This photo is the exterior of a popular butcher shop in my neighbourhood. The colour version is vibrant, however I think the detail of the structure is more distinct and engaging in black and white. It’s an interesting experience to work a photo in both colour and black and white. MacPhun Tonality CK was used to create the monochrome version you see here.
There are some interesting laneways in the downtown that make for interesting walks in the summertime. Gardens spring up on balconies and even wild flowers push through the pavement. These two gatekeepers kept a watchful eye on me as I made my way down the lane.
There’s a pedestrian mall in town that has a mixture of shops, restaurants and government office buildings. Many of the buildings were built after the Second World War in the Gothic Revival style of architecture. I have always liked this door and the detail of the frieze with it’s iconic Canadian scene. I think the colour version works quite well but the black and white version is more in keeping with the period in which it was built.
This photograph was taken in Montreal just off St. Lawrence Boulevard. This area of the city has plenty of street art; the play of light and shadow makes for interesting photography. I used Macphun’s Tonality Pro to convert the photo to Black and White. My main interest was the B&W version and working with contrast, detail, and tones.
The first photo was taken in an Ottawa laneway, the second one in Toronto. I liked the shapes and play of light in the first shot. In the second photo the neighbourhood basketball court facing Toronto’s financial centre brought a sense of community to the big city. The colours caught my eye as well. I haven’t done much urban photography but I enjoy it and it’s something I’d like to do more of in the coming year.
I liked the weathered box on the back of the bike. I thought it added interest to the photo.
I’ve been taking my camera along lately when I go for a walk or run errands, with an eye to doing more street scenes. I began this photographic journey taking mainly nature shots but it’s nice to stretch a little, think about different kinds of subjects to shoot and ways to approach them. It’s fun to try out different lenses too, which forces you to look at things differently. Both photos were taken with a 35mm lens.
When I turned the corner and saw a mass of colour suspended from the building it reminded me of a huge bunch of balloons.
I’ve always enjoyed long walks in parts of the city I’m not familiar with as they always hold surprises. The first two photographs were taken on a brilliant sunny day. These kinds of conditions make it simpler to get things right in camera. I thought of turning the third photograph into black and white but preferred the tonality of the concrete as it was.
