I’ve been busy with other activities recently and had less time to spend on photography, but I’ve always wanted to try some landscapes and nature photography in Black and White.
Yesterday I had the chance (albeit brief).
On a roadside stop while up at the nearby Dandenong Ranges (the range of hills overlooking the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne), I was lucky enough to make some images of large toadstools on a grassy roadside edge and in the nearby field. While I made the photos in colour, I tried converting a few to B & W and this is the result. The lens used in these two was my 50mm f1.4 – at f3.5 and then I tried f1.4 on a toadstool hidden in the grass.
Unfortunately, a barbed wire fence stopped me getting on the other side of the patch and I shot mainly into the light (resulted in some over-exposed areas in some images).
I’ll look forward to trying again sometime. I must admit, getting up off the ground was extremely difficult with my stiff back and neck, so I don’t think I’ll be getting this low down next time though. The ground was covered in pine cones and twigs from a nearby tree, so it was a bit prickly and uncomfortable too. At least now I know what it feels like to lie on a bed of nails!
Vicki A Alford - Photographer 