Twelve Months, Twenty Photos - 2021, Black and White
As promised in the previous color edition of this post here's the 2021 in review in black and white. During the selection process it was very obvious what role the seasons play in me choosing black and white or color. While my color photographs did not kick in until April I could fill this whole grid with black and white photographs between January and March.
As a result we're starting this grid on the home front with winter scenes from Orchard Park and East Aurora. Everything was beautifully covered in snow. The sky was almost permanently not so beautifully gray. Nature looked black and white to me and that drove my choice to stick with black and white film during those months. I'll see what 2022 brings but so far we are lacking the white cover, everything seems to be gray, and my bias towards black and white holds. But who knows. If we get some nice sunny days with blue sky it might be cool to go for color contrast. Stop by in a year and we'll see.
Then came the road trip to Arkansas with a repeat stop at Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis, MO. It provided a nice driving break, an opportunity to stretch our legs, and had plenty to offer photographically too. Then a short drive along the wonderful Route 66 that we like to seek anytime we get close enough, and finally Arkansas. We visited the charming little town of Eureka Springs several times, hiked several areas of the Hobbs State Park, and went for a longer 1-day trip to explore the Buffalo National River area.
Next up was a summer trip to the Czech Republic with a mix of hiking and castle chasing. Some of the places we enjoyed that made it to the 2021 collage are Rymice, Radhošť, Milotice, Holešov, Helfštýn, Karlštejn, definitely a dirt road, and Praha (Prague).
And finally, the selection is closed by a home front sample from the long-term large format Niagara River Project photographing locations along the river with a 4x5 camera on Foma film developed in Caffenol. It was a big year for Caffenol. After some experimentation I settled on developing Fomapan 100 and 400 in Caffenol Delta and was able to get consistent results very much to my liking. The project is far from over and I will stick with the chosen constraints into 2022.
Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy
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