Self Portait

I like black and white photography. In many ways I see things in black and white. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a time before color photography became important. Most of the photographs and movies I saw when I was young were in black and white. Yes, I know that color moviews had been available for quite some time, but the ones I seem to remember were all black and white.

Of all places, this was taken in the men’s room in the building where I work with the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society. The day before I’d been watching a YouTube video about high-contrast black and white photography. As I was leaving the men’s room, bright light streamed in through a high window and fell on my face. It occurred to me that if I could get the exposure right, I might get something interesting.

Many might think that I carry a camera with me wherever I go. But that wouldn’t be true. I don’t usually carry one with me to the men’s room. However, I did have one in a bag, downstairs where I work so I went down to get it.

This is the result. I quite like it.

Taken with a Sony RX100 M3.

Under the overpass

I was going to eat at one of my favorite waterfront restaurants: 3 Westerley right on the river in Ossining, NY.

If you’re driving, the usual (there is at least one other) path to follow would be do go down Main Street and then take the overpass which goes up pass the station, crosses over the rail tracks and then curves around towards the restaurant.

I arrived a bit early i.e. before the restaurant opened so I was looking for something to photography that wouldn’t take me too far away from the restaurant. I thought that this picture taken from under the overpass would fit the bill. A black and white treatment seemed the best way to go.

Taken with a Panasonic Lumix GX85 and Leica DG Summilux 15mm f1.7

Doves Silhouette

I was leaving my house the other day when I noticed these two doves in a tree near the end of my driveway. They were quite a long way away and I had a 45mm lens on my camera, so I knew I would have to crop quite a lot. Luckily the camera has a resolution of 33 megapixel so I could crop quite a lot and still have a decent picture. While I was taking it I “visualized” a silhouette so the post-processing was fairly simple except for the rather lengthy processing of removing small, distracting branches.

I’m quite pleased with the way it came out.

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Samyang 45mm f1.8