Have you read the introduction paragraph of this contest well?
If not, I want you to read it again.

Art can be seen as the manifestation or expression of any creative and aesthetic activity, where it is possible to capture and transmit emotions and perceptions about the environment, experiences or what one imagines about reality for aesthetic and symbolic purposes.

How I wish for my mother to read these words. She always told us as kids that everyone is artistic. The way we pack our school suitcases, the way we do our homework, the way we dress, even the way we set the table. It all shows how we are expressing ourselves which is nothing else but art. Showing how we are living in the moment.

My Steemian friends know that I always say that when it comes to art and drawing, I stood last in line when this talent was handed out. What I have learned over the years is that we are all different. We are all unique. Life would have been pretty boring if it was only a kaleidoscope of drawings.

We are invited through this contest to show our “unique vision of the world through art.”

For me, there is only one way to comply with the contest, and that is through photography.

No, I am not a professional photographer, even though I wish I was like the Krystle Wright’s of the world, the extreme photographers. What I do know is that I am passionate about the photos I take.

My friends and family know me as a landscape photographer. I love the blue sky, the green grass, the “inviting” mountains, and the waves of the ocean. In other words, I love to take my photos outside. I always stayed away from portrait photography, as it just sounded too complicated for me. There are so many elements that you have to get right for that perfect shot.

Then one day, I discovered black-and-white photography. It changed my view of photography, and in particular portrait photography, completely. It is no longer me who must look for the photo and take it. Now it is me who must create the photo. Photography is now a challenge, but in the same breath, it is an art of expression that leaves me with nostalgic emotions.

For this contest, I want to celebrate art by showing you how I enhance and draw emotions by converting my mobile photos from color to black and white.

PHOTO 1

In the original photo, it feels like some of the details got lost. It was as if the shadows in this photo were absorbing the detail, making the swing the main focus point.

By turning the photo into a black-and-white photo and making the shadows darker and even more prominent instead of embracing the light, the focus is now on the children, bringing out those joyful smiles.

PHOTO 2

The backdrop of this photo is a painted canvas. I wanted to make the flowers more floatable to create the feeling of being free. I turned the photo into a black-and-white photo. The photo does look clearer, but are the flowers more floatable? It is an open debate. What I did manage to do was make my sister-in-law look thinner and younger. This is all due to the lighter stripes in her hair that catch the eye, moving it away from the face.

Little do I need to tell you that she had this photo printed on canvas and framed.

PHOTO 3

From all the thousands of photos I’ve taken, I will always return to this one. It is one of my favorites, even though the composition is wrong. I should not have cut a piece of the head off. However. I have learned not to delete any photos, as one day they will come in handy.

The name of this flower is Kosmos, and in the autumn, March, and April, they grow wild next to the roads in most parts of South Africa. They color the landscape white, pink, and burgundy.

For this exercise, I wanted to see if I could get more focus on my stepson and less on the flowers. Not only did I manage to do it, but with that, I opened his facial expression. He was a real rascal when he was small. Full of mischief, and that is clearly seen in the black and white photo.

PHOTO 4

Another favorite. It was a rainy day, and my daughter and her family were visiting us at our coastal home in Keurboomstrand. A big thing for the kids is swimming in the ocean. For three days in a row, we had no sunshine.
I caught my grandson standing at the window looking at the rain on the fourth day. The ocean was calling him. For a child of his age to stand like this was uncalled for.

For me, the black and white caught his emotions perfectly. The photo speaks for itself. I wonder...

PHOTO 5

Blue on blue. In the color photo, you see the blue sky reflecting in the waters of the Keurbooms River. For me, it is a beautiful photo, but not what I was trying to capture. I wanted the reflection to be the focus point and not the color.
Turning the photo into black and white and making the shadows darker gave me just what I was looking for a deeper reflection.

PHOTO 6

The color in the first photo was completely wrong. Yes, it was autumn, but still, the photo was too yellow. So much so that it was even reflected in the dress. The more I tried to fix the color, the less I got it right. Then I turned it black and white with a bit of silver. Perfect!

By doing that, I removed the background noise, made the facial expression clearer, and added emotion to the photo.
Who cannot love a face like that?

PHOTO 7

I am ending my post with a photo I took at "The Old Fort Prison" for prisoners of Apartheid. Photos of prisoners like Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Robert Sobukwe, Jacob Zuma, and Kgalema Motlanthe lined the wall. It was only later, when I got home, that I noticed the photo didn’t do justice to these apartheid heroes.

After some time, I had the perfect image that made these men “pop,” a black and white photo.

This, my friends, is where I end my story “with black and white, shapes, and virtual textures, through which I connect emotions and experiences that cannot be described with words” while I celebrate the world of art.

It is now for you to write your story.
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