As easy as monochrome sounds, this was my first shot at trying to see how one of my photos would look using a monochrome application.
In order to ensure I did this properly, I looked up a few artists to fill me in on what defines monochrome.
Peter Dam gave me some great insight on his website here:
Monochrome photos are photos that contain variations of only one colour and nothing else.
Another great teaching tool I learned from Dam was the following:
If you want to capture a natural monochrome image in the camera, you will get the best results if you get both the brightest variants and the darkest variants of the colour into the frame. This will create more contrast in the photo.
While photographing, I will be sure to use this technique the next time I am out shooting with my camera. This photo of a chandelier was taken in Boulder, Colorado in a vintage hat shop. Sometimes I just look at a pieces of such intricacy and I long to hear the stories of where it came from, who created it, how long did it take, the list goes on. This beauty caught my attention right away.
Since the camera was new a the time, I had no idea the power I had or the angles that would have been captured more to my liking. Of course, this is all a learning experience and I will keep testing and continue taking photos in order to progress in my photography.
While I was thinking about chandeliers I found some interesting historical facts about them. For instance, there is evidence dating back to 17,000 BCE of different types of oil and grease lamps.
According to Lamps Online, their website gives a wonderful history of chandeliers here:
Ancient Sumerian and Egyptian artisans crafted molded candles, alabaster lamps and colored glass. Egyptian oil lamps included wick holes, indicating they used a different method of illumination than their caveman predecessors.
Oil lamps were mass-produced in Egypt, Greece and Rome during this time. In fact, these lamps were the first ever mass-produced item, crafted using molds and materials like alabaster, stone, gold, bronze and Terra cotta. Roman lamps were especially well-known for their decorative attributes.
The Byzantine Polycandelon from the 6th century is the earliest identifiable precursor of the chandelier. Candles were in use as early as the 6th century, too, but there were lots of problems with them. They were drippy and smoky, their wicks needed trimming and chandeliers had to be maintained with pulley systems so people could pull them down and attend to the candles. (Wicks that did not require maintenance weren't introduced until the 19th century.)
Personally, I've always wanted to own one but there have always been so many to choose from that I've had a difficult time choosing just one. If anyone has some great chandelier stories I would be happy to hear them, or if you love monochrome photography and have found a great method please share.
As always I love reading your comments, so please leave one below and I will be sure to respond.
Thank you for stopping by to read my blog. I’m a Certified Indian Blood member of the Hopi & Apache Native American tribes, Reiki Master-Teacher, Medicine woman in-training, paralegal, researcher, and writer based in the mountains of Colorado, USA. I work closely with fellow planktons and minnows in a few groups by helping them adjust to Steemit and curate quality content. I’m especially interested in finding others who love natural medicine originating from ancient practices, gold and silver, and energy work. Additionally, I'm the creator of #MedicineCardMonday and #FreedomFriday, so if you are interested in receiving Native American Medicine stop by my blog every Monday to say hello!
A'OO, Eagle Spirit