MtLawleyShire playing in Black and White

Yes, I’ve been at it again.  The flame trees have such wonderful arrangements and in black and white, there is no distraction of colour.  Just the structure of branches and flowers – & sometimes birds in striking designs against featureless white:

 

 

 

 

But today, I also took other shots that I thought I would play with.

A Jacaranda tree with light pouring through the feathery foliage:

A cape lilac bare of all but sunlight and stark shadows and last summer’s berries:

and a Grevillea flower:

I am enjoying this play – though I really should be writing…

 

MtLawleyshire’s flame tree & honey eaters

Yes, it was sunny enough for photos, but it was windy too – and the singing honey eaters were more interested in lying and fighting than feeding this afternoon.  But I go some good shots.

First, though, just the scarlet flowers against the blue sky – so striking:

 

 

soaked in sun against the trunk of the old flame tree:

 

Or against the green of a neighbouring tree:

Finally, I got some shots of the wee birds:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this one – I was lucky enough to get 2!  Before they started quarrelling, that is 🙂

And this little one perched on a century old flame tree cropped so much it had no flowers:

 

 

 

 

 

A painted sunset in MtLawleyShire

Yes, another sunset in MtLawleyShire – and a strange one.  As the afternoon closed down, clouds built, rushing towards the west, bulking dark and ominous, but their outriders glowed:

 

 

 

 

At the sun’s point of departure, the clouds were heavy and it seemed that sunset was over before it had begun:

 

 

 

then the sun itself slipped below that heavy layer of grey.  I was fascinated with the subtle changes in the clouds:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

Then the colour intensified:

 

 

 
It began to resemble a mediaeval painting of the Devil’s Inferno:

 

 

 

 

 

& as the light faded, so did the colour:

 

& then I ran out of space on the memory card.  🙂

 

 

An unexpected Sunset in MtLawleyShire

A brief walk in MtLawleyshire. I came across a winter hibiscus – it is so much smaller than the summer flowers:

And in the bedraggled garden of a house up for sale, I found unpruned roses – in flower:

  

Then it was home & sunset which started quietly with golden clouds:

 

The clouds got a little more colour:

 

 

Then unexpected drama and mystery:

 

  

    

it all began to darken down as the sun slipped rapidly below the horizon and cool evening seeped into the world:

 

Then the unexpected: rosy crimson flooded across the clouds:

 

It faded very quickly, like a dream

 

and finally, an escaped balloon, the same colour as that brief sunset, floating eat beneath the grey clouds

Bare Branches in and out of MtLawleyShire

 

And I should have added in the title that mostly they are more black and whites.  The days have been so dull and gloomy with cloud if not actual rain – it is very difficult to get enough light for photos & those I do get?  They are marred with the graininess that I often get in low light.  So I have turned them to black and whites.  I am definitely going to do something with these.

MtLawleyShire’s Flame trees.  Both the flowers & the branches look wonderful in black and white, becoming studies in the complexity of line and shade, the flowers’ balance of gentle grey – in total contrast with their startling and beautiful scarlet which throws even the sky into shade – but in black and white, they assume a different personality:

 

 

 

A flame tree in another street – it is not flowering yet, though it is covered in buds.  This looks wonderfully storm-tossed (& it was just after some wild weather)

These are taken in West Perth tonight.

It is from teh tree that had the lovely coloured leaves and branches that I shot against a cream wall.  All the leaves are gone now, leaving the branches and twigs bare, like haikus of themselves.  They are shot against a heavy sky (it did nothing, just frowned down upon the afternoon and apparently cleared in time for sunset, but I was working so didn’t get to see anything but a brief hint of aftermath):

 

 

 

And these are turned to black and white:

  

 

A street tree in street lights:

and a detail rendered into white against the black of night.

 

I hope you are enjoying my experimentations.

🙂

Quick shots of MtLawleyShire’s flame trees

It was a stormy morning and an afternoon of intermittent wind and grey and sun.  There was no sunset, and no moon.   But there was some sun, so despite teh wind, I went out to see if I could get any shots of the birds in the flame trees.  I hope I’m not boring you with these, but it only happens for a couple of months of the year, and only when teh weather is OK.  I don’t know if there will be flame trees at my new address, wherever that will be….

