Close-up of algae
Lens-Artists,  Mexico,  Monochrome Madness,  Photographic techniques,  Travel galleries

Gallery: Monochrome Madness, seeing textures in black and white

March 6, 2024 / 83 Comments

When you remove the colour from an image you see other aspects of your subject more clearly. Shape, form, texture all stand out more without the distraction of colour, and monochrome highlights the contrasts between them.

I’m thrilled to have been invited by Leanne to act as occasional host for Monochrome Madness, as she introduces themed challenges. My chosen theme for my first post is texture. And as I’m just back from a trip to Mexico and have been sorting the several thousand photos I took there, I’ve decided to use some of them here. Well OK, I’ll be honest; I knew while I was away that I’d be hosting this on my return, so many of these were shot specifically with texture in mind. All were shot in colour however, and later converted using Nik Silver Efex Pro, my go-to for monochrome work.

I’m looking forward to seeing your monochrome texture images. Whether you choose from the natural world (animals, plants, rocks perhaps) or man-made objects, there are a wealth of textures out there, just waiting to be photographed!

By pure serendipity, John has asked us share photos illustrating one of four compositional tools for the Lens Artists challenge this week, and as one of those tools is texture I’m taking the opportunity to link to him too. I’m sure he won’t mind!

So let’s play Animal, Vegetable or Mineral …

Click on any image in the galleries below for a caption and to open a slideshow

Animal textures

Not many of these as it wasn’t really a wildlife holiday. Until we got to Baja California Sur, that is, where we saw lots of seabirds and more than a few whales!

Dark bird with white head
Dark bird feathers
Animal organs on a market stall
Large fin sticking out of water
Vegetable textures

Many more to choose from here as the plant life of Mexico is fascinating to photograph, from cacti to palm trees and much more.

Close-up of cactus spines
Detail of spiny cactus leaves
Spiny plant leaves
Detail of fronds of lichen
Detail of tree trunk with rough leaves
Peeling tree bark
Worn tree trunk on sand
Close-up of bark
Mineral textures

Plenty of rocks around in Mexico too!

Looking through a hole in a rock formation
Eroded rocks with tree on top
Close-up of algae
Close-up of pebbles with harsh shadows
Stone and cement wall detail

Please do join in with some examples of your own, and leave a comment with a link either below and/or on Leanne’s page (pingbacks rarely work on my blog for some unknown reason).

I visited Mexico in February 2024

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