Black and White Thread Volume III
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A Moonlit Path from Keelin is a beautiful end of the Black and White Volume II thread and a perfect bridge to a new thread for Black and Whites, now already Volume III after Michael started the first edition. I look forward to what´s coming from whoever who wants to jump in.
Enter This Cave And Find Out
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Oh, the cumuli with their smooth and quickly vanishing haircut. It seems to hang there so still. Nice! Over here the weather gave us a lot of cumuli last week, also of the nimbus kind. Great cloudscapes and some iridescence in between. I started the thread with one of the shots I took. Here is another one.
Shine A Light
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It is a pity: no chance for Cloud Doodles over here except for rare occasions. I love these doodles (very ingenious name you gave them, Michael!) for their curious and elegant features. Likewise the Holmboe instabilities. I appreciate also your extensive explanations about your creative process, Michael (in former threads and and in the thread “Cloud Doodles”). Many thanks for taking the trouble to write it all down (or “up” considering the internet way of sharing).
In april over here ….
One Needed To Keep His Hands Warm
(but now May has arrived)
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I’d like to take a walk in your Cloudscape, Michael, and see what’s just beyond that ridge. Perhaps Hans’s Snowy Mount Cloud? Which shifted quickly into a benevolent hand offering a treat to what is that? A tiny bear? It’s a world of wonders up there!
And Hans, on the CAS Gallery, your Mythical Phoenix photo is a flight fantastic!
Spring Mix
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I keep going back to Spring Mix and Bloom, both being very appealing in different ways. Scrolling through the thread keeps being fun and refreshes the mind. Like spring, also the pictures take root!
That’s why it is a pity that – after having all the pictures back in Black and White Thread Volume II – some pictures disappeared again. So is the same in Volume I. I hope the pictures will be restored some time….
Hectic Joy
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I like very much the feeling of your Hectic Joy, Hans, and also share the hope that earlier images can be brought back. They have not ceased to inspire! Just today as others rushed to hide from darkening skies, I could only look up in awe and search for the kind of greys I’ve learned to appreciate in these B&W threads.
Profusion of Fusion
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Bat Out of Hell (Homogenitus) is bound to return again, Hans (like a boomerang!), so best keep your head up! A stunning image there. To my eye it even looks like that sweet wee bear came back to wander Into The Great Wide Open — charming!
Davy, what a lovely forest of Dream Trees. You’ve quite captured the wildness of the wilderness in them. Hope to see more from you!
And thanks for the kind comment, Michael. And oh, the Lennies! They bring a quiet dramatic serenity. I keep going back to breathe them in. Here is one being held in place with a bit of muscle from the cloud above.
Held In Place
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Wow Keelin! This is surreal. I can see the veins on the arm holding Little Lennie in place. This is a stunning picture. It is more than a bit muscles that holds it in place. The muscles are even steaming. No words.
….and cloud-wise interpreted I think there is Holmboe instability coming out of the underarm (top right). Maybe Michael can confirm?
An O……. In Wonder Of Held In Place
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Thank you, Hans, and O! What a marvelous cloud you have here as well. Like a circus Ring O’ Fire, I’d love to sail through. The contrail to the left adds the perfect contrast.
The shot below shows a bit of blurry Vertebrae. It was far in the distance when it caught my eye. I recall thinking: Who says clouds have no backbone?
Vertebrae
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Hans, nice capture of your rarity. Fortunately my work place is close to the beginnings of increased elevation at the north eastern edge of the valley, so Lennies aren’t rare but most of the time they aren’t spectacular. Most are one cloud bean pods as the pic above illustrates. Yet when they conspire to be spectacular, they are ,as a recent contribution to the gallery demonstrates,,imho anyway. Yes, on the edge of systems or in between seems their popular place yet when monsoon season arrives they can be right next to cumulus. But for predictability..places like Andy Kirk’s Owen’s Valley in California tops out in foreseeable. I always take time to photograph lennies no matter where or when. Haa!,maybe a night shot of a lenny could happen…?
anyway,
Dropping The Veil
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That veil looks to be having a dance of its own, Michael. Nice shot, as is your previous one of Wind Textures. Wonderful movement in both images.
