Posted on February 22, 2019
This statue of King Louis IX – canonised as Saint Louis – stands in splendid isolation on a corner of the mighty basilica of Sacré-Coeur, which dominates the skyline of the Montmartre area of Paris.

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Isolated Subjects
Category: Black & White Tagged: Black & White, Cee's Black & White Photo Challenge, Montmartre, Paris, Sacre-Couer, Saint Louis, statue
Posted on February 15, 2019
It almost beggars belief that the colossal monuments of the ancient city of Petra, such as this tomb carved out of sandstone, were created thousands of years ago by mere human beings.

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Made by humans
Category: Black & White Tagged: Architecture, Black & White, Cee's Black & White Photo Challenge, Made by Humans, Man-made, Petra
Posted on February 8, 2019
Don’t be fooled by the title: it’s not a selfie.
What it is, though, is a mountain goat – I’m afraid I can’t remember the particular species – spotted at Al Ain Zoo in the United Arab Emirates.

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Horns
Category: Black & White Tagged: Al Ain Zoo, Black & White, Cee's Black & White Photo Challenge, Goat, Horns
Posted on January 27, 2019
For this week’s Black & White Photo Challenge, Cee wants to see something ‘in the distance’. Perhaps like the main road that can just be seen at the far end of this narrow passageway in the medieval quarter of the town of Perigueux.

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: In The Distance
Category: Black & White Tagged: Black & White, Cee's Black & White Photo Challenge, In The Distance, Medieval, Perigueux, Perspectice
Posted on January 23, 2019
Well, it’s certainly true that Black & White can be fun, so why shouldn’t it be a subject for Cee’s Fun ‘Foto’ challenge?
In the petrified caves (‘grottes pétrifiantes’) near Villandry, a steady drip of water percolating through the limestone has produced some bizarre shapes, such as this, which reminds me of something from the fevered imagination of H P Lovecraft.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Black & White
Category: Abstract, Black & White Tagged: Black & White, Caves, Cee's Fun Foto Challenge, Petrified
Posted on January 18, 2019
Although there apparently remains only one example in Britain, ‘lanterns of the dead (Lanternes des Morts) can still be seen in rural France and there are a couple of (fairly) local examples.
And what, you may be asking, is a Lanterne des Morts? This is how Wikipedia describes it:
“Lanternes des morts) are small stone towers found chiefly in the centre and west of France, pierced with small openings at the top, where a light was exhibited at night to indicate the position of a cemetery. These towers were usually circular, with a small entrance in the lower part giving access to the interior, so as to raise the lamps by a pulley to the required height.”
This small photo shows the exterior of the top part of the Lanterne in the village of Rancon:

However, Cee’s Black & White Challenge this week calls for unusual perspectives, so this is what you would see if you were small enough to get inside the base of the tower and look up towards the sky.

Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Unusual Perspectives
Category: Black & White Tagged: Black & White, Cee's Black & White Photo Challenge, Lanterne des Morts, Perspective
Posted on January 11, 2019
For Cee’s Black & White theme this week of ‘music’, here is an image of a harp in the music room of the Chateau d’Amboise.

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Music
Category: Black & White Tagged: Black & White, Cee's Black & White Photo Challenge, Harp, Music
Posted on January 4, 2019
In the old cafe at the rural museum in Montrol-Sénard there’s a wood-burning stove range. This is one of the hotplates.

Cee’s B;ack & White Photo Challenge: Geometric Shapes
Category: Abstract, Black & White Tagged: Black & White, Cee's Black & White Photo Challenge, Circles, Geometric shape, Montrol-Senard, stove
Posted on December 28, 2018
Cee’s Black & White theme this week is the wide-ranging one of ‘all about nature’
The monochrome treatment of this image of the centre of a round cactus really helps to highlight the inherent symmetry to be found in nature

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: All About Nature
Category: Black & White Tagged: All About Nature, Black & White, Cactus, Cee's Black & White Photo Challenge, Symmetry
Posted on December 21, 2018
I saw this at an exhibition of ancient tractors last summer. I wonder how many miles this one has on the clock.

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Engines and Motors
Category: Black & White Tagged: Black & White, Cee's Black & White Photo Challenge, engines, Tractors