Recently I was going through my photo stream deleting old images and found this one taken on my iPhone. I realized that it would be perfect for our Monochrome Madness Challenge this week.
About a month ago, I was descending stairs in a building and saw this unusual window with beautiful light streaming through. It was so incredible that I had to stop and take a picture with my iPhone. As I took the shot, I knew it would be a B&W photo. Total time to take the picture and process? Hmm…about 30 seconds to take three pictures and about 3 minutes to process lol. I love it when this happens!
It’s funny how photography works sometimes. There are times I go out and plan a big day, spend hours getting there and getting back and working on the images. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. It’s totally enjoyable to me, but sometimes photos just magically appear without me having to work at all in deciding where to go and what lens I’d like to use.
The entire challenge can be found here on Leanne Cole’s Site “Monochrome Madness” so please check it out. There are so many good photographers there!
Laura Macky Photography 
May 12, 2014 at 4:27 pm
Love the lighting and the mood to this one. Monochrome was the perfect choice
May 12, 2014 at 4:28 pm
Thanks a lot Mark. It really was a B&W moment. 🙂
May 12, 2014 at 6:27 pm
Thank you so much Mark 🙂
May 12, 2014 at 4:35 pm
Wow! Very moody indeed. Makes me think of a movie set!
May 12, 2014 at 5:55 pm
It DOES look like a movie set!
May 12, 2014 at 5:56 pm
🙂
May 12, 2014 at 6:26 pm
….and I’d like to thank the little people who made this happen…..15 minutes later….and I’d like to thank my hair stylist and my chauffeur and my manicurist and my plastic surgeon (20 times) and…. hahaha jk
May 12, 2014 at 6:29 pm
“You see, this is my life! It always will be! Nothing else! Just us, the cameras, and those wonderful people out there in the dark!… All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.”
🙂
May 12, 2014 at 6:32 pm
hahaha cute!
May 12, 2014 at 4:39 pm
so many feelings from this, mysterious, ominous, wonder, a new day ahead. wonderful shot!
May 12, 2014 at 6:23 pm
Thank you! And thank godness for smartphones!
May 12, 2014 at 4:44 pm
Love this. The lights, the graphic shapes, the lines of reflected light on the steps…
May 12, 2014 at 6:23 pm
Ahh thank you 🙂
May 12, 2014 at 4:48 pm
The light is stunning – great photo.
May 12, 2014 at 6:23 pm
Thanks much Dan.
May 12, 2014 at 4:57 pm
Great catch – seize the moment!
May 12, 2014 at 6:24 pm
Thank you and absolutely!
May 12, 2014 at 5:19 pm
Wow, Laura, this image is SO cool. Perfect choice and perfect photo! Great job! xx Amy
May 12, 2014 at 6:25 pm
Thanks Amy! It was one of those lucky shots…right time, right spot.
May 12, 2014 at 6:33 pm
Oh, do I ever know those! Being in the right spot at the right time. You lucked out having your camera with you! And please don’t tell me this pic was taken with your cell phone cause I’ll just fall off my chair if you do.
May 12, 2014 at 6:43 pm
it was an iPhone Amy! lol I guess you didn’t read it.
May 12, 2014 at 6:57 pm
I skimmed the post and no, I did not see you took that with an iPhone. *falls off chair* That’s it! Darn it! I must get one of those phones! I am drooling just at the thought of one. So many places I can have a camera via a cellphone where I cannot have my camera. I’m stunned, Laura. Seriously stunned. That photo is professional quality and taken with an iPhone. *sighs* *brightens* Can you do MACRO with an iPhone? I bet you can’t. *na-na-na-na-na* …. giggling …. That’s it. I’m going to bed. Tee hee……Goodnight, Laura! (((HUGS))) Amy
May 12, 2014 at 6:58 pm
lol … no, i can’t do AMY petals that’s for sure! It’s handy to have these smartphone cameras, that’s for sure!
May 12, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Whew!! Well, I’m just SO relieved I can do all this work that an iPhone can’t. Now I feel better. Tee hee. xx
May 12, 2014 at 7:02 pm
bahhaha cute one
May 12, 2014 at 7:17 pm
Hehehehehehehe …. now I am off to bed. Last chore complete. Glad you had a good laugh on me. giggling…..
