Favorite monochrome photographs taken in 2021

Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretive. -- Elliot Erwitt

This image of a weed basking in sunlight is my favorite black and white image taken last year. There is this beautiful glowing presence despite the weed’s humble presence. To me, this image speaks the essence of dignity and humility borne by a simple subject.

I almost never photograph during the middle of the day when the light is the harshest. I took a gamble and went to photograph the salt marsh at the Osamequin trail. I remember how still the air was on that day and there was hardly any movement at the river. I experimented with a fast shutter speed to avoid any blown highlight. I have people told me this image reminded them the moment they looked out of the window during a flight and there was this view of a city.

This image taken at the salt marsh is my homage to one of my favorite photographers – Michael Kenna, whose skillful use of tones with his exceptional traditional darkroom skills has given me lots of inspiration in recent years.

The frosty condition at the Osamequin trail made for a great opportunity to photograph. The soft early morning light made the frost sing.

I spent a lot of time photographing at the Osamequin trail in Barrington last year. I took a lot of images with tress being primary subjects. I framed the main tree with the bush and trees surrounding it when I composed, and I darkened the surrounding elements significantly with my edits to bring forth my intention.

This image taken at the salt marsh is another homage to Michael Kenna. I admire his skills of simplifying the elements in a composition.

An image taken at a building with boarded windows somewhere close to home. The plant life with its shadow formed some intriguing patterns which drew my attention.

I took lots of images using weed as my subject last year. This is another favorite of mine. Harsh summer light is hardly my favorite light, it works well separating the tones on this occasion. To me, the bokeh of this image is as much a draw as the main subject.

I have fond memories running and chasing after those two gentlemen as I tried to capture the tranquil moment of their leisurely stroll.

I resisted the temptation to add too much contrast to this somewhat abstract image. My goal is to retain details in all the tones present in the image. In years past, the ability to discern my own intention to my edits would have escaped me. I feel this image is a good representation of how far I have come in terms of my editing skills.