Category: Challenges

~ Monochrome Madness: Capturing the Essence of Old Ruins ~

Sarah @ Travel with me is the host for this week’s Monochrome Madness.

There is something about old ruins of houses and castles that look better in monochrome. The first photos of these buildings would have been in black and white anyway! I’ve put together a small gallery for the theme this week.

My feature photo is the Ruins of St. Paul’s, Macau. A 17th century catholic religious complex.

I love walking through old buildings and ruins and touching the walls and stones. It makes me stop and wonder about what went on before, who walked on these floors and touched these walls.

Gjirokaster Castle, Albania

Butrint National Park, Albania

I had fun editing the above photo with the Snapseed App. I think I used the retro filter and a frame that makes it look like an old negative.

A bleak looking Alcatraz, USA

A depressing building to say the least! There was not much colour in there anyway.

The above two photos were taken a few years ago and the collapse of the house looks like it had happened recently. In actual fact it has been left like this since 1968, when there was a massive earthquake. The homestead was owned by the Snooke family and dated back to 1904. Alice Snooke managed to rescue her 2 year daughter from the ruins and lived to tell the tale.

Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh

Stonehenge, England

“OLD BUILDINGS ARE LIKE A BOOK. YOU CAN OPEN IT AND READ THE HISTORY OF A PLACE, OF A PEOPLE, OF A CIVILIZATION”
RICHARD HENRIQUEZ

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~ Scavenger Hunt, a deep dive into the Archives ~

This week for the Lens-Artist Challenge, Anne @ Slow Shutter Speed has asked us to go on a scavenger hunt for photos dealing with the topics she has suggested. Check out her website for all the details.

Our aim was to find between five and ten, no more than ten. With such diversity, it was a hard choice.

AND

This was lots of fun, I like a challenge that enables me to use photo editing tools. For this post I used SnapSeed. It’s a great free app that I have on my phone.

~ Participate in the Lens Artist Challenge: Capture Lines, Patterns and Colours ~

The Lens Artist Challenge this week is brought to us by Johnbo @ Journeys with Johnbo. He’s explained it well and we’re looking for photos that feature compositional elements like lines, patterns, or colours. Maybe we can find all three in one photo.

Bats in fronds, cables, clouds and birds on a wire

Munchkins one and two at the Airship Orchestra event at our local shopping centre.

Munchkin one is seven!

A colourful carousel featuring lines, patterns and colour

Remains of The West Pier in Brighton, designed by Eugenius Birch in 1866. Sadly beyond repair, but glorious in its hey day.

Brighton i360, an observation tower. An eyesore to be sure and not quite fitting with the surrounding Georgian architecture.

Thank you Johnbo for an interesting and entertaining challenge.

~ A Homegrown Lettuce for One Word Sunday ~

An easy choice from Debbie at Travel with Intent this week, the word is Green.

A magnificent lettuce from my brother’s garden in Essex. Although he was fairly miffed when I picked it for salad at dinner. Apparently there is a certain way to do this for regrowth. I hope it did grow again.

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~ Shots of Street Lamps in Monochrome ~

This week’s theme for Monochrome Madness is Street Lamps. Chosen by Brian @ BushBoy’s World.

I looked through my archives and found a few, they make lovely shots, especially when transformed into monotone. The old wrought iron and lacework make the best photos. Obviously, lighting has changed over the years to be more practical. Still, a street looks so much more interesting when there are old-fashioned lamp posts.

The Louvre, Paris
The Cherry Tree, Stambridge, Essex
Salcombe, Devon

I couldn’t resist leaving a touch of the yellow lichen on the roof.

George and Vulture Pub, London

Taken on a walk around London, I happened to glance down an alley way and saw this pub. Apparently the tallest pub in London and there has been an inn on this site since 1142. It is now a Grade II listed building. Charles Dickens mentioned it several times in The Pickwick Papers.

The Nell Gwynne Tavern, London

The above needs no introduction. Being named after one of Charles II’s mistresses. Possibly, the most famous one of all.

~ Wordless Wednesday – 16/4/2025 ~

Black Cockatoo

Capturing Night Photography in Monochrome

This week Elke from Pictures Imperfect has chosen the theme of night. My night photos always seem to have shafts of light in the wrong places. What I see in my view is not what ends up in my gallery. I used Canva for editing and framing my photos.

“Black and white is not sad. It’s poetic.” – Robert Frank 

From my garden the other night. I seem to spend a lot of time on my patio at the moment! It’s a great place to sit in the mornings drinking my coffee and in the evenings for happy hour. I like the play on the shadows here.

“All the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.” – Leo Tolstoy

Just a touch of a blue hue – no prizes for where this is.

A typical shot in Bangkok, could be a nice building but who can tell with all the wires.

“Black and white can transform a scene into something magical.”
Rob Sheppard

Darling Harbour, Sydney. Black and white photography work well with reflections on the water.

~ Pick Five Words with Photos to Match ~

This is a challenge indeed! Paula from Lost in Translation has chosen March’s words and here’s my gallery below. You can make up your own minds if mine accurately match the words.

Dense

This is my mum in Ephesus, Turkey, writing her wishes. Visitors write wishes or prayors on pieces of cloth and tie them to the wall. We were on a cruise and one of the tours took us to the wishing wall at the House of the Virgin Mary. I hope hers came true.

Dusk

Taken from my garden a few weeks ago. I get quite a kick in seeing a different colour sky than blue! Although that’s not a complaint.

Illusion

A pavement drawing in chalk in Hong Kong. It seems such an effort to draw in chalk as these are only temporary. Very clever though.

Authentic

Authentic and iconic, this would be recognisable anywhere in the world. There are some similar buildings that share the sail like structures but Sydney Opera House is in a class of its own.

Bloom

Also a a recent photo from my garden. Anthony left this blooming cluster of bougainvillea when pruning the rest.

~ Monochrome Madness – Old and New Buildings Around the World ~

There is no theme this week for Monochrome Madness. However, I have taken inspiration from Leanne’s post. Her post focuses on buildings or architecture.

Tirana, Albania and London

Hong Kong

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Hydrabad, India

Girokastra, Albania

Stratford Upon Avon, England

I’ve enjoyed editing these photos with different tones of black and white. It’s been fun working with all the different tools that come with Canva.

~ Three for one – Monochrome Madness ~

This week the theme is about cropping one photo three ways. I was surprised by how different the original could look. It took me a while to get this they way I wanted, hence just the one photo! Thanks Leanne for an interesting challenge.

The original photo which I’ve converted to a monochrome filter.

A mural by Australian street artist – Matt Adnate. Maybe the tallest mural in the Southern Hemisphere.

A young Noongar man holding a bunch of eucalyptus leaves.

A Middle Eastern Woman

A young Burmese Girl

My favourite is the Middle Eastern Woman. By cropping this image it enhances the smaller details, such as her scarf.