Zinnias Curtailed: Cee’s Black and White Challenge: Flowers
Okay, Zinnias again, but this time in black and white! I think this last clump of zinnias look like they have been captured in moonlight.
I was going for an artificial effect here, and I think it works. They look waxy and stiff to my eye.
http://ceenphotography.com/2015/08/20/cees-black-white-photo-challenge-flowers/
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
Yup, you got what you were going for. Artificial and other worldly. Neat!
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Black and white photography is a force with which to be reckoned — the contrast, the shadows, the accents of nearly pure white highlights. While stately flowers such as calla lilies, birds of paradise, the fantasy-like Hawaiian blooms naturally lend themselves to monochrome, it feels like a mistake, a travesty, a crime to rob zinnias of their color. It’s like taking the zest from the peel of fresh citrus fruits.
Without their riot of color zinnias lose their personality and their reason for being. The color of those petals and the vivid yellow centers is the reason that the name for zinnias in central Mexico is Guadalajaras because they are so reminiscent of the vestida de listones — the name of the amazing ribbon bedecked dresses with skirt hems that measure 20 yards that are worn by folkloric dancers when they flounce and swirl as they perform the Son de Jalisco or as we know it, the Mexican Hat Dance.
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Just go on to my other blog entry, Ms. Judy and you’ll see them in their full color. I enjoyed playing with black and white because they took on a wax flower look.
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Zinnias are such an interesting flower. I always plant them from seeds and have to be extra careful not to let them take up too much of the space. They are such happy flowers and bloom forever as long as I’m willing to give them a tiny bit of attention. Whenever I have seeds left over at the end of the season, I drive down the country roads and throw them along the road and then return in the spring and country to watch them survive without special treatment. I always laugh when I see people digging them up with the thought they are getting a real native wildflower.
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I love that idea, Sheri. I’m going to steal it. What a wonderful gift to everyone who passes. I want to try to find old pics of a drive I used to take up in the mountains where there are acres and acres of wildflowers. So incredible. And now that you’ve reminded me, I’m going to do it again this year! And I agree about Zinnias. This is the first year I’ve had them thanks to a generous donation of seed from a friend’s garden.
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Judy you flowers turned out absolutely stunning in black and white. I think I may like them better than the orange.
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I know. You need to enlarge them to see how much like look like porcelain or wax. My friend Judy (yes, there are a lot of Judy’s down here for some reason) protested that it was a shame to take the color out, but of course I didn’t. I created an alternate universe where they are colored in one posting and albino in another! So glad you agree that they are a good subject for black and white. I’ll never grow up enough not to appreciate validation! Ha.
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