Weekly Black and White Photography thread #5 for (2 March 2025)

Yes, I think that works better. A smaller proportion of OOF in the foreground is fine. It leads into the scene rather than taking it over.
Well, a dog on a lead on a morning like this is almost as much of the pleasure as a camera.

What I'm trying to do is make more of the zig zag diagonal line of the bricks and increase the line and patina comparison between the bricks and the metal dome.

Given the stable weather conditions currently I may try this again with a longer lens (I have a Pentax 645 150mm) and try an ND grad as well. I'm limited to how close I can get by a bog just in front of where I was standing

Nighttime street photography presents its own challenges. In most US states there are laws prohibiting indoor smoking. This was taken in Ybor City which is the old Cuban area of Tampa. Ybor was the cigar district made up of large cigar factories that came to the US after Castro's rise in Cuba. Today the old buildings have been repurposed for shopping, clubs, entertainment, condos, etc. but Ybor City still has it charm. It is still the "Cigar district" with multiple cigar stores.

So outside along the street, there are chairs and tables for those that want to partake can enjoy a good cigar usually with a drink or cup of strong Cuban coffee - maybe with a shot of rum in it. They are mostly under over hangs which can block light.

It also still has the feral chickens running loose. In fact the chickens of Ybor are protected by a Tampa ordinance and they have their own web page. The chickens were brought with the Cubans as cock fighting was a big activity in Cuba in the mid 20th century.

www.yborchickens.org/about

Ybor is teaming with night life and as such makes a great place to hang out with a camera. However, it presents some really challenging lighting. Since street photography normally involves people, a ss of 1/50 or faster is needed since people aren't statues. However, that drives the ISO up. The good news is the Leica monochrome cameras are very good at ISO 1600 to 3200 and passable at ISO 6400.

Where's Waldo?

Ah. There he is.

Steve Thomas

Cupid is either unusually tall or you went to some lengths to get the angle. The angle makes the shot. The repeating fluffy outline at the top of the wings and the head convince me that he's the real thing. The line of the bow arm and feathers are a good touch too.

John Keat's "The Pot of Basil"?
The strings of succulents are clearly living, sharp, bright and detailed. The contrast with the melancholy of the darktoned, cobwebbed fringed head is unexpectedly striking.

I couldn't see him at all in shot 1.
From an Australian point of view, the shot is more effective than you might think. Cat's have devastated Australian wild life. Australian animals didn't evolve to have cat resistance.
It has been seriously suggested here that the Australian army should be deployed across the continent to shoot feral cuts. Some have calculated that the army doesn't have enough bullets. It is that big a problem.
Photo 1 works well for reasons that make my blood run cold.

Hi,

I posted my North Carolina Lighthouse series already - in color. However, I have worked them up in B&W for am alternative series of prints. So, over the next seven weeks, I will post one each week to our weekly thread here.

This is the Currituck Lighthouse, Corolla Beach, NC. It is the Northernmost of the NC lighthouses.

Stan

The somewhat diagonal framing of the lighthouse using the foreground foliage, is clever and adds unexpected visual variation to the lighthouse.
Seen as large as possible, the structure on the top of the lighthouse is impressive with its tone range, sharpness and especially the lighting. Full bodied blacks with detail still in the deepest shadows.
I reckon I'd like this shot in either colour or B&W,

Hi,

These lighthouses are in parks these days. Historical structures, you see. Even though they are still operational for their primary purpose. This one, the park is quite small and there is really only the one spot to shoot from where one is far enough back to not be looking up.

So,.I can't take much credit for the framing here. The park limits and the caretakers have to get the credit for this one. ;)

And this is a conversion to B+W from a color shot using an old plug-in for Photoshop 8. On an old XP machine because current Ps won't work with the plug-in. Anyway, I went thru the adjustments until I wound up with what I liked.

Stan