Under pressure

As part of the wine-making process, in Bordeaux as elsewhere, the young wine has to be drawn out of the big stainless steel tanks into smaller containers under the force of gravity. Given how large the tanks are, it’s not surprising that it comes out at high pressure. That’s what you call letting it breathe.

And if you zoom in closely enough, it becomes almost abstract:

liquid

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Liquid

“And his wife made this”

The impressive architecture of St Mary’s Church in Beverley, East Yorkshire includes these graceful curves, which, to judge by the words carved on the little bust (“And his wife made this”), show a feminine touch.

curves

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Circles and Curves

Blues Knight

Cee’s Black & White Challenge this week is looking for an image of two unrelated items. So, here’s a random juxtaposition of a suit of armour and a basket of flowers, seen in the Chateau d’Amboise.

I don’t often use selective colour, but I think it works in this case.

img_0693

Tuesdays of Texture: Skull

We came across this oryx skull during a safari drive on Sir Bani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Lots of texture here, especially rendered in this high contrast monochrome version:

skull

Tuesdays of Texture: Week 39

The Ghaf Tree

In the desert outside Al Ain, in the United Arab Emirates, this single, isolated, ghaf tree somehow manages to flourish.

Isolated

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Isolated Subjects

Monochrome Mistletoe

The subject for Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge this week is Trees. Here’s an image of some mistletoe-laden oak trees in a nearby lane. Tilting the camera so that the trees appear diagonally adds a little drama to the image, I think.

image

Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Trees

 

52 Weeks Photo Challenge: Week 1 – Black & White

The Girl That Dreams Awake is hosting a brand new weekly challenge which I thought I’d try and play along with.

I’m intrigued to see what topics lie ahead for future weeks, but for Week 1 it’s Black & White, so here is another image of Terry’s Triumph to add to the ones that I posted recently in response to Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge:

52W B&W

Metropolitain

At a fête des fleurs in Magnac-Laval earlier this year, I couldn’t help noticing the shadow thrown by the back of this old chair, which presumably began life (quite a long time ago) somewhere on the Paris Metro. The weatherbeaten textures suit monochrome quite well.

Chair

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Any Seating, Including Tables and Chairs

Terry’s Triumph

Our friend and neighbour Terry is the proud owner of a beast of a 1740cc Triumph motorcycle, all chrome and black, that he utterly dotes on. It looks like it’s never been out of the showroom. And, since it most definitely has an engine, it seems like a very suitable subject for this week’s Black & White Challenge.

Motorbike

Motorbike-3

Motorbike-2

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Things With Engines Or Motors

 

To Scale: Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a very large object, so certainly qualifies for Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge this week.

Wikipedia can give you all the statistics, but to get a visual idea of how big it is, look at this image of the central part of the metalwork and consider the fact that those are people standing on top of the structure, immediately below the flags. It’s possible – if you’re that way inclined – to take a tour of the bridge’s superstructure. I imagine the views are spectacular.

Large Object