Around Town in Black & White

Today is overcast with a threat of rain, so I decided to wander around town and do an in-town black & whitephoto shoot, something I haven't done in a while. What got my attention this time was the Victorian/Gothic ornamentation on some of the older houses, so that was the theme of this shoot, although I did manage to get some non-architectural shots, too.

East King St. scene

Pennsylvania Gothic I

Pennsylvania Gothic II

Pennsylvania Gothic III

Graves on the site of the original Lutheran church on the corner of Orange and Queen

Gingerbread ornamentation on McLean House on King St.

© 2020 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Yesterday in Black & White

I knew some of yesterday's shots on my hike in farm country would work in black & white, and I actually shot some of them with that in mind. Today I used Alien Skin's Exposure 2 Photoshop plug-in, using its Kodak Tri-X 400 setting, to see. Sure enough, some of them did very well indeed. Take a look.

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Pennsylvania Farms in Black & White

Last night it occurred to me that I hadn't done a black and white shoot in a very long time, and for a photographer that's not a good thing. Black and white teaches the skills needed for all photography, even color. And for me, Central Pennsylvania farm country provides the perfect subject matter for a black and white shoot. So I went for a stroll in the country between I-81 and South Mountain and let my inner Ansel Adams take over. Here's the result.

The footbridge over Gum Run in Dykeman Park, at the start of the hike

A farmhouse and barn on Mainsville Rd. on the way to I-81

South Mountain from Peiper Rd.

Horses on the farm at Peiper and Means Hollow

Ponies along McCulloch Rd.

A curious young bull on McCulloch Rd.

One of my favorite old barns on Baltimore Rd.

Another old barn on Baltimore Rd.

© 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

A Snowy Sunday Walk in the Park

We had some snow overnight, the first of the new year. It's only about 2 inches, but it still adds magic to the usual Sunday walk in the park. I went with black and white this time to bring out the contrast between the snow and the trees, and used Alien Skin's Exposure with its Kodak Tri-X 400 emulator to give it that film's silvery shine. 

During the walk in the park it was still snowing, very lightly with very fine flakes that didn't so much fall as dance their way to the ground on the slightest breeze. This put me in mind of Claude Debussy's "The snow is dancing", the fourth movement of his Children's Corner suite. So naturally I went on YouTube to find it, and here it is. Enjoy!

Photos © 2019 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Stovetop Portraits in Black & White

I shot the water kettle last night on a whim, and then this morning I decided to add other shiny objects to the collection. Just me playing in b&w. Shot in b&w and processed in Photoshop, and further processed in Exposure 2 with the Kodak Tri-X 400 film emulator.

The Whistler

I love coffee, I love tea

Stir it up

© 2018 by A. Roy Hilbinger  

Playing

I have today off, and we had snow again overnight, but it was the really wet and heavy Spring stuff, and really not very scenic on the ground, and now all gone because it melted that fast. So after I did my grocery shopping and other errands, I decided it was time to play. I ended up taking macro shots of my two favorite items on my Earth Altar, the small Laughing Buddha and Ganesh figurines, and processed them in Photoshop using Alien Skin's Exposure 2 filter, which emulates classic camera films. I ended up going with Ektachrome 100 for color and the ultimate classic for b&w - Tri-X 400. I really like the results.

Laughing Buddha, Ektachrome 100

Ganesh, Ektachrome 100

Laughing Buddha, Tri-X 400

Ganesh, Tri-X 400

© 2018 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Worn and Stained - The Beauty of Old Stone

I've been photographing old gravestones ever since I discovered photography as my art. There's an austere beauty to the work of the 17th, 18th, and 19th century stone carvers which attracted me right from the start. To this point I've been photographing these stones as a means of documenting them, discovering and identifying styles and carvers, but over the weekend I had something of an epiphany - approached at the macro level, the individual elements provide a focus of their own, especially with the patina and wear of the ages. So I went up to Spring Hill Cemetery this morning with my camera set to macro function and set on black & white to capture the beauty of old carved stone - worn, weather-stained, and dotted with lichen. This is beauty carved out of the bones of the earth and painted with time by Mama Gaia, and it made my heart soar to search out and capture these gems!

© 2018 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Yesterday's Walk in Black & White

As I said in yesterday's blog post, I had set out to do a black & white photo shoot but got attracted to the subtle colors revealed by the subdued lighting. But four of those photos also worked well in black & white, so here they are.

Branch Creek at King St.

A Dykeman Spring wetland scene with Purple Martin house

The creek in the park seen from the red bridge

My favorite corner of the north duck pond

© 2016 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Dreary

It's the back end of February, the dreariest time of year in these parts. It's cold, but just above the freezing mark. It's a steady drizzling rain outside right now, but it started out as light snow earlier. There are still patches of old, dirty snow hanging around, but the predominant colors are gray and brown. It's not quite mud season yet - that'll start in three weeks or so - and the ground is still frozen. It's all absolutely lifeless, the tag end of Winter just before things start to wake up. That's why the following photos look the way they do, and why I shot them in black & white. As I said, it's dreary.

The view out my kitchen window

The backyard shed next door

West King St. on a dreary February day

© 2016 by A. Roy Hilbinger 

Christmas Eve Day in Black & White

It's Christmas Eve. At least, that's what the calendar says; you wouldn't know it from the weather, which is rainy and unseasonably warm. This is supposed to be Winter, with cold air and snow all around so Santa can visit everybody on his sleigh. It needs to be cold so we can enjoy fires in the fireplace and drink hot chocolate comfortably. And I really need to build a snowman! Someone needs to poke Mama Gaia and remind her what season this is. 

Given how dreary this weather has made the landscape, I decided to shoot in black and white today to emphasize the mood. And I went out on a preliminary walk at 5:30 am to catch some things that look interesting in the dark; I see them walking to work when I go in on the opening shift but I don't have time to stop and shoot, so today on my day off I got up early to catch them. Enjoy!

McLean House at 5:30 am

The creepy doll display in the junk shop on East King St.

Street scene with clock

Branch Creek at King St.

A back entry on Neff Ave.

Entering the Dykeman Spring Nature Park

Dykeman Spring wetland with Purple Martin house

The north duck pond with Dykeman House in the background

© 2015 by A. Roy Hilbinger