Black and White Photography – Page 4 – Circadianreflections Blog

Monochrome Madness 2- Big Sur Coastline

November 12, 2015November 12, 2015Posted in Big Sur, Black and White Photography, California, California Coast, Monochrome Madness2, Travel and TourismTagged Big Sur CA, Black and White Photography, California Coast, Monochrome Madness214 Comments

I’m a bit late with this week’s post for Monochrome Madness 2, but better late than never right? I’ve been under the weather all week with Strep Throat.

The only place I went was to the mall to do some Birthday, and Christmas shopping the week before so, I’m guessing that’s where I picked it up.

I dug into my files for this image. I made this image one evening this past May. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the experience, because not too long after I made this image I was hiking to another location along the cliffs when my boot got caught in the ice plants that were part of the trail, and I fell down then found myself sliding down the cliff. Using my tripod with my camera mounted on it like an axe or pick, and my other hand to grab onto ice plants I was able to stop before falling over the cliff! It all happened so FAST! I was so silly my only thought was…” Crap, I hope my camera is okay!” I checked it first to make sure it was still working when I got back up on the trail. Thankfully both myself, and the camera were fine…dirty, and dazed, but fine.

Monochrome Madness2-32 of 52 Big Sur_5518

I took a higher path out let me tell ya!:)

I’m on the mend and feeling much better today. I hope this finds you all healthy, and safe!

To see all the images posted for this week’s MM2 click here

More to come…

Monochrome Madness 2 31/52 Clouds

November 3, 2015November 3, 2015Posted in Black and White Photography, Clouds, Lassen National Park, Monochrome Madness2, Night PhotographyTagged Black and White Photography, Clouds, landscape, Lassen National Park, Lightning, Monochrome Madness2, Night Photography8 Comments

It’s Theme Week at Monochrome Madness2 and our theme is Clouds. I went back to my archives for an image I made this summer while in Lassen National Park. I went up for the week-end with friends hoping to photograph the night sky’s stars, but clouds rolled in, and with them Lightning. It was Sheet Lightning I think. No bolts were visible at any rate, but the clouds lit up and were amazing.

Instead of photographing stars we chased the storm, and lightning for a couple of hours. Then the sky opened up and poured down rain. We packed up and dashed back to the car, and down the mountain to our hotel wet, but exhilarated.

To see the other submissions to this week’s Monochrome Madness2 go here.

Nikon Df| AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm| CS6 & Silver Efex Pro| Hoodman STEEL Ultra High Speed Digital Film

More to come…

Monochrome Madness 2 30/52 Morning Light and Fog over San Francisco

October 28, 2015Posted in Black and White Photography, Bridges, California, Cityscape, Fog, Golden Gate Bridge, Monochrome Madness2, San FranciscoTagged Black and White Photography, Bridges, Cityscape, Fog, Golden Gate Bridge Towers, Monochrome Madness2, San Francisco10 Comments

For this week’s Monochrome Madness 2 I chose another image of Sunrise over San Francisco with the fog

beginning to pull back a bit. Revealing some of the taller building’s upper floors and a couple of famous buildings too. To make this image I switched to my telephoto lens. This is a view of the South Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the city behind it.

Can you spot The Transamerica Building’s Pyramid, and the Palace of Fine Arts?

To see all of this week’s entries into Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness 2 click here.

Nikon Df| Nikon 80-200mm D| Hoodman STEEL Ultra High Speed Digital Film| Tripod| CS6 &Silver Efex Pro

More to come…

Monochrome Madness 2 29/52 Peek-a-Boo!

October 20, 2015Posted in birding, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Black and White Photography, Monochrome Madness2, Nikon Gear, Yellow-rumped WarblerTagged Birding, Birds, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Black and White Photography, Monochrome Madness2, Nikon Gear, Yellow-rumped Warbler18 Comments

A shy Yellow-rumped Warbler that was so adorable! Taken while out birding last Saturday morning.

I think my old 300mm f4 is having auto-focus issues again. It has quit auto-focusing a few times lately, so I switched to my D700 camera to test the lens verses camera since my D300s is also long in the tooth I need to go through the process of elimination to be sure it’s the lens and not the camera. While shooting last Saturday my lens stopped auto-focusing, and suddenly my camera settings switched from f5.6 to f22! I turned the camera off and on again and all was well the rest of the morning. That’s a pretty good indication that it’s my lens. It’s pretty old now and was sent in to Nikon in January for auto-focus issues. I’m afraid it may be ready to go back for repairs again. Sadly, it’s not under warranty anymore. Sigh. Reality check! It may be time for a new lens.

My D300s’ flash doesn’t pop up anymore either, and it’s getting near 60,000 shutter clicks. I think it’s rated for 100K. My poor gear. I treat it really well, but use it a lot. I may have to retire my D300s too. That makes me a little sad. They’ve been such good company, and a huge part of my life for many years. Time to start saving big time for their replacements! 🙂

To see the other images posted for this week’s Monochrome Madness2 visit Leanne Cole’s site here.

