I never really “got” the whole Facebook thing. I opened an account a long time ago, but I haven’t ever updated anything, and the handful of friend requests I got (from people I know in real life) are still sitting there unanswered. Just lately though, I have started investing a little bit of time in a similar social media platform – Google+ – and I admit to being quite intrigued by this new world.
The Google+ community seems to be a fertile landscape for photographers, and I’ve recently connected with several people whose work I admire (many of whom you can find in the “Photographers I admire” links on the right hand side of the blog). As always, people are very willing to share their experiences, ideas and expertise, so for anyone interested in learning from top notch landscape photographers, it is definitely a cool place to be. Actually, I find it somewhat incredible to be connected and conversing with such accomplished photographers – from all over the country and even the world – isn’t technology amazing?
To date, I’ve been able to get much of my social media fix from right here on the blog – thanks to y’all – but I think I’m also going to give Google+ a chance to see if it is an online community I can both contribute to and learn from. I’m still going to share right here on the blog as I always have, and of course I’ll bring the inspirations I get from Google+ back here.
Speaking of inspiration… lately I have been engrossed in admiring the black and white work of some fellow Google+ photographers. Some of you will remember my recent dabblings with this medium, and after spending a little time exploring the work of people like Nate Parker and Moe Chen, I finally pulled the trigger and printed a series of my own Acadia landscapes. I’m very much at the beginning stage of learning how to really appreciate and understand the nuances of black and white photography, but I am eager to learn. For this grouping I settled on 11 x 14 sized prints on paper with a metallic finish, and can’t wait to have them in hand. Here are the photographs I included in my mini-series to be printed, framed and hung on a wall at home…
Stories from home 
Amazing photos, David…truly.
Thanks Scott. I appreciate the very kind words.
Very welcome, David.
Wonderful work, looking forward to you sharing your “secrets”, thanks MJ
Thanks MJ. Not a lot of secrets here, but would be happy to share. Stay tuned…
These photos…wow, just breathtaking!
Thank you… much appreciated.
Your black&white interpretations of what I’ve seen here are just wonderful and worth it to be printed. I very much appreciate the second and last photo!
Grz. M
Thanks Mark. I’ve been going back through older images to see if I have any that I think would look good transformed. I’ll probably be sharing some more 🙂
I’m looking forward to it.
Without exaggeration, you inspire me to make better images. Your images make me see that I still got a long way to go and that it is patience and persistence I need to present. What I learned so far is that, when you get to know more about photography, it never becomes easier 😉
grz. M
Thanks Mark. I’ll try not to disappoint! Isn’t it fun to explore photography?
Yes, it certainly is!
Love them all, but if I HAD to pick a favorite I think I’d go with Bass Harbor. The light and reflections in the water are just stunning. Enjoy!! I don’t know about this google+. I’ve got the Facebook and the email, and the blog; and I’ve been considering Twitter – but I may have to check this out. One more bloody password to remember!
Thanks. That one of Bass Harbor is actually one of my favorites – in color. I had some amazing high clouds that morning, and the tide was rushing in – nice combination. The only thing drawing me to Google+ is the fact that so many landscape photographers are using it. Seems as though they have found something they like 🙂
Reason enough to check it out!
David, these are most deserving of wall space. Fantastic!
Thanks Karen. I don’t print that much so am eager to see these.
Your pictures are one of the most unique once I have seen since my blogging days, I love the effect in the first picture, you always have it in every of your pictures. Is it like really like that when you get up to take the pictures? Quite unbelievable… When I see that effect it reminds of like, clouds on the sea? Sorry if I am taking it wrong… just curious!
Maria… I think the effect you are talking about is as a result of the camera shutter being open for an extended period of time. If it is open for, say 2 seconds, then the movement of the wave is rendered differently from when a faster shutter speed “freezes” the action.
Oh.. hehe! Sorry for my silly question though. [: I am clearly not a big user of cameras.
No such thing as a silly question! Always learning we are 🙂
Very beautiful and inspiring photos ! Have you notice, in the last photo I see a face in the clouds…. 🙂
Now you’ve got me going crazy trying to see the face in the clouds! I can’t seem to find it…
Hee ! Hee ! It’s a huge face ! Look at the left of the foreground, there is a rock that sits on top of that flatten rock bed, then look above it slightly to the right. You will see a forehead, only one eye, one cheek, the nose and the mouth and it is looking down.
Maybe you have to step back to see it. 🙂
Aha… I see it. Very “Dark Mark-ish” – a reference from Harry Potter 🙂
I really enjoyed the second photo with the lighthouse. There’s a lot of different textures there which the monochrome seems to pull out of the scene. Very nice. Cheers.
Thanks. I have photographed that lighthouse on many different occasions and in many different conditions, though on that particular morning the high clouds above and the incoming tide really complimented each other well.
Awesome! A very, very nice collection of black&white photos.. Photographs telling a story…my favourites are the second and the last one…. I’m impressed…Agnès
Thanks Agnès. Lately I find myself looking for ways to group photographs in a purposeful way, and this little series has special meaning to me.
All your shots are always great, whether in color of b/w. These definitely have a whole different feel to them, more dramatic, but not necessarily more beautiful, if that makes sense. So interesting!
Thanks. I’m finding that there is something strong about the black and white photographs.
These b&w photos are fabulous. They are an excellent demonstration of, why people like me should use b&w much more.
Favorites?:
No 3 and 4 !
Thanks truels… I’m glad you liked the photographs. There’s definitely something to be said for distilling the scene down to important elements without having to worry about colors.