Abandoned

I've always loved black and white photography. Don't get me wrong: I love color, too, but black and white has a certain something that's hard to beat. There are many reasons for me to feel that way, from Ansel Adams to my Dad's makeshift darkroom - black and white only - when I was a kid.

I also have a thing for abandoned buildings and the sense of history they suggest. I would love to spend time with my camera exploring areas of urban decay, but this is a risky prospect for anyone and more so for a woman on her own. I know you have to suffer for your art, but I'm not crazy! Thankfully there are other places to be explored; for instance, I really enjoyed my visit to Bodie, the ghost town in the Sierras, a while back.

On one of my trips to Southern Utah, I just happened to spot some abandoned homesteads off the highway as I drove past. Of course I stopped and poked around for a while, marveling at the amount of work that people must have put into building these places with nothing but manual tools and the sweat on their brows. The air of forlorn abandonment is almost palpable; maybe that's why I find them so fascinating. Here are a few of the shots I took, reworked as black and white images.

This was once a shed or outbuilding, maybe a small barn.

A log cabin that was once a cozy home.

Detail from a split log fence, with shallow depth of field.

I hope the builders moved on to better things, and that their former homes are around for a long time yet.

Random flora

The other morning I was out & about with the camera, just a random SoCal morning with some fleeting patches of sunshine. Normally sunshine in SoCal is not exactly anything to write home about, but we've had record amounts of rain lately and a LOT of cloud cover. The sunrise on this particular morning was... missing. Oh well.

But an hour or two later, this caught my eye: purty flowers.

No idea what this is, but it caught my eye.

And here's a different perspective.

If anyone knows what these are, please tell me!

Updated Twitter FF list

For those who do the Twitter thing - and really, who doesn't now? - I've updated my list of #FF fellow 'togs. More talent than you could possibly know what to do with! Enjoy in good health.

Twitter #FF list