“Use your imagination”, said Jude, “and hurry up about it!” She can be very bossy, but I’m trying to be obliging because the lady is stressed. Moving to the place of your dreams after years of wishing and hoping… well, it has its challenges.
So I took my imagination to a beautiful garden, and tried to turn it into Monochrome. But I couldn’t live without a splash of colour.
It seems quite wicked to rob these beauties of the colours with which nature endowed them. Sigh! The things you have to do for a friend. If I’m going to mess with Mother Nature, I might as well enjoy myself. This little cyclamen is my favourite.
How about you- do you like Monochrome? Hurry over to Jude’s place! The challenge only runs till the end of February.
restlessjo 
These are lovelies, Jo! I understand that sometimes with monochrome, we miss the presence of vibrant colors..especially for those lovely flowers 🙂
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I can rarely convince myself that the monochrome is better than the original, but I’m game to try, Indah 🙂
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I like the cylamen too but my favourite are the palms – they look quite ethereal…
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That’s a favourite, Suzanne! Former times… and all that 🙂 Happy weekend, hon, wherever you’ve landed!
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When you submit to the yoke, you do it with bells on! Not just one, but a diverse pile. You’ve defined monochrome for me with this lot. I wouldn’t have expected the first one to work, but it does. And the individual flowers look beautifully dense. A great post in the midst of household crises – hot water and biocycle – and iPad crises – where’s blogsy? Where’s Pages? Where’s my banking app? Thank you.
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Oh bless! I was going to pop in and ask how it’s going but perhaps not… 😦 I wouldn’t know where to start. Just have to stick to blogging 🙂
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I like the monochrome ones, but I know it’s hard to change a colour photo to black and white. 🙂
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I’m no expert and usually opt for the lazy way, Susan. 🙂
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Generell mag ich Monochrome nicht. Ich mag schwarz/weiss Aufnahmen mehr. Allerdings gibt es einzelne Sujets, bei denen Monochrome passen könnte. Hab eine gute Zeit Jo… 🙂
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Danke, Ernst 🙂 🙂
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there is a special elegance in monochrome.
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Glad you like it, Kathe 🙂
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What a fun post, Jo. I enjoy reading it and seeing all the wonderful photos. I like the color one more in the last two photos. I am kind of getting lost in the other one, didn’t know where to focus my eyes on. Maybe I am just the person who needs a clear direction 😉
Have a wonderful day.
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When I was playing about, trying to make something interesting for Jude, I created that last shot and I really loved it, Helen. 🙂 I’m not good at black and white images, though I quite like to look at them. Thank you, and to you too!
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Everybody photo is a treat.
Love your monochrome, of course , but adore all the other shots!
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I meant”every photo”, actually….
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I just like to play, and to make people smile, Anna. 🙂 It’s a better world that way. Thanks, darlin’!
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The opening shot is gorgeous Jo!! I’m loving B&W these days ~
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Well, you use it very well in charcoal, Mary 🙂 Thanks a lot!
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Hi Jo,
Great pictures. Sometimes monochrome really is better. I use it very rarely. It depends on the subject/motif, like here: http://tinyurl.com/jlq94zk
Have a great day,
Pit
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Thanks for your input, Pit! 🙂 Hope you’re having a good week.
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You’re welcome, Jo. 🙂 And yes, my week has been good.
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beautiful pictures Jo, colored or b/w! love what you do for a friend! that is what friendship/love is all about! 🙂
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You’re so easy to please, LolaWi! You have the nicest nature 🙂
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Great pictures, Jo! I like monochrome, but maybe not for nature, I don’t like stealing it colors! Monochrome suits for some ancient buildings, faces, some scenes, but not for nature! It’s only my opinion!
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I agree with you, Ann 🙂 Thanks, hon.
