Two thousand and twenty-three was both an interesting and challenging year. I had committed myself to only use a black and white camera for twelve months starting in October of 2022. However I still used my iPhone now and then when a camera was not available or when a color image was called for.
By focusing on black & white, or monochrome images, I forced myself to improve my skills in seeing shapes, lines, forms and texture. All of which are builkding blocks for making a better, stronger image.
In all, am satisfied with the photos captured and the improvements made in 2023.
Now lets see the results, start with a few color images.
Only two photos in the final selection had no people in them. Of late, I tend to photograph people I encountered on the street or at some event. Many strangers will posed for me if asked in a polite way, and others were captured without their knowledge when an opportunity presented itself. Now and then again I'll photograph a landscape or create a travel photo, such as...
Old Wooden Pier
Seal Beach, CA
and then it's back to... people.
Hempstead Cowboy
Texas
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Mexican Vaquero
Hempstead, TX
F. Fellini Family Matriarch
Spain
Young and Old
Valladolid, Spain
Five thirty AM, where is my choir?
Hempstead, TX
Political Street Demonstration
Plaza Major, Spain
Five O'clock somewhere... Street Cafe
Valladolid, Spain
A tribute to Edward Hopper,
Spanish Nighthawks
Valladolid, Spain
Hot Havana Nights
Cuba
Five AM Prayer Time
Hempstead, Texas
Now we get into the monochrome photos.
White Sands Solitude
New Mexico
Small Town Taxi
Cuba
Young Love
Havana Cuba
Cooling Off
Havana, Cuba
Building Tobacco Drying Shed
Valle Viñales, Cuba
Adapting the new to the old, Oxen Cart
Valles Viñales, Cuba
Childhood Memories
Central Texas
Street and Model Portraits
Red Beard
Valladolid, Spain
Sister Sister
Valldolid, Spain
French Chef
Valladolid, Spain
Retired and Happy
Burgos, Spain
Housewife
Havana, Cuba
Street Performer
Havana, Cuba
Aspiring Model
Houston, Texas
Jerry Brown, Photographer
Fayetteville, Texas
Juergen, a German Businessman
Havana, Cuba
Porkpie Hat Blows Jazz
Valladolid, Spain
Havana Social Club
Popular Cuban Entertainer
Havana, Cuba
Salsa Moves the Soul
Havana, Cuba
Dancing in Sync
Havana Social Club
No, No, No
Havana Social Club, Cuba
And those are the ones that made the final cut out of the couple thousand photos taken in 2023.
In 2024 we return to color photography but still occasionally making B&W prints.
Ride safe, see you on down the road,
CCjon
