Black and white image of woodpecker with red head
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: Into the #Black

Welcome to the Sunday Stills monthly color challenge! To acknowledge the month of October and the Halloween season, I thought we could explore various subjects that feature the color black. Images in black and white and monochrome are also encouraged but not required.

“To see in color is a delight for the eye, but to see in black and white is a delight for the soul.” – Andri Cauldwell

Out of the Blue and Into the Black

“October Country…That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay.” ­–Ray Bradbury

October night skies put on a great show with supermoons and other cosmic phenomena.

moon
October’s Hunter/Harvest Moon

Looking up at the dreamy Northern Lights.

night sky
Aurora, Winthrop, WA

Another Space-Ex Satellite launch seen over San Diego skies.

Space EX launch
Image courtesy of my daughter
Got moonshine?

Don’t forget the moonshine! 😊

Yellowstone’s Black and White Perspectives

I recently shared images of our first-ever trip to Yellowstone National Park in its Autumn glory, showcasing its orange and golden hues. I edited these photos and converted them to black and white.

bison herd
Bison Herd
geyser black and white
Old Faithful Geyser

“Black and white creates a strange dreamscape that color never can.” – Jack Antonoff

My brother snapped this image of their early morning walk to Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Springs. No editing necessary for its monochrome hue and dreamy quality.

boardwalk yellowstone
Image courtesy of my brother
Mammoth Hot Springs

Yellowstone’s Mammoth Hot Springs’ otherworldly landscape also appears in monochrome.

“Dare to live the life you’ve dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Season for Black Decor

“You can have any color, as long as it’s black.” – Henry Ford

The season of Autumn and Halloween officially kicks off my need for over-the-top home decorating, which lasts well beyond Christmas. We stopped at an antique store in Bozeman, Montana, where I found this moose and tree candleholder. I added the wooden figures and pumpkins.

seasonal table decoration
Dining Table Decor
Harvest decor

Even the birds are decked out in shades of black and white.

There were plenty of Canada Geese dreamily floating on Lake Spokane, seen during this week’s walk along our local Centennial Trail.

geese

This raven (seen at a dining spot in Yellowstone) acted tame, so people would throw it scraps from their lunches. It was successful.

raven
Yellowstone Raven
gray swatch

Inspiring Photo Challenges This Week

Each week, I find additional inspiration from my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I enjoy incorporating these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes.

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post. Please use your own original images, whether new or from your archives.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently from mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link to a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

If you are participating in the photo challenge, I look forward to seeing how you interpret this week’s theme! Creativity is encouraged, so please share your own photographs (old or new), poems, original short stories, and music inspired by the theme.

I can’t wait to see how you interpret the various shades of BLACK (and/or black-and-white) this week! You can also share monochrome and desaturated images, and creative filters are encouraged.

Join me next week as we explore Autumn (and Spring) Plant Life. And if you haven’t yet, please visit my new challenge, The Flower Hour Photo Challenge

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118 comments

  2. of course I love your Yellowstone images. Especially the mammoth. The aurora was fascinating to see. They are much like snowflakes, aren’t they? And every second changing. But my favorite is your super moon and how it appears to be hugged by the tree. .

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  18. What a great find in that antique store, Terri. Would you happen to know how old the candle holder is? I can see it’s going to last well past Halloween and beyond Christmas, given the fir trees and mooses. I often look for vintage Christmas items, but some of it is priced well beyond my price range. If only I’d kept some of the Christmas decor from my childhood days.

    The moon capture is excellent, sitting on that tree branch. You would have had another great capture if you’d had it hanging from the same branch.

    Have a great week.

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    • Thank you, Hugh, it’s great to see you back! That moon moved so fast I was lucky to get the shot.
      I bought the candle holder at an antique store but no idea of its age. Its very sturdy and the moose are overlaid in wood. I paid a whopping $35! I can leave it up all year with seasonal colored candles.
      Glad you’re back to the blog world. Hope you had a great break!

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  30. I like your collection of photos for the black-and-white challenge Terri – my favorites are the woodpecker, the moon and the Aurora shots. That is some moon balanced out there on the branch! The Aurora is in festive Christmas colors in the night sky. I like the harvest decor as well. I haven’t put anything out yet – I had better get going on it. For me, once the weather turned coolish (thankfully), I’ve been getting out and walking as much as possible. Today I came home from walking and did some outside painting – just perfect weather for that. For my post, I combined a few old B&W shots of moi, plus a creature that is black and white. A skunk? A zebra? I will keep you guessing ’til it posts at 11:00 p.m.

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    • Thank you, Linda! The moon was a fun catch. I would like to see woodpeckers here. That one was from Sacramento. We get the Northern Flickers here all winter but they’re not as woodpeckery 😁. I’ll have to remember my aurora shots for my December clr theme.
      I’m glad you’re out walking, it rained here all weekend. I walked on the trail on Thursday, our last 80 degree day of this year. Can’t wait to read your post!

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      • I like when people capture the moon or the sun in a sunset in fun pictures. I’ve seen people take a picture making it look like they are holding the sun in their hands. We have Flickers, but I hear them more than I see them. We have rain for four days at the weekend and into next week. Since we have a nice week this week through Friday, I’ll get every mile I can for now.

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  34. Thank you, Joe! I just replied to Tina who lives on Kiahwah Island and never sees auroras. Glad to help. 😁 2024 was a bonanza for auroras, this year, sightings here have been a bust.
    I chuckled at your road story and the raven! He was probably hoping for some food. Glad you were rescued. Nice shot!!

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  35. Terri,

    Your Northern Lights picture is a “10.” I’ve never seen them, so thanks! Black and white photography is fun, but getting it right is tricky. You did very well. Your raven reminded me of a picture I took during a camping trip in our mountains. I got trapped on a road in a windstorm, and there was no one but me and a raven on the road. Eventually two mountain men with a chainsaw rescued me before the raven said “Nevermore.” Have a great week! Joe

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  36. You know I’m insanely jealous of your northern lights Terri – your images are the only way I see them! Also loved your brother’s and daughter’s images this week – quite a family affair! Nicely done.

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    • Thank you, Tina! I’m glad we had several sightings last year. Bust for me this year. I have enough images to last forever. One day I’ll see them in Finland or northern Canada. I also hadn’t planned to share both family pics, but “dreamy” defined the misty Yellowstone pic. Fun themes this week!

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  42. Beautiful photographs! That Hunter’s Moon was awesome! Your moose candle holder was a great purchase. I love it with the orange candles. Beautifully done.
    The monochromatic Yellowstone shots are fabulous.
    Happy Fall!

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  47. I love the quote from Andri Cauldwell… what a marvelous perspective. The soul has its own color palette probably unique to each person too.

    Wonderful and skillful photos. I enjoyed the photo of Old Faithful and many thanks to your brother. I see that photography talents run in the family…what a fantastic photo of the Prismatic Springs….magical!

    And as I may have mentioned a time or two, it gladdens my heart to see Canada geese wherever they roam. I loved seeing them in a leisurely swim at Lake Spokane. Thank you, Terri, for the challenge and inspiration.

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