So many lovely images here, Deborah! I really love your portrait of your Mom and her longtime friend. You caught their joie de vivre!
I’m a big fan of black-and-white photography too. But sometimes I feel the real story of certain images is best told in color—their juxtaposition and relationships, their intensity and depth.
I don’t think it matters if we’re considered good or not as long as we do it. As Vonnegut said so wisely, creativity is soul-growing work. To which I say, Amen! So I hope you keep on keeping on, Deborah!
Thank you so much Andrew! Made my day :). I love that image too. They had the longest friendship (I still get tears). Mum is losing many friends.
I, too, am a big fan of bnw, however I adore color and I adore it for what it is. I see so much color draining (for years now) that I'm not into at all. Drained to that orange/green tone that looks like a bad version of sepia. Color needs to be color! I have a friend who shoots for Getty. They look for rich color, mood, reality.
I think it's really important to do what's in your soul and do it with everything you've got. My bones have me unable to last those long days now but I still love to shoot a shorter job here and there and of course I will never not be into photography :). I did a piece about street art, recently, laced together with a stream-of-conscious-poem and it was so much fun to remember how much of it I had stored away and so many young artists I had worked with.
Beautiful article and work Deborah! You have an amazing eye and I love that you shoot in b/w. For me that captures the essence of a person or scene; and at the same time, leaves room for mystery, some inexpressible quality...I love b/w films as well, probably more so than color ones (except maybe for the 3-strip Technicolor ones they shot from the 40s & 50s, where they look like paintings). Are you familiar with the films of Powell and Pressburger? Those guys were master craftsmen! The Red Shoes, Stairway to Heaven, Black Narcissus; incredible stuff. Anyway, thanks for sharing your inspiration and beautiful work.
Thank you so much for this!! Love the way you described black and white "mystery and inexpressible quality" and yesss! those filmmakers! I have long studied "use of light" and angles through film/cinema makers. I taught for 7 years and expressed how important it is to study the film makers. We want to see a certain "movement in the stills of life."
Thank you again and I'm so glad this inspired you! Looking forward to your favorite poets post ❤️✨
As you know, I am a black and white photography "addict" !! Vivian is a favorite and my buddy Keith Dotson (on instagram) . Even my movie preferences are vintage black and white . However, I also love Polaroids. Linda Mccartney was genius!! Since our lives are pretty much fleeting moments, I say take pictures of everything !! Just do it, the joy in capturing what most people don't even notice, and sharing it is the best. !!
Oh, this is beautiful. Your portraits and how you capture people are truly special, it gives me chills. I like your ruminations on black and white. something about color distracts from the truth of a thing. It’s a...problem?... that I’ve been rolling around in my head for a little bit now as I continue to make black and white sketches. Thank you for this beautiful post!
Thank you so much Jenn! It was kinda crazy to go back and look! I haven't done that in a long time! I love your black and white sketches and feel so much from them. Funny how that is because I truly love color too and the richness of color, also muted tones (but not drained, like todays odd colors of orange and green hues) I think we also know intuitively what we want to see in an image or painting/sketch, etc. in terms of color or not. Hope you're having a great weekend! oxox
Yes, I agree. It’s such a paradox. I love color, too, and it can and does evoke very strong emotion. But there is something to be said about color as a crutch. Please do keep posting your insights and gorgeous photos, I love your work.
Thank you so much Mark!! I really appreciate you looking and reading! I see you love photography! Do you have some pictures up anywhere? I'm glad you're writing on Substack! It's a lot of fun to use your images with words :)
Mark!! Your work is absolutely gorgeous! So full of contrast, richness, shadows and perfect light! and I love the animal faces! I hope you write stories about some of the images! Thank you for sharing your work with me!! deb 🙌🏻
So many lovely images here, Deborah! I really love your portrait of your Mom and her longtime friend. You caught their joie de vivre!
I’m a big fan of black-and-white photography too. But sometimes I feel the real story of certain images is best told in color—their juxtaposition and relationships, their intensity and depth.
I don’t think it matters if we’re considered good or not as long as we do it. As Vonnegut said so wisely, creativity is soul-growing work. To which I say, Amen! So I hope you keep on keeping on, Deborah!
Thank you so much Andrew! Made my day :). I love that image too. They had the longest friendship (I still get tears). Mum is losing many friends.
