Blogging à la Black and White

One of the things that drew me to the Northwest when I was looking for a place to move to was the color. I suppose the color of the scenery is as scientific a way of how to decide where to live as blindly poking a finger at a map of the world, right? Now, granted, the dominant color is green but there are so many shades of it and it crops up in the most unusual places, some of which are places you do not want it. A green roof or driveway is not a selling point in the local real estate market; it just means you need to powerwash the moss away.

So with that in mind, I never expected that some of my favorite photos I've taken to be black and white. Not, that is, until a recent picture taking excursion on a recent Friday the 13th (insert creepy music here).

One of my other favorite hobbies, besides photography and hiking, is Scottish Country dancing. Whenever I have the opportunity, I like to leave work early on Friday (who wouldn't?), drive up to Vancouver, Washington, and drive out with some friends to a class taught deep in the Columbia River Gorge. To kill time in between getting to Vancouver and meeting up with the carpool, I entertain myself by taking pictures on the I-5 bridge that crosses the Columbia River. This particular Friday the 13th, there were some terrific clouds looming on the horizon. I didn't realize it at the time, but they were going to provide a perfect atmosphere for some black and white photos.

There's a rather narrow pedestrian walkway on each side of the bridge, and by narrow I mean just wide enough for a bicycle to get by if the pedestrian isn't very big and really hugs the railing. There was a man walking behind me heading back toward the Oregon side of the river and I let him pass me as I took pictures of the boats skimming across the surface of the river. As I turned back to continue on my way, the man had reached the highest point of the bridge and was about to began the gradual descent on his way to the other side. On a whim, I got my camera out and snapped a few quick shots of him as he was framed against the sky. I was apparently also blocking a cyclist because as I came out of my murky thoughts concerning aperture and shutter speeds, I heard an "excuse me" over the roar of the traffic and realized I was standing right in front of a man who was trying to ride his bike across the bridge. I snapped his picture too as he rode on, but it didn't turn out as well as the others.

When I got home, I was mildly pleased with the color version of the photo. But it was a week or so later when it was converted to black and white that it really came into its own.

After that, I was more conscious of what would make a good black and white photo. A few weeks ago, I was at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge outside of Olympia, Washington. It was a Dutch sky kind of day with more clouds than wildlife but that was fine. Clouds are much easier to get pictures of than birds any day. At one point on the trail, there were two barns side by side. Those coupled with the clouds made for some interesting subjects to experiment with (I feel like Dr. Frankenstein or Igor putting the words "experiment" and "subject" in the same sentence). In color, the pictures were either over or underexposed because of the rather harsh light I was shooting into, but in black and white, the direct light was softened and served to add interest to the old buildings and their surroundings.

Once I realized what fun there was to be had with black and white photos, I went through pictures taken in the past and converted a number of them to black and white. Not all of them make the conversion successfully, they're rather like people who are natural brunettes and try to go blonde or vice versa. But there are quite a few that can wear both color and the lack of it equally as well. I was surprised that several sunset shots fit in that category. Typically a sunset is special because of its color, but these that I converted to black and white seem to wear the monochrome mantel quite well. As much as I hate to end this post with a terrible pun, I just can't help myself. After my black and white discovery, I guess Friday the 13th really is my lucky day.

Sunrise/Sunset Northwestern Style

After living here over six years (goodness, how time flies) this is the first winter/spring time I can remember having the opportunity to enjoy sunrises and sunsets. That probably doesn't sound like a big deal because, after all, the sun has been rising and setting for some time now. However, when  you don't see it for large blocks of time you tend to feel like it's shining on every part of the U.S. except for this cloudy corner. I could be exaggerating of course. Maybe it's just that this is the first year I've had camera in hand to actually witness this time of the day. Now, taking a picture of a sunrise or sunset may sound easy, but believe me it takes some planning. For one thing there are trees here, lots and lots of them. And, as trees tend to do, they block almost everything from sight and allow only glimpses of what's behind that leafy (or pine needley) curtain, as evidenced by the photo above.

The first item on the agenda of photographing a sun event is finding a place that is above the trees and is also not blocked by an obnoxious building. The I-5 bridge that crosses the Columbia River and puts you into Vancouver, Washington is a perfect place if you want to avoid obstacles, not to mention the added bonus of the reflections in the water to add to the interest. The picture with the twin contrails was taken on a January morning when I was headed to in the Vancouver office of my firm. The picture above it was taken along a sidewalk that runs above the river. The Portland airport is off in the distance. That turned out to be a bonus because several Southwest planes came in to land as I watched. Planes weren't the only thing in the air that day.  Canadian geese also chose that moment to show off their acrobatics over the still waters.

However, driving to Vancouver is not an option before going to work so with a little observation and thought I located three places within a five to ten minute drive from my house that give some decent views of both Mt. Hood and the sun for the morning and the sun's solo performance at night.The picture on the right was taken on an early March morning. I was taking the day off from work and could have slept in, but no, the sun had to wake me up. The nerve! The pink sunrise was on the way to work, and is unusual in that I've not seen the sky that color since then.

Sunsets are another issue. The best place to get a really clear shot would, again, be Vancouver but evening traffic is a hindrance and there's nothing more frustrating than sitting in your car as the sun sets. I have decided the sun moves a lot faster as it gets close to setting, probably something to do with gravitational pull (scientist that I am).  The picture to the left and the one below it were taken from an area known as Council Crest in Southwest Portland. It was a cold, windy day but sunny so everyone was out trying to soak up some Vitamin D. 


These last two pictures were captured spur of the moment after I looked out the window and saw that even with all the clouds (or maybe because of them) the sunset was going to be very colorful even if you didn't actually see the sun. I particularly liked the bird sitting in the tree, almost like he was the designated watchbird who was to make sure the sun really did set before reporting back to the flock. Now that sunrises and sunsets are seen more rarely I appreciate them more and have learned to be grateful for the things I was taking granted before they become only summertime memories.