Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Things are Not Always Black and White

This cat knew just where to sit to capture the light of the sunset. Sitting was all she had to do. She had no decisions to make, no responsibilities weighing on her.

I tried the picture in black & white, but I prefer this one in color.

Whether or not black & white works depends on what we're looking at. Sometimes the subject is better suited to that medium. Then again, sometimes a picture requires us to view it with all the colors available to us.

May we always have the insight to know when to see with all our colors, and when to see simply in black and white.

26 comments:

Knoxville Girl said...

Butterscotch cat, warm and inviting. Black and white cat, aloof and mysterious. Depends which mood you wish to show us. Both have their charms.

Pascal Jim said...

Cats know.......

Unknown said...

The colours are absolutely beautiful. That's what I love here in Southern California, the sunsets are gorgeous, the light on the mountains... I can't get enough of it.

John Sandel said...

It's the soft prayer of the photobug:

Dear Nikon [or whomever], grant me the wisdom to ignore the features I cannot afford, the obsessiveness to misuse the features I can, and the wallet to buy the difference.

Anonymous said...

Pasadena Adjacent
Putting a cat in is a money shot! Bernie K. scares me.

Susan C said...

I've always admired the feline ability to find the "sweet spot." If you're looking for beautiful light, follow the cat.

I LOVE this shot.

USelaine said...

Color. Definitely color. Love the architectural details, love the sunscreen, love the cat.

Vanda said...

My favorite time to photograph it the hour before sunset. The warm light give a magical dimension to even the most mundane object. Probably that's why they call it the "magic hour".

John Sandel said...

BOO. Gimme all yer CF cards.

Anonymous said...

No decisions? No responsibilities? I'm sure cats are always on the look out for live tasty treats.

Anonymous said...

GINAB: This one will replace the red truck on my desktop for awhile.

Webradio said...

Hello Petrea !

The things are not always black or white, but yellow...

Nice blog !

Thank's for the sign on my blog...

See You soon !

Pat said...

Definitely prefer the kitty in color. I can just feel the warm sun... I miss California.

Anonymous said...

B&W interesting. Looks like a scene from a film noir. Car pulls up, beams on high. Cat's around, but where are the people? Uh-oh.

Laurie Allee said...

Oh, the color is definitely the subject here, in my opinion. A beautiful, warm, lazy, sunset colored dream. It's still interesting to me in black and white, but we lose the magic of the moment, in my opinion, without those colors and if you pushed up the contrast I think it might just get stark.

I think you definitely have the right instinct about these things, Petrea! And I love your metaphor today. :-)

Dina said...

Profound.

Petrea Burchard said...

Thank you all for coming by today! I had a good time experimenting with this photo and it made me thoughtful in light of today's anniversary of 9/11.

KG: Butterscotch. I like that.

Pascal Jim: Yes, but they're not telling.

Stephane: Don't you love it when the mountains turn pink?

Bernie: You're thinking Nikon, admit it.

PA: I thought the money was on cute guys and dogs.

Susan C: Thank you, I'll follow kitties from now on. Folks'll think I'm nuts, but that's nothing new.

uselaine: I think this can be called a bungalow. Cat would know.

vanda: your magical shots are a perfect example of what you say.

wcgb: I forgot to differentiate between what I think is important and what the cat thinks is important.

Ginab: That is high praise, thank you. I know you like kittehs.

Webradio: Bienvenue et merci!

Bibi: It's good to see you out and about. Do you think you'll try making the Seattle trip?

Altadenahiker: Maybe that cat's got someone's tongue.

Laurie: Thank you. Color combined with cat stopped me to take the photo in the first place. Thinking about today's anniversary as I worked with the picture, well, you know how I came up with the metaphor.

Dina: Bless you.

freefalling said...

Petrea, do you know the book "The Island of the Colorblind" by Oliver Sacks - not about ordinary colour blindness but a complete inability to distinguish colours.
Amazing.
I think you will find this interesting:
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f01/web3/wise.html

John Sandel said...

Severe case of D90 fever. Only one thing can make it go away: if Canon announces the new 5D Mk II has a Video mode, too. Photokina's Sept. 23-28 in Cologne.

Anybody going …?

Christie said...

I do love the sun in this shot. I feel like him as we went on a picnic and I chose the sunniest spot to put our blanket. (Trying to soak it all in for winter)

Bernie, Love my Canon Digital Rebel and love the photobug prayer!!

Blessings to all!

Ms M said...

I prefer the color shot with those golden shadows on the house, the butterscotch cat and the orange marigolds -- all flows so well.
Nice shot. (I have to admit I'm partial to cats...)

John Sandel said...

Wow, it's kind of deserted here at a quarter to one in the morning, Oregon time … Hello …! Where are all you guys? … Jeez. Maybe there's something on CSPAN …

Petrea Burchard said...

Freefalling, that rings a vague bell. (Can a bell be vague? Does that make me a dingbat?)

Christie, I remember those Midwest fall days and the last warm sun rays. (One reason I moved to California.) Did I mention I like Bernie's photobug prayer too?

Ms M, I'd like to find more cats to photograph. I would have liked getting closer to this one but it would have meant stepping onto private property. If our dog didn't object to them so much I think we'd have one or two.

Virgile said...

The black and white version is excellent !

Virginia said...

Bernie K gets the prize with that spot on analysis. Oh that I could ignore. Misuse i have nailed.
Petrea, I vote for color. Perfect.

marley said...

Two greta photos. I love it in b;ack and white :)