May 12, 2014 at 6:46 pm
May 12, 2014 at 6:59 pm
Sure rub it in twice. Double comment. Ah-ha. Thanks. Now I really AM getting an iPhone. The camera I have on my iPad is unbelievable in how it takes pics. Only thing with that, I’m almost out of space because of all my pics on my iPad. Hmmm……Coudn’t I back those up? I have NO clue how to do that though. OK. I’m rambling. I am going to bed. My brain is dead. Nite. xx
May 12, 2014 at 5:56 pm
Glad you rediscovered this and shared.
Great photo
May 12, 2014 at 6:26 pm
Thanks Lance!
May 12, 2014 at 6:43 pm
Sometimes the most sterile of spaces offer the most unique images. You must have been walking down these stairs at the precise moment the sun hits those steps evenly and beautifully. I can’t imagine this image is always there probably only a few times a year when the sun hits it just right. I am getting a vision of walking through those lit squares into an alternate universe. Really cool!
May 12, 2014 at 6:45 pm
Thank you Carrie! It really was surreal. Even in color the image was kinda cool. Your comments are always so insightful!
May 12, 2014 at 6:50 pm
Nice one!
May 12, 2014 at 6:52 pm
Thank you!
May 12, 2014 at 7:07 pm
Absolutely perfect Laura. So often the best are not planned. This was clearly one of those moments. Bravo 🙂
May 12, 2014 at 7:24 pm
Thank you Andrew. i appreciate your comment as always.
May 12, 2014 at 7:15 pm
I think sometimes we get too carried away with how long an image should take to get the perfect image, when the reality is, the image should dictate that, it shouldn’t really matter, all that is important is the end result, and I think you have shown that perfectly here. Great image.
May 12, 2014 at 7:26 pm
Thank you so much Leanne. I was almost embarrassed to say it was an iPhone photo at first. Maybe that’s why I forgot about it. It really is true what you so succinctly said…to let the image dictate our photos.
May 12, 2014 at 7:41 pm
LOVE it.
but you knew I would.
May 12, 2014 at 8:10 pm
I did! I even thought of you as I posted it lol. Thank you 🙂
May 12, 2014 at 9:55 pm
Great shot Laura. Maybe for the frontpage of a book or a movie 😀
May 13, 2014 at 6:27 am
Thank you Irene! Don’t I wish!
May 12, 2014 at 9:56 pm
well done.
May 13, 2014 at 6:27 am
Thanks much 🙂
May 12, 2014 at 11:09 pm
Cracking shot Laura, the light is very special and cries out for mono 😊
May 13, 2014 at 6:28 am
Thank you Mark! I love your accent. 😛
May 13, 2014 at 2:29 am
Nice
May 13, 2014 at 6:29 am
😀
May 13, 2014 at 4:34 am
Yes Laura, it ‘s those moments of magic that keep the photography addiction going. Great image for the challenge – amazing camera phone shot…you kept the verticals square to the horizon!
May 13, 2014 at 6:30 am
Thank you Robert. It really DOES keep the addiction going! It’s kind of like when you hit a hole in one or an eagle in golf. Anybody can golf like Tiger Woods once in awhile. 🙂
May 13, 2014 at 7:22 am
I agree – consistency is an oft overlooked aspect to artistry. I found this in college – everyone could get a great image once in a while, but few could hit the mark on a regular basis.
May 13, 2014 at 7:24 am
Makes total sense to me. I would say you hit the mark on a consistent basis. There are lots here who have a style and it’s easily recognizable. I think that’s the hallmark of an artist.
May 13, 2014 at 7:35 am
Thanks Laura – well, we never see each others “clunkers” – hey maybe that could be a challenge…post your clunker – a shot that you have rejected and see what others think…
May 13, 2014 at 7:53 am
I can see me analyzing my clunkers….which clunker is the best clunker. lol I kinda like that!
May 13, 2014 at 8:00 am
The never ending second guessing of yourself.
May 13, 2014 at 8:06 am
exactly! lol
May 13, 2014 at 5:31 am
Loving that geometry.
May 13, 2014 at 6:35 am
I used to love geometry in high school. It was the only math course I enjoyed. 🙂
May 13, 2014 at 6:32 am
…and to think that this incredible image came from your phone! Wow.
