theonlyD800inthehameau
Photography by theonlydeadheadinthehameau
Monochrome Madness: Figures In The Built Environment
Posted on July 19, 2026
The environment in which these figures are set is certainly built, although it was a very long time ago: its Petra of course.
Here a local man with his two donkeys waits patiently for a couple of tourists to decide it’s too much of a walk to return to their hotel. For a fee, he’ll be happy to take them…
Monochrome Madness: Bright As Can Be
Posted on July 1, 2026
Today, the payseagiste is tackling about four acres of overgrown undergrowth (if you can have such a thing) for us. Yesterday evening he dropped off the beast of a machine that he’s using to do the job. It’s basically a very oversized tractor. For the most part it’s a functional black but parts of it are painted bright orange.
It struck me that this close-up of the manufacturer’s logo would make a good subject for this new Monochrome Madness, as the contrast between black and orange is striking. Converted to monochrome, you could say that it’s a case of black being the new orange…
And here’s the real thing…
Monochrome Madness: Bright As Can Be
Monochrome Madness: Flowing Water
Posted on June 4, 2026
Leanne has set the challenge of ‘flowing water’ for this iteration of Monochrome Madness.
This image might be more accurately classified as ‘barely flowing water’, although you have my word that the water was actually moving, if only sluggishly.
It was taken last summer at Pembroke Castle, in South Wales. It stands on the River Cleddau, which was diverted centuries ago in order to surround the castle on three sides for defensive purposes. There’s a roadway cum dam to ‘close the circle’ as it were, but comparatively very little water passes through, hence the build-up of silt and sediment, through which these few rivulets manage to wind their way.
It’s certainly a photographically interesting landscape in colour, but I think it looks even more dramatic when rendered in monochrome.
Lens-Artists challenge: History Through The Lens
Posted on April 19, 2026
The Lens-Artists challenge this week is ‘history through the lens’.
If I were being pedantic (pedantic? moi? surely not) I could argue that every photograph ever taken is an example of history through the lens, because it captures a moment in time that has already passed into history, even before you get a chance to look at it.
Of course, this isn’t really helpful for the purposes of the challenge. What we’re after is something indisputably old, and preferably crumbling.
But enough about my selfies. Like most photographers, I suspect, I have plenty of images of old buildings in various states of decay and disrepair. However, I wanted to find something a bit different.
This is part of a tableau in a museum set in an old chateau (I forget exactly where, unfortunately). The table is set with furniture and crockery of the interwar years, but what made it stand out for me was the blown-up to life-size old photograph that had been somehow printed onto a cloth sheet to form a backdrop to the scene.
Two particular features worthy of note: the massive wooden clogs worn by the gentleman on the right. And I hope that the other man in the picture is not really who he looks like.
Monochrome Madness: Minimalism
Posted on April 12, 2026
This image is really hot off the press, as it were, taken less than four hours ago.
Madame and I had gone to a nearby village fête, the chief attraction of which was the presence of some Highland cattle – one of Madame’s favourite animals (albeit not a patch on elephants). I was struck in particular by the rich golden colour of the long hair that covers their bodies, and also by the way it fell into waves.
For contrast, I cropped the image to include some of the grass they were grazing on to produce a strong diagonal to add further interest.
Lens-Artists Challenge: Colour in Monochrome
Posted on March 23, 2026
It’s all there in black and white.
This week’s challenge is to present in a monochrome image something that we absolutely know is actually a specific colour. As Egidio says in his post, reducing an image to grayscale emphasises form and texture which could well be overlooked in ‘natural’ colour.
My example is of a Romanesco, that intriguing cross between a cauiflower and broccoli. We all know it’s bright green in the ‘real’ world, but how much of the symmetry and detail of those characteristic swirls is missed when just seeing that vibrant shade?
Lens-Artists Challenge: Shadowed
Posted on March 2, 2026
There is a path that runs right along the Corniche in Abu Dhabi. It’s not just a path, though (c’mon, this is Abu Dhabi we’re talking about), as interest is added thanks to fountains, underpasses and other features.
Also it being Abu Dhabi, it’s hardly ever cloudy and the sunlight is very strong; consequently, the shadows are well defined. In this section, the high wall is completely in the shade and a strong, dark shadow is cast by a lower wall and something else (I’ve forgotten what it was exactly) to the right. I’ve converted the original image to monochrome to produce this abstract, but definitely shadowed, image.
Monochrome madness: Not Far Away
Posted on February 25, 2026
There aren’t that many churches within a 10km radius of here (plenty of sheep though). but this is the pleasingly symmetrical, albeit badly neglected, side door of one of them.
Monochrome Madness: Triptych
Posted on January 31, 2026
Monochrome Madness: Markets
Posted on January 20, 2026
(Bit late: apologies)
The central fish market near the Rialto Bridge in Venice is well worth a visit. There are lots of stalls, all vying for the potential buyers’ attention, so an eye-catching display is important in order to grab the punters’ interest.
This particular fishmonger proffered these carefully constructed sardines, which certainly caught my eye.
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