And Hans, I’m happy to hear the Lennies found you — and you were ready for them! Now that you’ve mentioned rectangles, I think one’s Gone Missing here. So rare (at least since I’ve been looking up) to see such an opening in the clouds. I took the photo below for this very reason.
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Very nice Cubic Portal Keelin. That one must have been hard to find. And then there is that almost sparkling bright Rent in Cloud Time. Both surreal.
I have been a few days ago to an exhibition of surreal painters: Magritte, Dali, etc. From Magritte I saw “Le Temps Menacant” (Threatening Weather). That one struck me as a fine example of “Things That Look Clouds”, not to confuse with “Clouds That Look Things”. Google it and find out yourself. Ingenious!
Leaf
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Hans ,Magritte is my favorite Surrealist painter. I estimate at least 75% of his paintings have cloud. The original Surrealists encouraged cloud watching because they believed, rightly so imho, the practice was good for developing the imagination . Magrittes classics ” False Mirror ” and ” Grand Family” rely heavily on Clouds as metaphor.
This shot has subtle vertical mist rising through the undulations like our thoughts escaping the mundane.
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Outstanding, Michael! So much beauty posted here. Not only do I keep looking up these days, but also scrolling up to see the great variety of cloud imagery that has already floated by on this B&W thread.
Hans, I must say I love that figure who appears to be standing quietly casting a shadow across your Leaf.
And Michael, I agree, the Surrealists were definitely onto something. There’s simply nothing like cloud gazing to tease the mind out of its box. Your imagery and comments are evident poetry.
Who knows what further ideas will be sparked, eh, Hans? I felt that zap!!
And then the calm… Two days ago, the sky was filled with large, soft, amorphous beauties. I’m accustomed to seeing our lofty friends heading off in the same direction, often bumping into each other and merging as they tumble on. But this was the first time I observed the illusion of clouds traveling towards each other. It was mesmerizing to watch the slow, gentle way they came together, sometime sending out little feelers first, other times shifting their shapes in anticipation of embrace. While the image below is not especially exciting, I offer it with the hope that it somehow conveys the quiet majesty of their folding into each other.
Coming Together
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Great Abstract Impressionism Michael. Subtle en fresh looking.
Very nice to read about your mesmerizing experience of the Coming Together of our so called lofty friends Keelin. The capture certainly conveys what you describe. You might describe it in your own words as ‘not especially exciting’, but I think it is a restful image in a perfect mix of simplicity and beauty.
As to the illusion of clouds you mention the shadow on my Leaf. That shadow intrigues me as well. What figure cast this shadow from somewhere up? From below the Leaf-like cloud structure – of which the veins stretched out like fingers – seemed to be completely lying in the sun. Clouds play tricks on our perception. ZAP!
Curvatures
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I agree Keelin. Eventually it could be something Utterly else.
What a peculiar picture you posted now. I imagine an aquarium with a seahorse and a long tall and pointed not yet discovered species of a fish. I like it very much. Unless they might be something Utterly Else here is someone to join them.
Fuzzy Tortoise
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Yes Hans, Lennies are a challenge to photograph. Getting focus is a matter of finding a sharp enough edge. I often keep the lennie at a distance,,abit less than full frame and focus on an edge at a mid point and with enough stop ( f22 or more(less) ) hope depth of field will cover . Often tho, on big or long Lenticulars..no depth of field will cover miles or kilometers. A wide angle zoom mite help if you can get close enough to a Lennie. Great depth of field.. I like to underexpose lennies also..The icy skin can show details when underexposed.