The composition, the lighting, the geometry of the windows, and the lines of the handrails leading you up…all perfect my dear friend. An award winner in my book 🙂
May 13, 2014 at 6:36 am
Thank you so much Dan! 🙂 I’m so glad I posted this one instead of the….well, nevermind. 😛
May 13, 2014 at 7:06 am
me too :-))
May 13, 2014 at 7:14 am
😛
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May 13, 2014 at 10:55 am
I recently purchased a framed & matted photo of a beautiful staircase in Prague. Suddenly it’s an obsession. I don’t know what it is about staircases, the geometry, the symbolism, the architecture, but every time I see one now I think “that’d be a cool picture”. I have a perfect wall on which to hang this one! Outstanding once again!
May 13, 2014 at 11:45 am
Thanks Carrie! I like staircases too and will have to look for more when I go out. I love the spiraly ones or the ones outside a building that zigzag down. They are nice wall hangings, aren’t they.
May 13, 2014 at 12:03 pm
A beautiful shot. It’s fun when a photo is easy to take and easy to process.
May 13, 2014 at 12:38 pm
Thank you David. 🙂
May 13, 2014 at 12:46 pm
Another cracking image Laura, it never ceases to amaze me how great shots can be taken with a phone. The mixture of light and darkness in wonderful. At first I was thinking about getting through the door into the light, but then you get sucked back into the image and wonder, what lies at the bottom of the stairs? Totally captivating 🙂
May 13, 2014 at 12:57 pm
Thank you so much for your wonderful comment. I love it when people describe how they feel looking at an image. I need to do more of that when I comment. 🙂
May 13, 2014 at 1:02 pm
Hah, don’t we all. I come across alot of images that I would like and think, ‘Thats a nice image’, but every now and again I see an image that draws me in, so I tend to keep my comments for those. You nailed it this week 🙂
May 13, 2014 at 1:07 pm
Yay thank you! :))))
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May 13, 2014 at 1:32 pm
wonderful light and shadow Laura. You are drawn upward to the light, literally and figuratively!! I love this kind of mood.
May 13, 2014 at 1:42 pm
Thank you! It’s my hormones 😛
May 13, 2014 at 1:44 pm
haha!! 😀 Bring on the hormones!!
May 13, 2014 at 1:45 pm
lol
May 13, 2014 at 2:14 pm
Right place. Right time. Got to love it when it all comes together like that.
May 13, 2014 at 2:45 pm
That’s what I thought too….there’s that synchronicity again!
May 13, 2014 at 2:45 pm
🙂
May 13, 2014 at 2:16 pm
Light really does make all the difference. Laura, this is just beautiful. You’ve transformed the ordinary into a work of art just by capturing the light. Love it.
May 13, 2014 at 2:45 pm
Thank you so much, Betty. 🙂
May 13, 2014 at 2:35 pm
We paint with light Laura! I took while processing mine this week as I wanted to remove some background distractions but there are some photos that barely need any adjustment at all. I love both these aspects of photography!
May 13, 2014 at 2:50 pm
Same here Sarah!
May 13, 2014 at 3:03 pm
😀
May 13, 2014 at 3:27 pm
I am always amazed when such a beautiful image is taken on …gasp…an iPhone. Excellent decision to go monotone. Very nice Laura.
May 13, 2014 at 3:48 pm
Thanks so much Beth. Is the gasp because you’re on an Android? lol
May 30, 2014 at 8:23 pm
Sorry to take so long to reply, but it worse than that, I don’t own a cell phone. lol
May 30, 2014 at 8:40 pm
Whaaaaaa???
May 30, 2014 at 8:54 pm
I know there are only a few of us left from the stone age but we wear it proudly…lol
May 30, 2014 at 9:07 pm
Hehe oh ok. I’ve always admired relics 😜
May 30, 2014 at 9:11 pm
Me too. Hehe…
May 30, 2014 at 9:13 pm
❤️
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May 13, 2014 at 9:46 pm
Nice contrasts in this architectural photo. Works great as B&W.
May 13, 2014 at 10:07 pm
Thank you Cardinal. 🙂
May 14, 2014 at 7:50 am
Superb image Laura! I love it!
May 14, 2014 at 7:52 am
Thanks so much Robyn 🙂
May 14, 2014 at 9:50 am
Fantastic shot Laura. Love it!
May 14, 2014 at 9:53 am
Thank you!
May 15, 2014 at 10:01 am
Reblogged this on rebloggobbler.
May 15, 2014 at 7:08 pm
Great light and creepy mood, love it.
May 15, 2014 at 9:07 pm
Thank you :). I’m laughing because the son Creep just came on!
May 15, 2014 at 9:07 pm
Song not son lol