There were mostly singing honey eaters there today, all thrusting their heads into the flowers to get at the nectar:

 

 

 

 

 

Some are quite acrobatic:

 

these two, while not all that clear, intrigue me – something about the ‘design’ of the flowers and twigs:

 

 

& this one:

 

& this one – upside down and shot in a moment of sunlit stillness:

 

 

& here are some flowers – they are so striking

But, given the weather, there were many that just weren’t right, so I played, although some of those above made for black and white fun too:

 

 

 

I am missing my sunsets and a chance to go and play with the ‘big’ camera with the new lens.  Maybe tomorrow…

& I really do hope you’re not getting bored…

                   

 

MtLawleyShire playing with the new lens

Some photos with the new lens – of course, I mostly used the Fattee Cattee & as much as I love her – she is a *terrible* model.  Does she sit still?  No!

So I also took photos of a leaf – a begonia, catching a snatch of bright sunlight & glowing against the dark background:

My lavender is battered by wind, but still flowering & a bee took advantage, & wasn’t I lucky to get this shot:

Now – for that gorgeous fat fluffy cat.  I am still working out apertures and ISO’s & manual focusing…

 

& this would’ve been great except I chopped off her ear!

so I did this with it: the face of Fattee Cattee:

The never-ending demand for lemon grass, not having learned that in winter, it doesn’t grow:

& sometimes, she is very black:

 

(but always gorgeous!)

On my way to work – there were amazing clouds building:

Then the moon played hide & seek:

before it emerged almost free of clouds for a moment:

& that is the last I’ve seen of it.  Too much cloud.  No – not complaining about the rain, but…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A MtLawleyShire Sunset in the midst of storms

We are having a little bit of Winter.  There was no sunset tonight – not even a smidge in West Perth.  I didn’t even take my camera to work.  Storms were forecast and they hit – sweeping rain and tumultuous winds – even hail.  It won’t die down until some time on Saturday morning.

This is Thursday’s sunset, and it was pretty:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A tree in a brief moment of red, lowering light:

 

 

& this last spectacular piece of day, throwing itself out against the clouds of coming wind and storm:

 

 

 

 

 

 

& a smudge at sunset – she sometimes follows me a few houses down the street and waits, miaowing plaintively…

I am not sure there will be any sunsets over the weekend.  This is a sad thing.  No photographing at all – not even playing with the new lens – until maybe Tuesday!

I will go crazy!

🙂

MtLawleyShire’s flame tree, birds and Black and White

I have a new lens for the “big” camera.  No – I don’t know how to use it yet (& today was no good at all – storms and rain & wind 7 thunder & working).  But yesterday, I did play a little.  Can’t focus yet properly and, annoyingly, I see better through the viewfinder without my glasses, but it does cause horrendous eye strain. Now what am I going to do about that!

But, as there were both hits and misses, I played with black and white a little again – and sometimes played with those photos that did work.  I will leave it to you to decide which you think is more effective.

Flame tree flowers in scarlet against grey – & the black and white version

 

 

Flame tree and a singing honey eater – & the black and white version:

 

A wattle bird

   

& a wattle bird again, on his own:

 

Now for some black and white.  For various reasons, the colour versions of these just didn’t work.

 

 

 

 

 

I like how the branches turned out in this one:

 

This I added a yellow tinge to:

 

 

This flower worked well-ish…

Some singing honey eaters – more or less buried in the flowers drinking nectar:

 

& these two little guys were quite visible:

 

 

Finally, a gerbera from Amelia’s garden and a wee New Holland honey eater on a wire:

 

I am enjoying this play with black and white.  Not sure what I’ll do with them, though friends suggest wallpaper, prints…

I will have to see what happens…

 

MtLawleyShire’s Black & White Matilda Bay

Well – birds at Matilda Bay, in the flame tree that is now in flower.  But it was a dark, gloomy day, not great for photos, so many of the photos didn’t work (though many did & I’ll include those in another post).  So – I played with them in black & white.

What do you think?

The first three are the honey eaters

 

 

The rest are wattle birds.

 

 

 

 

 

I’d really appreciate some feedback, if you have the time.

🙂