Smile…Click
ss 1/100 f 25 ISO 400 300mm
This image was taken from atop the Astoria Column in Astoria, Oregon in August, 2013. I loved the direct, hard light and how it defined this couple, in this moment…so carefree with their point and shoot camera and iPhone. Yet, you can tell by the woman’s stance that she was trying to place her subject(s) within a certain point of the frame. I intentionally cropped out the subject(s) being photographed by the couple as I thought it made for a more interesting composition. I chose black and white for this image because I thought it enhanced the definition of the shadows and because I didn’t like the color of the man’s sweat shirt. 😉
Astoria Column
ss 1/160 f 20 ISO 400 48mm
The sky was bright blue, the light was direct and hard, and I chose a high key black and white conversion in Topaz. Why? Because I didn’t like the tones of the sky in a more traditional black and white conversion. Had I shot the image differently, I could of blown out the sky and shot the image as high key but I didn’t want to lose any of the detail in the column, which tells a story.
So here you have an image with low contrast, of where I shot the image above of the couple photographing unknown subjects. Yes, I climbed the tower and was high in the sky on a windy day, and yes, the column was moving in the wind – or at least it felt as though it was. 😉
The view of the Columbia River Gorge was marvelous!
Have a fabulous weekend!
Monochromia 
That top shot is just fantastic! Great shadows.
I get a chuckle when two photographers shoot the exact same (or so I assume) subject in the exact same way, beside each other 🙂
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I have to echo Stacy’s words. The negative space is just one more element that makes this such a great shot.
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Robyn, I love that you chose B&W for the first photo – it works beautifully, and your use of negative space is wonderful! Great photo of the column as well. Again, your post-processing choice is spot on in my book!
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I love the first photo Robyn, wonderfully captured! 🙂 The Astoria Column looks awesome!
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Robyn, I was not familiar with the Astoria Column and have to hop over to google for awhile. Fascinating history and artwork, completed in 1926. Incredible!
Thanks so much for sharing such an interesting structure! I cannot imagine how great the views were.
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Great shots. I had to look twice at the couple to see what they were really doing. Thanks for the explanation. 😀
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Reblogged this on The Visual Chronicle and commented:
Love black and white images ? Visit our strictly black and white blog – Monochromia – https://groupexpo.wordpress.com
Photos by Robyn !
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Great shot of the Astoria Column.
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Very cool shots Robyn 🙂 The top one looks like they are doing a ballet (besides taking photos), something you only could have captured from that high vantage point. I had the same feeling of swaying while up in the Skylon Tower in Canada (although it probably wasn’t swaying as much as I thought). Great work Robyn.
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You did well to bring out the details in the column. The two taking photos look like they are doing some sort of yoga from your birds-eye view. Well done.
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