In the last readers’ wildlife photo feature I have, James Blilie has appeared with some black and white photos. His captions are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them.
Here are another set of landscape photos that I have converted to black and white for posting to a black and white Facebook group. I am having a lot of fun having another “go” at older images in B&W. Over the last 15 years or so, my software skills for editing photos have improved dramatically. Since I “came from” the perspective of shooting Kodachrome slides (everything was fully captured when I pressed the shutter button), I at first resisted the idea of using photo-editing software after I switched to digital. That was a mistake. Editing images is critical (like editing most other works).
These are from all over and many are scanned 35mm slides or negatives.
Three images for Jasper National Park and Mount Robson Provincial Park in Canada, September 1981. All scanned B&W negatives.
Beaver Lake on the Jacques Lake trail in Jasper National Park:
Summit Lake with figure, on the Jacques Lake trail in Jasper National Park:
Mount Robson from Berg Lake at dawn. One of the great mountain views of the world. I lugged the Rolleiflex and a tripod up to Berg Lake. To be young and strong again!:
Next a photo from September 1982, also scanned B&W negative: Taking a break from long canoeing days in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in far northern Minnesota:
Next, a few from my days of mountaineering in my youth, all scans from film originals:
An image I call The Thinker, taken at a camp at around 8200 feet elevation (2500m) on the south side of Mount Stuart in Washington state en route to the summit. 1984,
Climbers on the north ridge of Mount Adams, Washington state, with Mount Rainier in the background. 1987. I have climbed Mount Adams, now visible outside my office window, three times, always by the more remote, less-frequented North Ridge:
Climbers on the Easton Glacier on Mount Baker, Washington state, 1989:
Next, a photo taken in Kathmandu, Nepal, 1991, scanned Kodachrome 64:
A photo taken while backcountry skiing in Gairbaldi Provincial Park, north of Vancouver, BC, 1988:
A photo of skating tracks on the frozen pond behind our former home in Minnesota, 2013:
A photo from the Mission San Juan Capistrano, California, February 2023:
Finally, a photo taken in Seattle, in the vicinity of the Ballard Locks, March 2023:
Equipment:
Pentax K-1000, ME Super, and LX cameras and various Pentax M-series and A-series lenses
Rolleiflex 6cm roll film camera with Schneider 75mm f/3.5 lens that my Dad bought in Germany in 1950 and passed on to me in the 1980s
Olympus OM-D E-M5 micro-4/3 camera and various Olympus Zuiko and Leica lenses for that system
Software: Lightroom 5
Scanner: Epson V500 Perfection (current model is V600, I think. An excellent scanner.
Wonderful pictures they make me think of the work of the late Ansel Adams.
Lovely artistic pictures that make a strong case for the value of B&W photography.
These photos evoke a lot of emotion for me. The Thinker is such a stellar shot. Thanks for sharing
Beautiful photos, James! The only one I wish were in color is the Jasper one because the lakes are so many different colors of green.
Exquisite, magnificent!
…
I’m thinking about getting a thesaurus…
🦕
Beautiful landscapes!
Ice skating! Nothing like being able to take 20-foot strides. I had some wonderful times on the lakes in Madison decades ago, rare moments when the ice was solid, snow-free, and smooth enough. Lovely during the day, exquisite under a full moon.
Great black & white.
Very artful!
Spectacular. It’s fun to go to the Ballard Locks to see the salmon ladder—and the art, of course.
Outstanding, James, like all your contributions submitted to WEIT.
I wish I had the innate talent and tech skills.
D.A.
NYC
Very nice photos. B&W can be good.
Sublime
Ah, the Rolleiflex, that most wonderful of cameras; surely one of the marvels of the mechanical age. In 1979 I took my Rollleiflex on a trip to the NW of England to photo the industrial landscapes; some 20 rolls of film; it was arduous work. On my return to NZ I left the rolls on my desk at the school where I taught. There was a massive thunderstorm that night and water poured through the ceiling onto the films, ruining them. In the week following I sold the camera, buying an M3 to replace it. Your photos bring back poignant memories of a wonderful association. Thankyou.
The photo taken in Nepal, 1991. Is there any background on the boy? Was he just tired, was he depressed. The photo is very evocative— but I don’t know of what!