Flirting with Spring, Flirting with Showers

I had a notion to go with colour today. I never have a rule but always choose whichever looks or feels best to my eye on the day. That's usually mono but I've just realised that on Sundays I far more often choose colour. I wonder what that is about?

What goes around surely comes around. After yesterday when I completely avoided all the showers, today they seemed to follow me on the bike. I could see bright bits around me but the heavy clouds were just sitting over me all the time! I got very wet. Fair enough I guess. I had it coming!

This shot was taken during one very brief lull in the rain. This is no longer a winter tree but a spring tree. It's some way behind a lot of trees in coming into bud but I rather like the way it's flecked with green, while still exhibiting its skeletal lines.

This morning I reviewed some of my shots from yesterday's ride and the cricket. I did a bit of processing on a shot I took of the match and rather fell in love with the result, which you can see here on my blipfolio. I'm now rather regretting not posting this as my blip as it's really a far better journal shot. I guess the reason I didn't even look at this last night is because it seemed to be a shot of this one match and of no particular interest to anybody else. However, given this kind of artistic treatment, to my eye at least, it has become a shot not of this one specific game but of every game of cricket. The mono treatment and the dramatic light and setting has stripped away the specific details to give it a much wider appeal. This here is the timelessness of cricket. But for that electronic scoreboard this could have been taken 50 or even 100 years ago.

You guys give me the most amazing feedback, and I'm woefully far behind in returning the compliment, but can I ask what you think of this cricket shot, especially those who have no interest in cricket. Does it just appeal to me because of my love of the game? Or does it have a wider appeal? I'm rather curious to know - especially as it strikes to the heart of why I think black and white photography is so engaging. Discussion to be continued ...