Week 12 - Around the Bend

Around the Bend

Like last week, Week # 12 is a return to a scene I know well. I have several routes for a daily walk. This one is through the village of Varche, Portugal, a lightly traveled rustic road.

Having photographed it before, I wanted to revisit it in black and white. I had thought it was out of my system. Last year I passed through in soft evening light - a moment made for vibrant and warm color.

So it becomes a challenge to envision a setting when its color has already dominated my attention. It requires taking a step back and assessing what contributes to the essence of black and white.

The winding road becomes the dominant subject. It dips and leads through the top of the frame while adding a sense of mystery. The repeated oval shapes in the wall add a sense of order. The texture in the road and wall is palpable.

However, the one common theme present in black and white that I find at play here is timelessness. There is nothing in the frame that hints at a date or time. The same would be true in the color photo, but it is more pronounced in the absence of color.

f9 1/250 sec ISO 500 Mar 23, 2022