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OK. First of all I will say a BIG thank you for joining in with the monochrome challenge even if it does go against your beliefs and you do it so
grudginglywillingly 😀 If you read the rules properly (I know, rules are there to be broken, as you do all so easily…) I do say garden RELATED – it does not have to be flowers at all. Gilly gave me a view, Elaine gave me terracotta pots so you see you didn’t have to sacrifice the flowers for me. Anyway…I love the sepia first image, I get a feeling of mist from it, don’t quite know why, and the clematis and the japanese anemone have very defined centres, but if you compare your last two photos of the cyclamen you’ll see what I am trying to get at ( I know I am very trying, sigh… ) with the whole monochrome thing. In the left image (sepia) the pattern of the leaves strike you straight away, whereas in the coloured image (beautifully done I might add), the colour of the flower dominates. So I guess it really does depend on what you want the image to say to you. ❤ ❤ ❤
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So you’re saying this could just as easily be a bench challenge? I think I still have a few somewhere 🙂 🙂
I love that first one too, but I prefer it in colour because there is just a tinge of yellow in the palm tops that lifts the whole thing. But it does seem to have an other worldly thing going on, which I rather like. It’s a tiny, delightful garden in Loule. I’ll take you there sometime (distant future, I guess 🙂 🙂 ) And yes, I do take your point about the contrast and stuff. Truth is I like both of those last two images equally and couldn’t leave little miss naughty out. 🙂 And I only set out to cheer you up anyway. Beam! 🙂 🙂
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Well it worked 🙂 And I am feeling much more cheerful now having sorted out a charity to collect furniture we no longer require, bought a cobweb brush (don’t ask) posted our letter to terminate our rental contract. Scary. Now we HAVE to be out by the end of March…
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Excellent – glad you’ve got that furniture sorted out! And nothing like a date to concentrate the mind….
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And lists! 🙂
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Indeed!
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Yay! 🙂 I’m just back from a celebration meal for Dad’s 88th tomorrow. He’s going for a cataract operation on the day so we celebrated early.
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Oh, hope it goes well for him.
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Should be fine. His driving can’t get any more erratic! 🙂 Your garden challenge is going great guns. You must be almost sorry you started it when you did. But it’s probably a welcome distraction. You’ll be moved before you know it, Jude. 🙂
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Hope so Jo. Be good to settle at last. I am neglecting other blogs (my own included) but trying to keep up with the garden challenge. It is a bit of light relief. Away for the weekend so you won’t have me nagging you 😉
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Back to Cornwall? Travel safe! 🙂
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Ah, Jo, good effort! Jude has been rebuking me, too! What to do, when I know she’s stressed and means well….
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I need all the friends I can get at the moment. I am not enjoying this moving lark at all. But I am sleeping better as I am exhausted by the end of the day!
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Well, I guess that’s one bonus then! Nothing like a god night’s sleep… Anyway, hope you have time to see my monochrome effort in between boxes! 😉
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No more boxes until I get rid of a few. We don’t seem to have the space here to store packed boxes. I guess in the flat it was all on one floor, so we just used one room. Here we have 3 floors – not so easy.
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Ouch
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Group hug needed, Sue 🙂
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What a good idea!
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Of course I prefer to see the color of the flowers, but that first photo is amazing, Jo!
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It does have quite a good atmosphere, I think, Jill. Love to have your company, as always. 🙂
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I’m definitely in favour of colour for flowers, but I love the first image. I feel if I could scroll down it further I would find elegant ladies with parasols and gentleman in boater hats!
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You would! I felt a bit like that too, Anabel. A very elegant small garden in Loule in the Algarve. 🙂
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I thought that if the photo goddess had meant them to be black and white she would never have invented colour! Do like your first one though🤔
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Hooray! Me too 🙂 🙂
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I feel much the same about flowers in black and white, but when the monochrome isn’t grey, like yours I really like it. Anyway, well done you for meeting Judes tight deadlines, she’s a hard taks mistress!
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Awful woman! 🙂 I actually have another week to play with but I think I might have exhausted myself 🙂
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Now look here you two. You have had ALL month to produce something in monochrome for me and I am not taking any excuses. Still another week so no rush…
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Yes. Miss 😦
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😀 😀
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Do I recognise a monkey puzzle tree there? It looks very like the one I used for my monochrome post this week. 🙂 I think my favourite is the processed cyclamen – I love the colours.
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You must have missed that conversation I had with Jude, Elaine? I commented that I had one I’d used long ago and she demanded to see it. I try so hard to be obliging 🙂 🙂 I love the couloured cyclamen. I like effects just now and again.
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Demanded? I asked very politely. And it is nice to bring out old things occasionally to have another viewing. Ahem.
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Ah yes, sorry, I did read your comment fleetingly and then was going to come back to it – I have a very short memory at the moment. 😦 I’m still playing catch-up with all my blog and comment reading. 🙂
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Goodness me, you wild rule breaker!!
I love your first one in monochrome, Jo, and your last pink edit is also very appealing. I haven’t even got to the garden I want to visit this month. I’m hoping to put that right tomorrow…
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Hiya Debs! 🙂 I’m so ambivalent about these things. I change them and change them, and can’t make up my mind. Still, all in a good cause 🙂
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