Phoneography and Non-SLR Digital Devices Photo Challenge: Black and White (Icicle and Reflections)

16 March 2015

Lens:

1. Icicle on Raspberry Vine; Copyright © 2015 Sally W. Donatello All Rights Reserved/Lens and Pens by Sally

2. Icicle on Raspberry Vine; Copyright © 2015 Sally W. Donatello All Rights Reserved/Lens and Pens by Sally

Let me know which you prefer and why. Click on each image to enlarge.

Pens:

In seven days at 6:45 p.m. Spring will usher herself onto the stage of the East Coast, USA. Her performance may be snail-like or as quick as a cheetah’s gallop. It matters not to me, because we have passed the onslaught of this winter’s wrath.

That season is done as far as I am concerned. I am now possessed by all thoughts of renewal. Daffodils have pushed upward. Crocuses are naturalizing. Wildflowers are appearing. Signs of Spring are unfurling.

Still I could not help but show the images of the icicle that recently accompanied one of my raspberry vines. We’ve had many days of freezing and thawing, and temps that did not surpass low 20s. Those conditions led to the large icicle that held small bubbles and reflected colors as well as shapes. When I discovered its presence, I was held captive. Truly, it was a sight that was born through this winter’s grasp.

Every season has memories that are locked into place. Up and down the East Coast many storms will be memorable from winter 2015. But I will push those moments aside, and instead remember this tiny gift that trumped those other feats of Mother Nature.

That one icicle seemed to hold the entire season within its boundaries: the ripples of winter’s quiet and rage. Here is the image in color, which has an entirely different effect upon the senses.

3. Icicle on Raspberry Vine; Copyright © 2015 Sally W. Donatello All Rights Reserved/Lens and Pens by Sally

The icicle mirrors the metamorphosis of seasonal change. It is here, and then disappears to become something else that will become something else. This winter is fading. Spring’s foreshadowing and next week’s appearance will bring scores of elation from onlookers—elation that will completely change the visual landscape and our emotional well-being.

Tip of the Week: I am an avid reader, and I continue to be enthralled by handheld print materials. A book, a magazine and The New York Times are part of my daily routine. The only print NYT that I peruse is the Sunday edition, but I draw out its sections throughout the week. (I read the other issues online as a salute to the environment.) Often I do not complete the print NYT until the end of the week. It is sandwiched in between books and magazines and online material. Aperture, is one of the magazines that is a visual treasure. This international quarterly journal is visually luscious and savory with a goal to present contemporary photography as art. And it succeeds with gusto. Aperture was founded (among others) by the master photographers Ansel Adams and Minor White. White was its editor from 1952-1976. Yesterday I was grazing the February issue. If you’ve never seen this journal, it’s a must. You certainly do not have to be a photographer to appreciate its content, which includes well-written features and reviews. Click here to see it online. It’s beauty can be fully realized on the Internet. But I cannot help slowly turning the extra-heavy coated sheets that give each image its due. I receive a certain amount of pleasure in the stacks of photography and other magazines that are piled here and there (and not necessarily on shelves). There are a few really stunning photography publications, and Aperture is one of them.

Editorial & Photo Credit: Aperture Magazine’s Website.

View other entries from this week’s challenge:

http://blogagaini.com/2015/03/16/black-and-white-2/

https://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/phoneography-and-non-dsl-digital-devices-photo-challenge-black-and-white-moon-and-clouds/

https://patchworkponderings.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/phoneography-challenge-black-and-white-fake-fern/

https://angelinem.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/phoneography-challenge-black-and-white-end-of-night/

https://toweararainbow.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/phoneography-and-non-dsl-digital-devices-photo-challenge-black-and-white/

https://chasinglifeandfindingdreams.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/flowers-in-black-and-white/

https://piecesofstarlight.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/phonepgraphy-black-and-white-challenge-concert-for-international-womens-day/

http://luciledegodoy.com/2015/03/16/phoneography-and-non-slr-digital-devices-photo-challenge-9/

https://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/phoneography-and-non-slr-digital-photo-challenge-black-and-white-3/

https://decocraftsdigicrafts.wordpress.com/2015/03/17/phoneography-challengeblack-and-white-petunias/

http://pilotfishblog.com/2015/03/18/phoneography-and-non-slr-digital-devices-photo-challenge-black-and-white-totem-at-the-smithsonian/

https://allkindsaeverything.wordpress.com/2015/03/19/phoneography-and-non-dslr-challenge-black-and-white/

http://nwframeofmind.com/2015/03/19/iphoneography-challenge-black-white-afternoon-light-on-the-washington-coast/

Note:

As always I welcome comments about this post or any part of my blog.

If you’d like to join the Photo Challenge, please click here for details. If you have any questions, please contact me. Below is a reminder of the monthly schedule with themes for upcoming Photo Challenges:

1st Monday: Nature.

2nd Monday: Macro.

3rd Monday: Black and White.

4th Monday Challenger’s Choice (Pick One: Abstraction, Animals, Architecture, Food Photography, Night Photography, Objects, Portraiture, Still Life, Street Photography, and Travel).

5th Monday: Editing and Processing with Various Apps Using Themes from the Fourth Week.