Picture Black And White - 2

It's time to post a few more images for the Black and White class I'm taking with Big Picture Classes. I posted my first photos here.

Our fourth prompt was Building Blocks which centered around architecture. Black and white photos can bring out Iines, shapes, and shadows that aren't as noticeable in color. I  was traveling home from my daughter's and stopped to take pictures of one of my favorite old homes.  I was fascinated with the trim on the roof and the windows where the small panes surround a center pane. I wondered if someone was home, sitting up there in the cupola with the window open letting the breeze blow in.

This is the rest of the house. This home in Yellville, Arkansas is on the National Registry Of Historic Homes. The 34 room house was built in 1904 for the John S. Cowdrey family. The house remained within the Cowdrey family until 1971 when the last surviving child of J. S. Cowdrey sold the house to the present owners. The new owners have restore the site and opened it as a  bed and breakfast.  In 1927, Herbert Hoover, then Secretary of Commerce, visited Yellville.  Due to the lack of hotel facilities in the town, the Cowdrey family opened their home to the future President of the United States. I'm sorry if I've bored you with history, but I love to find the history and stories behind old homes!!

Now, back to Picture Black and White!!
After our studies of lines, shapes, repetition, and architecture we moved on to light. Our prompt was White Out. I have never done any shots like this, so I didn't have a clue what I was doing. You overexpose the photo as you take it and then turn it to black and white. Very interesting, but, I'm not sure I'll use it very often. It's just not my style.

White Out images just seem to fade into the page, don't they. Don't laugh, but I took this one in the bathroom of a yogurt shop. I liked the mosaic in the mirror and thought I'd try a self portrait White Out. Let me tell you, this image is much better in black and white. The wall behind me was bright neon green!

One of my favorite uses of light is Rim Light! Rim Light is when you catch the light along the edge of the subject. I caught a little rim light on this tiny sweat bee's wings and head.

And lastly, Sun Flare which happens when you shoot toward the sun. They can be very stunning with the rays of sunlight and flare that forms.  I had trouble with this one, mainly because I wasn't up early enough and wasn't home in the late evening to catch the low sun. I had to really get down on the ground to capture both the flower and the sun.

I'm discovering that black and white photos can be just as beautiful as those in color. I'm intrigued by all the shades of black, white and grey that are in these images!

I'm looking forward to our next prompts!