winters by making an abscission layer in their leaves and shedding them, here are some living things which grow like it were Spring.
Above is an Elegant Stinkhorn -Mutinus caninus, said to be having antibiotic properties. These beautiful pink things are pretty to look at but have an awful smell.
These are the delicate Parasol mushrooms. If you touch with your finger they might fall apart. There was little sunshine and therefore couldn't take any dramatic pictures of them and I was short on my gear.
This was a giant one sitting next to my kid's playset and was so camouflaged with the surrounding fallen leaves that I could've stepped over it.
I loved the sturdy look it gave. Nature has got so many beautiful things that never a day passes by when you do not get amazed by it.
Here is a fallen leaf to end the post whichever way you want to put it, you can say it's the end or just freedom, it's for you to decide. Hope you all are having a nice week. Enjoy all the colors that life has to offer.
