Into the Shadows...

This week we stepped into the shadows!  I played around with Photoshop and converted a number of my photos to black and white.  I think it is a great way to showcase the different values of dark and light.

 

These first two photos are of a favorite climbing spot for my cat located out front of my house.  I love the way the lower branches twist and turn as well as the shadows it casts on the ground.  The second photo was off center, but through the magic of Photoshop, I was able to crop it into a pretty good picture. 

 

 

 

These next two photos were taken at the Mackenzie Reservoir .  Anyone who has ever gone to visit the vineyards in Wallingford may have passed through the area, which is one of the loveliest in town...  I decided to keep the color in these photos, as I think the reflections on the water add to their overall composition.  I love the contrast (on the second photo) between the vertical lines of the trees and the horizontal lines of the sky, land, and water.  The trees cast their shadows at the bottom of the photo making an interesting pattern in the grass... 

These two trees were also taken in my yard.  I like how there shadows fall on the ground which was recently filled with leaves and soon to be covered in snow. 

 

The final two photos are of the same headstone at one of the local cemeteries in town.  Tucked away in the cemetery is an area mostly filled with children who passed away in the early 1800's.  The headstones are worn from years of erosion (and countless tears shed hundreds of years ago), to the point that you can not make out the names or dates on many of them.  I like the way the shadow of the cross is cast on the ground.  Making the photos black and white really added to their appeal for me.  I could not decide which shot I liked more, so I included both of them.