Focusing on Life :: Monochromatic

This week's prompt by Sally for our weekly Focusing on Life photo journey was to think about photography in a monochromatic way ... consisting of one color. Sometimes a simple black and white photo focuses the eye on just the shape of your subject. I love color as much as the next guy, but when it comes to photography I find black and white romantic, sometimes other world and it always seems to add a bit of elegance to the subject.  

I first noticed the detail on this structure from a black and white photo. The photo had a timeless feel about it, and I assumed that it was from a ruin somewhere in Greece or Italy. I was surprised to find out exactly what these sculptures were and where they were located. I had been to this location many times, but had never looked up. And had never noticed just how detailed the tops of the pillars were. The sculptures are called the 'weeping women' (or the 'weepers') and they stand at the four corners of large planters on the tops of each of the colonnades which were designed to hold plantings watered by their tears. But these pillars are about 3-stories high, and unless you look up you can absolutely miss the detail of them. To give you a sense of their size, I included a a few pictures of my two daughters with their cousin climbing on just the base of the structure.

These are pictures we took this past week while in San Francisco at one of my favorite places; the Palace of Fine Arts. It was constructed in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific Exposition. These pillars line a lake in a half circle (lower left). My sister-in-law is an artist and is always looking for a subject to photograph. I thought she would enjoy this one.





Sally is right. Monochromatic draws the eye to where it might not otherwise because the colors steal the show. And why not on a gorgeously sunny day in San Francisco.

But there is such beauty in this sculpture of the 'weeping women' that for me, only black and white can really frame the subject. The original photo that caught my attention was in black and white and the 'weeping women' were surrounded in a fog ... literally fog that had the sculptures coming in and out of focus. It had such an effect to it. A vision that has stayed with me. I took the photo (top left) this past week and alter it to black and white. I included another photo that shows you a better angle of the women (these pillars are just too large for me to get this angle with my iphone). My original photo has deep blue sky with tuscan colored stone ... that is what draws the eye. But when you change it to black and white you get this timeless feel and a focus to the subject; the sculpture itself. 

I always wondered why exactly the women are crying? There must have been some intent by the artist, but it took quite a bit of digging to figure it out. The colomns were designed by Ulric Ellerhusen who created the 'weepers' to symbolize the melancholy of life without art.  Ok, now that is kinda cool. I like that meaning. And see, Sally's prompt taught me something new about one of my favorite black and white photo I have hanging on my wall at home.