I, too, am a big fan of bnw, however I adore color and I adore it for what it is. I see so much color draining (for years now) that I'm not into at all. Drained to that orange/green tone that looks like a bad version of sepia. Color needs to be color! I have a friend who shoots for Getty. They look for rich color, mood, reality.
I think it's really important to do what's in your soul and do it with everything you've got. My bones have me unable to last those long days now but I still love to shoot a shorter job here and there and of course I will never not be into photography :). I did a piece about street art, recently, laced together with a stream-of-conscious-poem and it was so much fun to remember how much of it I had stored away and so many young artists I had worked with.
Never stop! Amen :)
Beautiful article and work Deborah! You have an amazing eye and I love that you shoot in b/w. For me that captures the essence of a person or scene; and at the same time, leaves room for mystery, some inexpressible quality...I love b/w films as well, probably more so than color ones (except maybe for the 3-strip Technicolor ones they shot from the 40s & 50s, where they look like paintings). Are you familiar with the films of Powell and Pressburger? Those guys were master craftsmen! The Red Shoes, Stairway to Heaven, Black Narcissus; incredible stuff. Anyway, thanks for sharing your inspiration and beautiful work.
Thank you so much for this!! Love the way you described black and white "mystery and inexpressible quality" and yesss! those filmmakers! I have long studied "use of light" and angles through film/cinema makers. I taught for 7 years and expressed how important it is to study the film makers. We want to see a certain "movement in the stills of life."
Thank you again and I'm so glad this inspired you! Looking forward to your favorite poets post ❤️✨
Great read...love the images ❤
“With black and white, what you get is a timeless capture that doesn’t lean on colors but the pure essence of the subject.” – Anonymous
Thank you brother ♥️
I love that quote! I also love your old bnw film work! Can't wait to see it via projector 📽️ someday soon!!
love you. ox
I love B/W as well. I worked for publications that refused to have color, because B/W so impactful and defining. 🖤 Beautiful work.
It really is impactful! Thank you so much again for taking the time to read and your kind compliment!! 💫
As you know, I am a black and white photography "addict" !! Vivian is a favorite and my buddy Keith Dotson (on instagram) . Even my movie preferences are vintage black and white . However, I also love Polaroids. Linda Mccartney was genius!! Since our lives are pretty much fleeting moments, I say take pictures of everything !! Just do it, the joy in capturing what most people don't even notice, and sharing it is the best. !!
Yessss! to all of it! I know you feel the black and white in your soul Mary!
Thank you for this! oxox
Love to see more of your pictures !!
Oh, this is beautiful. Your portraits and how you capture people are truly special, it gives me chills. I like your ruminations on black and white. something about color distracts from the truth of a thing. It’s a...problem?... that I’ve been rolling around in my head for a little bit now as I continue to make black and white sketches. Thank you for this beautiful post!
Thank you so much Jenn! It was kinda crazy to go back and look! I haven't done that in a long time! I love your black and white sketches and feel so much from them. Funny how that is because I truly love color too and the richness of color, also muted tones (but not drained, like todays odd colors of orange and green hues) I think we also know intuitively what we want to see in an image or painting/sketch, etc. in terms of color or not. Hope you're having a great weekend! oxox
Yes, I agree. It’s such a paradox. I love color, too, and it can and does evoke very strong emotion. But there is something to be said about color as a crutch. Please do keep posting your insights and gorgeous photos, I love your work.
Yesss! You worded this well! Thank you for the encouragement and for the inspiration Jenn!
Great collection of photos, Deborah!
Thank you so much Mark!! I really appreciate you looking and reading! I see you love photography! Do you have some pictures up anywhere? I'm glad you're writing on Substack! It's a lot of fun to use your images with words :)
You’re welcome, Deborah. I’ve closed down most of my social media but still post on Vero https://vero.co/markf_toronto
I haven’t been on Substack for very long but I’m really enjoying it and hope to post more on here.
Mark!! Your work is absolutely gorgeous! So full of contrast, richness, shadows and perfect light! and I love the animal faces! I hope you write stories about some of the images! Thank you for sharing your work with me!! deb 🙌🏻
So glad you liked my photos. I already have quite a few ideas for upcoming photography posts so stay tuned.
Amazing photos
Thank you friend! It means so much to me as I know how much you love photography!
God Bless! ox
Ha ha! I have a friend who uses this for her phone screen saver 🥰 and so do I!! lol! I love cows too! Your grandma's farm sounded beautiful ❤️