there was a time when i didn't understand why someone would want to 'add noise' to an image when as photographers, noise is a thing we're usually anxious to avoid.. but then i began using grain and texture a lot and found it became for me a very important & expressive tool to convey emotions and suggest the rawness of a feeling.. i guess like the brushstrokes of our thoughts and our hearts...

please feel free to add your work which uses texture to express emotion in this way :-)

i've noticed a lot of beautiful images here that have been framed in a style as to make terrific art posters.. having always been a lover of posters like this i thought a group theme to collect these stylish creations made by TL members would be fun :-)

please feel free to add your 'posters' here! ^_^

a celebration of black & white photography that pays homage to the style and essence of Film Noir.. that dark, moody, sensual, mysterious & shadow filled world that inspired a great iconic genre

i've seen many great posts on TL that have this 'essence of Noir' so please feel free to add yours to the theme! if you don't.. i might sneak up on you like a silver screen femme fatale and do it for you!! ihih :-))

"Along the hallways of my thought, As if at home, there prowls a cat, A strong, sweet, charming, splendid cat. He mews: the sound is barely caught, So soft and diffident its tone. Cries of contentment or complaint, A throaty resonance contain, A charm, a secret of their own" - Charles Baudelaire

i love the color purple in all it's glorious hues.. it can be bold, rich, vibrant and strong & subtle, simple, peaceful and soft all at once.. it's perhaps these later qualities that i love the most.. however stressed, disressed or in turmoil i feel, when i see the gentle beauty of a purple haze or an amethyst sky.. all seems right with the world again...

if the eyes are the windows of the soul.. then the face with it's myriad of story-telling expressions.. sometimes transparent as glass through a spontaneous smile or hard as stone that guards the spirit within.. these are the walls...