Decay : In Black and White

Posted by Ellie
 

Week 21/26

Decay is everywhere around us and it should be so easy to get something that illustrates it, as this week's theme demands. I discovered that the trick lies not in finding something decaying, but in finding something that really shows that decay without the added dimension of colour. What makes this so challenging is that our eyes 'see' in colour and one of the most beautiful aspects of decay is the wonderful tones and shades in something in the last throes of life! So a dying bunch of blue hydrangeas, beautiful in pale blues, oranges and yellows all crinkled and crisp, looks wonderful. As soon as you convert the image to black and white you can barely even tell that the flowers are decaying at all. A wonderful old fungus on a tree is full of rich browns, yellows and creams and is fascinating to look at. But it is really dull in black and white.

At last, having photographed many different decaying things including the above mentioned, I end up posting the most obvious subject for the time of year and strangely enough, the first image I took in the project.

This leaf looks nothing at all as you see it normally. I wouldn't have given it a second glance had it not been for the delicate curve of the leaf end and the veins that stood out like the veins on the hands of an elderly man. In the end I discovered that what is drab and uninteresting in colour takes on a wonderful texture and beauty when stripped down to the grey values alone.

My posts are all on my blog: https://www.elliekennard.ca .

#BWProject26 | Curated by +Tisha Montgomery +Brandon Luk +Lauri Novak +Al Chris

#allthingsmonochrome +All Things Monochrome by +Charles Lupica, +Enrique Pelaez, +Brian Cox, +Dorian Stretton and +Bill Wood

1498

Check this out on Google+

32 Responses

  2. +Ellie Kennard i think I will on my phone,,,its the only camera i can afford,,Ill be sure and ask first,,,
    We have so much to clean before winter,some of the trees died last year and hanging over the house,,,
    Is sad our only option is to burn them,,Everyone has cedar trees here,,,,it would be nice to recycle somehow,,,they alre

    Reply

  5. ,,we have nice bonfires,,,eat,listen to music ,,,,,
    God Bless You,, I'm new here but I love your pictures,,,Id like to start pictures of people., I liked to watch people and wanted a camera,, i remember looking in a box and those pictures are wonderful,,,
    Peace and Love
    💫💜🌻

    Reply

  13. +Deborah Aldridge – it does! (I can never understand those that bag them up to send away. Mulch them up with the lawnmower and presto! free organic matter.

    Thank you so much +Dylan Johnson

    Thank you very much +John Dusseault

    Thanks so much as always, +Ursula Klepper

    Thanks +Lauri Novak

    +Gernot Glaeser – thank you. It was a technique that I saw used to photograph wedding rings and I wanted to try it out. It worked for this too. 😀

    Thanks a lot +Linda Jess

    Reply

  23. I so love both the simplicity of the shot…and the contrast of putting the curly, “old” leaf on the high tech reflecting surface. Wonderful.

    Reply

    1. Thanks a lot, Sandra. I thought having that shiny black as a low key mirror might be a good effect and was pleased with how it turned out.

      Reply

  25. Such a keen eye and observation, Ellie. Color always complicates. Sometimes it enriches and other times in confuses or camouflages – but always it complicates.

    This is lovely in its shape and form and nuances of tone and the life it has lived 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.