Here is a shot of Something I Found Swimming In My Sky
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You are right about the lennies Michael. And thanks for the tips. I probably have to wait some time to be able to try out. The last two rare opportunities that they showed up over here, I was lucky to capture some examples.
And nice catch you found swimming in the sky! This tasty fish must beware. There might be something that waits calmly for his prey to catch.
Dozing Dragon
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I am so sorry to have disturbed your aquarium with unwanted threats Michael. But Hope still lies within and the Last Guppy together with the school of Lennies must have felt save enough to enter the black and white arena. Very nice Guppy and very nice school of Lennies by the way.
To protect the aquarium against all kind of evil I hope to have found a solution.
Gandalf The White
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I think a lot of Movement. Eye movement takes the mind for a walk thru the image. Thats why horizontal lines are calm and peaceful. They are static. Vertical adds the drama and together swirls and arcs and loops with light and darks , a lot of fun can be had with the mind. Keelin you have the Golden Proportion thing going there! Adobe Lightroom has that overlay as well as the classic thirds and a couple of other variations that are all supposed to help in directing eye movement. I’ve been getting into the Golden Proportion overlay recently. Cropping to its parameters creates fun photographs…imho.
The Foto below was created before I started consciously using the Golden Proportion overlay. Yet it fits. I like to think of the shot and the way it was cropped as..
Cloud Flag.
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Well, I’ve heard pixies are always ready to dance — and why not? As elusive as clouds, you’re lucky to have captured that one even for a mid-twirl moment, Hans.
And Michael, your Variety of Texture has much to say about light and shadow as well as surfaces. As does your Window Being Cleaned, Hans (clever title!). Here is one with a title inspired by your earlier posts.
Minimal Texture
PS: Ah, I see the winged elf image I posted earlier is rather too big to easily see how the wing is attached at the shoulder with a hint of upper arm. More evident, I think, when it is reduced to proper faery size.
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I like your Minimal Texture Keelin and the title too. Lines and tones all balanced. I will try to continue on the theme with a picture I once took with the Cloudspotter app.
Minimal Texture II
PS: For proper faery size click on a picture in the forum and the picture shows within the size of your screen. That way you don’t have to scroll the page to get the whole picture in the case of a vertical picture.
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Well, Keelin once seen,can’t unsee is my problem. I try to ” see’ the picture as it was in reality.. cirrus clouds overhead and I can’t find a way back to it. Portions are real but the whole ..won’t let me..One of the aspects of B&W..B&W is not reality. Thats what I like about your shots Hans and Keelin. Both of the above let reality go and tilt and drift , dance and drape as the clouds wish. The mind ,well my mind, goes with that with an ease.
Heres a CloudScape taken two years ago,,but I rediscovered it today.,,a bit of magic in that.
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To my eye, your layered CloudScape is like the wind written record of a celestial dialogue. Glad you rediscovered this gem, Michael.
And Hans, Something On the Wing reminds me of an Aurora Borealis dance. The sweep of clouds is no less beautiful for its restricted color.
Here’s another one that holds Some Bit of Mystery.
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I wasn’t able to contribute the last days and catching up now I am delighted to see what was posted in the meantime. Energy and direction, Cloud Bullet and Curiouser and curiouser are all Fantastic!
The heat in Phoenix has been on the news here and even here the temperatures were very high although they seemed to be peanuts compared with 120F. Wow. A refreshing picture from Keelin must have helped to endure it Michael.
Some Disturbance Somewhere
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Aaah Fleeting Moments..perhaps a title for a cloud video.But the little virgas and big virgas drift so eloquently. I’ve often thought in terms..that if you see a great cloud pic..and don’t have a camera at the ready..its too late. Yet yesterday i saw a pic and the camera was at least 2 minutes away..Ok, I took a few short cuts..yes the rug got wet..but I got the shots. The clouds were slower than I thought I guess. Sometimes they fleet fast and other times they fleet slow.
