I wanted to highlight the part of the shot I liked best since I couldn’t frame around the bits I didn’t like.  I used the same technique from here to remove the color from the rest of the shot.  Simple, geometric.  Railroad lines – I’m always trying to frame those.

End of the Line is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

So here I am, back at the Sculpture Park and instead of shooting the sculptures, I’m shooting the wall again.  I really like the lines – what can I say?  I do think the merits of this one are the sky above and the organic shadows of the trees showing you what you can’t see.  Here it is.

Wall, Sky, Trees is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

I’m always trying to find a way to get a picture of those lines, those shadows.  Usually I try and fill the whole frame with it and it never works.  This one I like better.  Sky!  Who woulda known?

Sky Above, Concrete Below is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

Most of the time when I take a picture and decide to process it into a B&W image, it’s because it either has really strong lines and contrast or it has very little in the way of color to start.  That was what I found here:

You like reading all of my jabbering?  Click the link for more:

In this case, turning this into black and white seemed to actually add impact and the difference was somewhat subtle.  As soon as I dropped out the color, I started thinking about the contrast, the shadows, and making things pop.  Lightroom has pretty good workflow for this kinda stuff so it only took a couple minutes.  The picture I had in my head all of a sudden appeared – all I needed was a little less color.

Oh – I kinda neglected to say it before, but what you’re looking at isn’t a ghost town or an abandoned building – it’s the back of my new garage.  I think I see a few weekends in my near future!

Last point about black and white images vs color.  Many cameras have a setting where you can “take an image in black and white”.  This is a pretty bad idea.  When you take a picture, the camera has a lot of information.  If you have a DSLR and save the image as a RAW file, you keep it all.  If you save it as a JPG, the camera does its best to make a good image and discards the rest.  If you save it as a black and white picture, the camera even discards the color information.  It’s always easy to discard it later, but why lose it all up front if you don’t need to?  You and your photo software of choice will do a better job later.

Ghost Town or New House is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

Smokestacks and Lines and Shapes is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

Even so, finding the right shot can be hard.  I wanted the simple lines and symmetry in the wires.  Sun should be up but not right overhead.  You need some pigeons in there, right?  Well I was out shooting radio towers and I just saw this out of the corner of my eye.  Want more?  Hit the jump for the rest of the post.

As much as I like this shot in color, the fact that it only had about three colors in it and that what drew me to it most was the geometric aspects, I figured I’d try black and white.  That seemed a little drab so I duotoned it a sort of warm sepia color.  Photoshop makes this really easy and I think I like the results even better.  What do you think of this one?

Birds On A Wire is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

I can’t explain why the port fascinates me so much – maybe too much of The Wire, Season 2 or something.  Seattle is a huge port town, even though it’s easy to ignore.  There are also some great parks where you can watch the action.  I went out on a day far too cold to take some pictures, but didn’t really like anything I shot of the cans (heh… cans), trucks, or ships.  I do like the lights though.  When you’re working around the clock, I suppose you need to see what you’re doing.   During the day, it’s just a 12-armed monster.  Love the shape though – I like how it looks in sepia too.

Lots Of Lights At The Port is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

I went out to see what I could see the other day.  I have this big photo-collecting problem: I’m always ready to go after lunch, which is about as bad of a time as one could pick for most pictures.  The only thing left at that time are bugs and flowers (macro stuff) or super high-contrast stuff, like the side of the Group Health office up the street.  I usually find it pretty darn ugly, but in the late day winter sun, the lines and reflection caught my eye.  This was shot with my little 50mm cheapo lens.  I sure do love how sharp it is and the colors always look great too.

Angles and Sunshine is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

Walking through the Arboretum, I came across this. In the middle of the path in the reed marsh, a letter A, spelled out of broken reeds. I’m thinking it’s probably a creation of human hands, but there were lots of reedy bits… who knows – maybe a natural coincidence? Either way, between the setting and material, I liked it. I guess lots of other people do too – Flickr has a whole pool of photos of just one letter, and it definitely beats some of the other things I found in the marsh.

The Natural Alphabet is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures

• ApertureValue: f/11
• DateTimeOriginal: 2008:08:16 12:12:42
• ExposureTime: 1/250 sec
• Flash: No Flash
• FocalLength: 24 mm
• ISOSpeedRatings: 100
• Model: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT

Industrial Intrusions in Seattle is a post from: Ari Takes Pictures