Nikon 700| AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4| SanDisk Pro Extreme Digital Film| CS6 & Silver Efex Pro| Tripod

More to come…

Monochrome Madness 2 28/52 Mono Lake Tufas

October 13, 2015Posted in Black and White Photography, Eastern Sierras, Mono Lake, Monochrome Madness2, TufasTagged Black and White Photography, Eastern Sierras, Mono Lake, Monochrome Madness2, Tufas7 Comments

This week’s MM2 arrived really fast! I’ve selected another image from my week-end in the Eastern Sierras and Mono Lake.

I made this image while waiting for sunset.

To see all the images submitted to this week’s Monochrome Madness 2 click here.

Nikon Df| AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm| Tripod| Hoodman STEEL Ultra High Speed Digital Film| CS6 & Silver Efex Pro

More to come…

Monochrome Madness 2: 27/52 Country

October 8, 2015October 8, 2015Posted in Black and White Photography, Fort Point National Park, Forts, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Monochrome Madness2, US National ParksTagged Black and White Photography, Country, Fort Point National Park, Monochrome Madness2, Themes, US Forts, US National Parks10 Comments

We return to Monochrome Madness 2 this week with Theme Week. The Theme is Country. I was torn between; Country a nation, or Country rural. In the end I went Literal (no surprise there right) 🙂

My image is from Fort Point National Park in San Francisco, CA. which is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The view is looking North across the “Gate”. You see both the South and North Towers of the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin Headlands, and in the foreground some of the 3 tier casements of Fort Point, and on the top tier some of the old Cannon Foundations, and watch tower.

For the History Buffs

In 1851 the War Department got busy planning to build a Fort(s) on the Pacific Coast. Priority was to build a Fort at San Francisco’s Gateway because the Military considered it a High Priority and Key to the Pacific Coast.

Construction began on Fort Point in 1853, but completion of the Fort was delayed due to the cost, and complexity of the building’s multi-storied tiers of arched casements. The fort needed to be strong enough to withstand the strong storms of the Pacific. The building is made of walls 7 feet thick, and has the multi-tiered casement construction typical of Third System forts. There were 30+ forts of this type on the East Coast, but this was the only one built of this type on the West Coast.

Third System forts were planned after the war of 1812; they combined high walls, heavy masonry, and classified as Third System, as a grade of structural integrity.

When Fort Point was completed to its top tier (barbette) it could accommodate 90 cannons which weren’t yet installed.

In 1861 war was looming on the East Coast so the Army mounted 55 guns at the fort, and the first garrison and defenses were ordered.

Fort Point never had to fire its guns during the Civil War, and the Confederate Army never launched an attack on the Bay.

For further reading about the Fort’s Post-Civil War History to Present day click here.

I believe the flag is flying at Half Staff to honor the victims in Roseburg, OR.

To see all the images that were shared for the Theme Country click Leanne Cole Monochrome Madness 2.

Nikon Df| AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm| Hoodman STEEL Ultra High Speed Digital Film| CS6 & Silver Efex Pro

More to come…

Monochrome Madness 2 26/52 Urban

September 11, 2015September 12, 2015Posted in Black and White Photography, Domes, Monochrome Madness2, San Jose California, UrbanTagged Black and White Photography, City Hall, Domes, Monochrome Madness2, San Jose California USA, Theme Challenges, Urban2 Comments

Last week was our Themed Week over at Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness 2, but I didn’t post my image because I was out of the country without internet. So, here’s my contribution a little late.

The Theme was Urban so I pulled an image I taken earlier in the year of my cities somewhat new City Hall Dome with some of our other city buildings in the background.

For the History buffs-

“City Hall of San Jose at 200 East Santa Clara Street is the center of the government of the city of San Jose, California. The building was designed by Richard Meier, and opened to the public on 15 October 2005, replacing the former City Hall complex civic center located on North First Street, which was used from 1958 until 2005. From 1889 to 1958 the city hall was located in what is now Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San José.

The architect was Richard Meier, designer of the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain and numerous other buildings around the world. The architectural style is most influenced by that of Le Corbusier. The US382 million facility has been somewhat controversial,^{[citation needed]} however the building was designed to be environmentally friendly, making use of natural light, and providing shading with brise soleils on the tower.

The complex is large, with the 18 story tower totaling 550,000 sq ft (51,000 m²) . The mayor’s office is located in the top floor of the tower, with the rotunda serving as an entrance and council chambers located in the third building.

The city hall tower is home to a peregrine falcon named Clara, and her current tiercel, named “Esteban Colbert” afterStephen Colbert, of whom San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is said to be a fan.^[4] The original falcons, named Jose and Clara after the city and Santa Clara County produced three offspring, named Spirit, Hiko, and Esperanza. In 2008, Clara and her then-mate Carlos had three chicks, Cielo and Meyye, both girls,and Mercury, a boy.^{[4]” ~WIKI-PEDIA}

The Dome reminds me of Lick Observatory which stands atop Mount Hamilton in East San Jose, CA.

Our hostess is on holiday so we’re taking a break from MM2, but we’ll resume on Oct. 7th. In the meantime if you have time click on over to Leanne’s MM2/26 page HERE to see what else was contributed last week.

Nikon Df| AF-D Nikkor 16mm FishEye lens| Hoodman STEEL Ultra High Speed Digital Film| CS6 & Silver Efex Pro

More to come…

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