THE MONO AWARDS!

My motto has always been: Wander – Explore – Discover. Now I did just that in late Autumn. I am only sharing this photo with you now, because this photo was entered in “The Mono Awards”. An annual competition for Black and White Photography. It has 3 categories: People, Places and Animals. I entered mine in Places. I have no idea how I am going yet as the winners are not announced until Mid-September. So with it being just weeks away now, I thought before the winners are announced, I would share my entry with you.

Now the photo I submitted was taken not far from a town called Littlehampton in the Adelaide Hills, in The Mount Lofty Ranges. I had never been there, so I went Exploring. I had seen many people post photos of this tunnel on FB from the outside looking in, because the trees do give a fantastic effect leading up and into the tunnel. This is especially the case in Autumn when the golden leaves can look absolutely awesome when captured at the right time. Unfortunately I was a little late but still got some good photos from the outside looking in.

Click on The Images below to see them enlarged

But I wanted to see what it looked like looking out of the tunnel rather than in. So I went for a wander into the tunnel. Now I know some of you must be asking “I hope there were no trains coming!” Well honestly I really didn’t know for sure, and didn’t check, but I was pretty certain there wouldn’t be, as this is the line used solely for The Steamranger Tourist Train on weekends. But I was keeping my ears open, and it was a weekday. Now the photo was originally taken in colour, and I was very happy with it.

Click on The Image below to see it enlarged

So when I was looking for the photo to submit to The Mono Awards I came across the photo you see above and then converted that to a B&W photo. I thought it looked a little better in Black and White.

Use the slider to compare Colour with B&W Photo

However the outside area of the tunnel looked very pale and a little washed out. So I started adjusting the blacks and midtones of the area outside of the tunnel, and a little bit of the contrast inside where you see the graffiti. Below is a Before and After Slider of the original B&W and the post edited version which was what was finally entered into the competition.

*Use the slider below from left to right to see the before and after effects*

I named it: “Out Of One Tunnel. Into Another.” I am quite pleased with this photo, and am very happy with the process of getting it from the original to final photo. I have no idea how it will fare in the judging of the competition. I should know by the end of September, and when I find out I will let you know.

Click on The Image below to see it enlarged