Birdwatching
Birdwatching
Mimi and Mr. Sunshine keep an eye on the activities at the bird feeders as the snow swirls around outside their window. Is it birdwatching, or meditation, both, or do the mesmerizing movements of the birds and snow lead to a meditative state? They do for me, but perhaps I’m overthinking this.
This photo won a Certificate of Excellence as a Black & White Photo in the 2011 Cat Writers’ Association Communication Contest.
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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.
Crystallized Pattern
Crystallized Pattern
Snow on pussy willow branches, early. Black and white, above, color, below.
Crystallized Pattern
Snow on pussy willow branches, early.
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For a print of any photo, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms. For photos of lots of black cats and other cats—and even some birds as I first published this post there—visit The Creative Cat.
Angels Go Barefoot
Angels Go Barefoot
I am glad to see that angels go barefoot. I’d hate to think I had to wear shoes through all eternity. Wearing shoes through the winter will be difficult enough.
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For a print of any photo, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms. For photos of lots of black cats and other cats—and even some birds as I first published this post there—visit The Creative Cat.
Patterns, Textures, Light and Shadow, and Mimi
Textures and Patterns, Light and Shadow, and Mimi
What a lovely sunny morning to spend on a nap in the sun.
Not only does this photo contain Mimi, who has apparently been my photo muse lately (you haven’t seen the half of it, whatever that phrase means), it also has all the other elements I like in a black and white photo as listed above—clear patterns, varied textures, bright highlights and intense though not heavy shadows. All the direct and reflected light catches all those textures and patterns, and in turn the light is refracted and reflected into all the dark areas. The floor on the landing has always been an interesting subject for me with its old mixed woods, some hard, some soft, some with finish still on them, and that piece of rolled corrugated has more than earned its keep as a cat toy and lounging spot as well as photo and art backdrop, something the cats and I can share while using it for our own very different purposes. And of course, the princess herself adds an organic softness to all those lines. I just wish I’d moved the vertical stack of matboard in its segregated plastic bags, it’s not so pretty, but does add its own texture and some nice reflected light.
The one thing that’s been a little difficult to decide with these photos on the landing is whether I use them in black and white or color because the colors are almost monochromatic, certainly a limited palette, very warm and inviting.
I post daily photos of my cats past and present. Browse the archive of all daily photos, just photos from the archive or vintage photos or Wordless Wednesday, or choose a cat’s name from the category list on the home page to browse an archive of photos featuring and including that cat.
Around the Curve
Around the Curve
The single line of tracks follows the bends of Chartiers Creek and the heights of a natural highwall as it has for at least 100 years. Tracks, trees, dried plants, on an overcast day there are no shadows, only black and white, like an ink drawing.
Changing Light
Giuseppe at the door.
Giuseppe stands at the door watching the birds and chipmunks, hence his very alert and somewhat aggressive stance. The sun comes down the hill at an angle and filters through the leaves and branches of my river birch and then through the garland of grapevines around my door, creating lovely and changing patterns at all angles on the porch outside, the screen of the door, the floor inside and on Giuseppe, who has no idea he’s modeling abstract shadows and seems to emerge from the sunbeam itself.
This was today’s Daily Cat Photo on The Creative Cat
All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
Queen Anne’s Lace: 2011
Queen Anne’s Lace
I love a field of Queen Anne’s Lace, so common yet beautiful this time of year, but somehow it’s much more mysterious in black and white, especially the dappled sun highlighting a flower umbel here and there making it look like an iced cookie.
And then I went back to that photo and did a few more variations on it–back to the color version, and then another filter to create an abstract pattern. Really, I often see all these things when I look at the scene, before I even photograph it.
Queen Anne’s Lace, in color.
Queen Anne’s Lace, filtered.
Black and White Barn
The Old Barn.
Why, on a lovely green and gold summer morning, I’d imagine this old barn in black and white, especially when I loved the way all the green around it reflected on the peeling white paint and broken windows. But the details were so clear and varied—tiny details, large areas of darkness or light, regular patterns and lighter patterns, it was just very interesting to look at. And it’s not really a barn, at least not any more. It was long ago when the house was built, large enough to accommodate a horse stall and a carriage or two with a loft above for hay. Now it’s just an old garage with a planting shed tacked onto the front. It’s what’s in the background of the acrylic painting I featured today, “My Neighbor’s Laundry”.
But the old barn provides hours of interest for me in all weather, and lots of photos and sketches.
Queen Anne’s Lace
Queen Anne's Lace
I love a field of Queen Anne’s Lace, so common yet beautiful this time of year, but somehow it’s much more mysterious in black and white, especially the dappled sun highlighting a flower umbel here and there making it look like an iced cookie.
