'gioco di piume e ombre' by macribabuder

gioco di piume e ombre, a photo by macribabuder on Flickr.

I think this is such a clever photo because it's a picture of something that is normally known - and loved - for it's amazing colours. The photographer has, however, stripped this peacock feather of it's colours and still managed to make it look beautiful. The black and white, the shadows and the shapes are all fascinating and rather dramatic. Great work.

'Lonely at the Big Top' by Little Piggies

Lonely at the Big Top, a photo by Little Piggies on Flickr.

Is it just me or is Halloween becoming a bigger and bigger event every year? I'm not complaining, I just find it fascinating how the shops are full with people shopping for pumpkins and spooky party accessories. The costumes are getting more and more elaborate as well. My daughter is excited about it being Halloween tomorrow but I'm not really sure why. I said we'd eat Halloween chocolates and make a spider cake though so I guess that's reason for a four year old to celebrate!

I've never taken part in trick or treating and always hope that no one will knock on my door demanding whatever it is kids demand at Halloween these days. I do however like the idea of doing organised trick or treating where are all the neighbours get together and decide which houses are going to take part. This is such a cute trick or treating photo. Nothing scary about this costume by the looks of it. I hope the little one got a huge bucket full of goodies!

'White Bouncy Castle' by stundenhotel

White Bouncy Castle, a photo by stundenhotel on Flickr.

How was your weekend? I hope you had a good one. Birthday season continued here for us as we were at another 4th birthday party this afternoon. I have realised over the past few weekends that bouncy castles really make me nervous. I am convinced that my daughter will get bounced out onto the ground or someone will jump on her and squash her. I think the fear probably stems from an accident I had an university though. Alcohol, a bouncy castle and a hard student union floor - that could only end in tears.

The bouncy castle in this picture however looks nice and big and safe. And from a photographic point of view this image is really eye-catching because bouncy castles are always so bright and colourful. It's interesting so see one in just black and white.

'Winter Benches!' by judo_dad1953

Winter Benches!, a photo by judo_dad1953 on Flickr.

Well, the weather forecast was correct and the snow is here! It's been snowing for a couple of hours now and although it's not coming down heavily I reckon there'll be a nice enough amount fallen by morning for my daughter to play in. The snow couldn't have come at a better time to be honest as we have absolutely no plans this weekend. Therefore tomorrow we can go out and have a play in the snow then come in and spend the rest of the say snuggled up with hot chocolate and DVDs. And by DVDs I mean The Chipmunks on repeat at that's what my daughter is obsessed by at the moment! I hope if you have snow you have a really fun snow day tomorrow and it doesn't cause you too much distruption.

This photo made me smile as I'm not imagining the snow here will get this deep. It does make me want to just dive in though never mind how cold it would be. Love the black and white, and the fact that this was taken at night makes it even more moody. Fingers crossed there'll be loads more lovely snowy photographs taken over the next few days that I can enjoy looking at and hopefully a I'll get to take a couple myself.

'The Visit' by gottanew1

The Visit, a photo by gottanew1 on Flickr.

This photo is amazing - so powerful. It's like a scene from a movie and I could spend ages just staring at it trying to work out what it's all about. It seems like a very sad picture to me. The title is interesting too. "The Visit" - who is visiting? Is he waiting for people people to arrive or watching them leave? I'd love to know what you make of it. What do you think it's all about?

'Disney - The Wonderful World of Color - In Black & White - Wishes (Explored)' by Express Monorail

Disney - The Wonderful World of Color - In Black & White - Wishes (Explored), a photo by Express Monorail on Flickr.

My husband and I love going to see an organised firework display on Fireworks Night. In fact we've pretty much been to one somewhere every year we've been together. However, this year my daughter's been saying for weeks how she hates fireworks and doesn't want to go. Fair enough I guess. The playing fields we usually go to see them at are very dark and for a little child could be very intimidating. She loved it the first year we went but last year she got all upset and we had to leave. Anyway, we respected her fears and stayed away tonight. So.... how come her and I spent the evening looking out of the window looking at the all the neighbours fireworks? And why after she went to bed was she still getting excited about them? Aparently she loves fireworks now! Oh well, roll on next year!