Well Its definitely Monsoon Season in the desert whether I like It or not. So below is in tribute..
Monsoon Bomb..
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Monsoon bomb, but not exploding yet. It looks like the extreme temperatures are gone now Michael (at least I hope so for you).
Yes the fleeting moments. The occasions that you I were in time to catch a striking cloud configuration with my camera I forget, but I always remember the ones that I am too late.. Grrr.
Clouded Cloud
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Monsoon Season in Arizona: Moisture for the soil – and the soul! Perhaps it starts with a Small Disturbance Somewhere (wonderfully mysterious image, Hans) before morphing into Michael’s Monsoon. Does this mean the temps are now more tolerable there? Weather stats still show 114F for Phoenix. Yikes!
I’ve been told the French use this phrase for window shopping: “leche la fenetre” which literally translates to “licking the window”. Temping, nest-ce pas?
And Hans, your Clouded Cloud – it looks like you were there that time at just the perfect moment. Extraordinary!
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Haa..it really isn’t about cooling off here in the desert Keelin. Its about drying out. I would take 112f with 7% humidity over 105f with 25% humidity. Its a comfort issue. Local weather news folks have introduced a ” Feels Like Factor” to their nightly forecasting. Like ” windchill factor” its a estimation of abandon all hope. High temps with high humidity feels like a being slimed..Stay indoors where A/C takes all the moisture out of the cool air, and you’ll be fine. Go Out Side,,at any time of the day,anytime..24/7..and you will be slimed. Of course..to survive, one must drink copious amounts of water so you don’t dehydrate because you are sweating so much..slimed.. The difference is..at 7 % humidity, you sweat but it evaporates almost instantly..therefore no beads of sweat running down your temples. But at 15% humidity , sorry,,the stains on your shirt or blouse tell no lies. Its uncomfortable beyond tolerance for many folks.They leave. For me..Monsoon is the season of Cumulo Nimbus, lightning shows, rainbows, pelus and velum that stretch for miles etc etc. An if anybody sees me at the parks or wherever, taking pics in the middle of this weather..they too must be sweat stained as I , because they are outside. So..its part of the deal. If ya want..ya gotta give.. to be slimed is to be alive..Small price for Great shows. Maybe by mid October, its all over. The high pressure dome over 4 Corners breaks down and its pumping action quits pulling the moisture up from the sub tropics. We go back to the ” dry heat” and 2 to 3 weeks without a cloud in the sky.
Speaking of cloud in the sky..below is a Study of One.
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Very nice Sprinklers Keelin, the Study of One is looking at it with mouth wide open! I love them both.
It is hard to imagine the hot and slimy circumstances of Phoenix from where I am living. It is a world of extremes in the desert with no clouds at all for weeks and then the overwhelming kind of clouds we know from the pictures of Michael on the gallery. Monsoon season?
Today the Cloud-a-Day surprised me with information about Alfred Stieglitz and his Equivalence project. Amazing! I like to think we honor his heritage in our thread of B&W’s.
Tribute To Alfred Stieglitz
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Thanks for clarification on the unfortunate slime factor, Michael. Sounds quite miserable, making your own rain (sweat) in that fashion. And now I understand that it’s more a Bit of Breeze, you’re looking for.
Regarding today’s Cloud-A-Day homage to Stieglitz, indeed, we do honor his vision and intent, Hans! He is like a party to this ongoing party. And your Tribute is a beautiful testament to it.
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Stieglitz with his ” Equivalence” still resonates with me to this day. Being ” touched” or provoked by a shape or pattern or nature at its most unbridled..is it nature or is it a humanbeing opening oneself allowing oneself , to be touched, to be provoked,,by the most primal , natural, around us..? The idea that clouds may have an imprint on our, humans, genetic history seems plausible. As long as we have been around, so have clouds.
A tribute to A Stieglitz and his ” soul mate’, his ” Twin”, Georgia OKeefe..
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Three
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