A Little Black and White Love in the middle Autumn colors....

Haunted Dreams

It has been so long since I have grabbed my camera with the intention of creating anything remotely artistic. I lacked inspiration, motivation or even basic discipline to GOYAS.

I have actually been on a vacation of sorts for the last few weeks. I have spent my time recovering from a wild six months of constant going. I ended up getting sick during this vacation, a cold or two, but have truly enjoyed the down time. So much so that I decided to join my photography group out in the field for a shooting event.

The air was brisk. The mist hung low. The colors set afire. The light of the sun kissed the yellow and orange leaves giving them a sensual radiant glow against the backdrop of the dark evergreens, firs and pines in the area.

So what did I do? I chose to ignore the color at first and focused on shape and form. I focused on the light and shadow. I focused on motion and lines. Well that was at first.

Reflections Along the Line

Once I got my abstract black and white completed I turned my focus to the color at hand.

The combination of the rising sun, morning fog, autumn colors and a train track, I could help myself but to bring all those elements together.

In this shot, I saw the trees reflecting on the cold, hard steel creating a line within a line, both leading to a vanishing point.

I chose the off-kilter composition because the line of the track moves center through the frame to the vanishing point in the upper rule of thirds marker which was important for what I was trying to accomplish.

Finally I threw some post processing filters on to soften the image a bit and give the sense of peace, calm and serenity to the scene, like bundling up next to a cozy fire.

Vacant Seasons

Finally, because it is the season of the witch, I used a couple of props on the tracks to capture the season that is Halloween. Using the masks and the fall colors allowed me to combine the feel of black and white along with color photography to make a stark contrast between the the subjects and the backdrop.

The season is always so short, but beautiful. It feels good to get out and enjoy photography again with my friends.