Here is a surprisingly stunning firework photo. I say surpising because you really wouldn't expect a black and white photo to be very interesting. Surely fireworks are all about the colours. However, this is excellent and the lack of colour makes it all the more striking. In fact I don't think this photo would have made nearly as much impact in colour.

Hope you've been having a nice (and safe) fireworks night.

'Butlers Wharf in Snow' by cybertect

Butlers Wharf in Snow, a photo by cybertect on Flickr.

Today my daughter and I took the train to London to meet up with a friend and her new(ish) little baby. It was a lovely day. It was warm and the sun was shining so we took a stroll by Tower Bridge before stopping for a bite to eat. It was great catching up as we'd not seen each other in absolutely ages. My little girl had a great time too. She though the baby was super cute. She also loved the long ride on the train and was perfectly behaved.

I didn't take any photos myself today but I thought I'd show you this one of where we walked today. It didn't however look quite like this today. This photo really captured my attention. I do like seeing pictures of well known places in the snow as unless you live or work close by you'll never get to see them like this. I am sure this was a pretty much a black and white scene to begin with but I think making this a black and white shot finishes it off perfectly.

'detective privé' by Thibaut Lafaye

detective privé, a photo by Thibaut Lafaye on Flickr.

I don't really feature many black and white photos on here, nor do I actually do much black and white photography myself. I do really like it though, perhaps it all started with the arty Athena posters of the 1990s - yes I had that famous man with baby poster on my wall. Seriously though, I think a black and white photo can be so powerful. This one for example had me staring at it for ages, so much so I just had to post it here. I'm not sure what it is about it exactly, I am just so intruiged by it and I almost feel like I am walking down that street myself. What do you think? Are you drawn to this picture and if so do tell me why?

'Untitled (365/306)' by JenniPenni

Untitled (365/306), originally uploaded by JenniPenni.

Right folks, I'm back properly now. I actually rather enjoyed a really short blogging break and now I'm very excited about finding some fantastic photos to show you in 2011.

As I said yesterday I hope you all had a great Christmas and have something nice planned for New Year's Eve. I must admit I had a fab Christmas. It was made extra special this year because my daughter was so excited by the whole thing. I think her favourite bit was the presents! I got some cool gifts too. My lovely husband got me a new compact camera as the one I carry around with me EVERYWHERE in my handbag is sadly getting worn out from serious over use. I've not really had much of a play with it yet as I've been using my larger camera over the holidays. I'm also feeling a bit sad for my old camera which has done me so proud over the past few years. However, I'm sure my guilt will wear off and I'll be showing you the results soon!

In the mean time here is a rather wonderful snowy photo I found today. It's so simple yet so effective. It's definitely another one of those images that seems to be silent and peaceful. I would love to know if the bike was that deep in snow or whether it was just taken at a clever angle. Great shot that's making me almost miss the snow.

'Beach Huts' by ant_sk

Beach Huts, originally uploaded by ant_sk.

As those of you who follow my blog will know I rather like beach huts. I'd love to have one of my own but as that's not going to happen I'll have to make do with looking at pretty pictures of them and taking a few pictures myself when the opportunity arises. One of the main reasons that beach hut photos are so fantastic is all the colours they come in... or so I though. It turns out the black and white shots can be just as fabulous.

I love this one. Even though the photo is black and white you can still see the mixture of colours in the huts. It's a powerful photo that makes them look like they are all lined up and ready for their guests to arrive and ready to give them a splendid time by the seaside.

'Old Pier - New Pier' by Andy C

Old Pier - New Pier, originally uploaded by Andy C - Brighton.

I am so in love with Brighton. I love both the piers as they are so interesting and really photogenic. The old West Pier has suffered such bad luck. Fires and storms have almost totally destroyed it but some how I think the more it crumbles the more interesting it becomes to photograph. It's very sad really. In total contrast Brighton Pier is full of life - night and day it's always busy.

I love how this photographer has managed to capture both the piers so brilliantly in one photo. Brighton Pier standing proud as West Pier shouts "hey, don't forget me, I'm wonderful too" in the background.

'Paris Metro' by Me

Paris Metro, originally uploaded by PhotoPuddle.

Due to lack of opportunities for nice photo sessions at the moment I have been digging around in my files and playing around with some old shots. I found a load of interesting photos I took in Paris a few years ago. Here is one of the Metro that has already had lots of positive feedback on Flickr since putting it up this afternoon. I hope you like it too.