~ Birds of a Feather – Monochrome Triptych ~

I have to admit that I looked up triptych – the theme chosen this week by Elke. I also had a look at a few others for inspiration. Whether I’m on the right track or not, who knows! I’ve learnt something new anyway.

Cheeky cockatoos that I took on a walk around Lake Claremont on Saturday. They are quite a nuisance with their raucous squawking and incessant pecking but they are cute to look at.

Black Swans are native to Australia and you can always be guaranteed to see them swimming in the lakes and rivers. The photo of the white swans is from the River Crouch, Essex.

I took these photos recently on a walk along the river beach. An Ibis and Cormorants.

I think this type of photography needs more research from me. It’s not quite right so I’m determined now to work out image splitting.

Any tips would be welcome!

~ To Market, To Market to buy a Fat Pig ~

Sarah from Travel with Me has challenged us this week on Monochrome Madness with the theme markets.

Markets have been around for thousands of year. Amazing when you think the concept has not changed much. People visit markets for a bargain, cheaper produce and fresh food. The oldest market still operating is The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul dating back to 1455. We have visited this market but I found it quite hot and claustrophobic.

I loved a market when I was younger and visited many London markets when I was working. Petticoat Lane, Camden Market and Roman Road to name a few. I was very much into vintage clothing back in the day and these were wonderful places to find antique items. Of course my mum was horrified when I came home with a black bin liner of old clothes.

Nowadays many of the stalls found at a lot of markets have items made overseas, as locally made goods cost so much more. Although you do come across some artisan markets but you won’t be finding a bargain there.

Girokaster, Albania – Perusing old army items
He did buy one of the white hats and wore it throughout our time in Albania.

Kruje, Albania

Sihanoukville, Cambodia – A lady sorting shellfish

Hong Kong – Dried Vegetable Stall

Hong Kong – Flower Market

Wanchai Street Market, Hong Kong

Central, Hong Kong – Looking for another hat!

Covent Garden, London

Night Market, George Town Penang, Malaysia
Anthony skipping right to the head of the queue and requesting a special order from the chef!

I realise I have the same title as Sarah, but I had already finished this post and thought it was quite original. Great minds as they say.

~ 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

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

~ 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 Cherry Tree, Stambridge, Essex***

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

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

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.

~ 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

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.

~ Have a seat for Monochrome Madness ~

Brian @ Bushboy’s World is the host for this week’s Monochrome Madness. His theme is chairs in case you haven’t guessed. I’ve picked a few from my archives but I do have a special chair to share too.

The chair above was my husband’s grandmother’s. It is an antique (Victorian?) nursing chair. It has been reupholstered in yellow silk. It is a beautiful piece of furniture, but doesn’t look at all comfortable to nurse a feeding baby.

In front of our room in Khao Lak, Thailand

Melbourne Museum of Art

It would be quite alarming having this hanging over you while studying.

Bali, Indonesia

“It’s not what’s on the table that matters, it’s who is in the chairs”

The Pickle Factory, Wisconsin – 2015

“Old empty chairs are not empty in reality; memories always sit there”

Have a seat while perusing this post – and enjoy your weekend!

~ A Medley of Hands for Monochrome Madness ~

This week’s theme is hands chosen by Stupidity Hole. I created a gallery below from photos from my archive.

“Remember you have golden hands. Whatever you touch turns golden. You give value to what you do and not the other way around“

Your Golden Hands

“Never look down on the work you do on the way to your destiny“

🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌 🙌

Ocean Views in Black and White

Monochrome Madness this week is hosted by Sarah @ Travel with Me. The theme is the sea. I’ve been experimenting again with Canva, and made a couple of collages. It’s taken far longer that it should have again, I need to spend more time playing around with it.

I’ve recently been going to Cottesloe Beach for a quick swim in the morning. Always within the shark net! Below are some I took the other day. There are constant shark warnings, they don’t seem to bother so many people. I’m not so blase.

Thanks Sarah for an enjoyable challenge. I love all the wordpress challenges, they are good for looking back through your photos. They bring back long forgotten memories and also help clean up photo albums.