The Lure of Black & White_3

This picture, after an ice storm, was done with my Hasselblad. Confession: I was out shooting "weather pictures" for the newspaper, but since I had only just purchased my Hassy, I brought it along with a tripod. We are talking about "one for me, and one for the company" again! I have no recollection of what I shot for the paper, but this image in permanently burned into my optic nerve.  It took the ice, this amazing tree, and a beautiful stone house here in Sea Cliff to make this image…

The Lure of Black & White - 2

So this is day two of my extended B&W Challenge. This photograph is another one from the series "The Architecture of Despair." This is building 93 at Kings Park Psychiatric Center. I shot this with a 4x5 View Camera. The value of this camera is that it can make corrections for perspective - in this case I am looking up at this really tall building, and yet it doesn't look like it is leaning backwards, because I have adjusted the camera to compensate. The purpose of this photograph is to show the incredible size of this building, and the number of rooms. It is just scary to look at. There were still patients in the building, although it was nearly empty. While I was photographing, I could hear screams from within the building, from some of the patients. Be sure and click on it to see a larger version of the photograph.

The Lure of Black & White - 1

Over on Facebook two people asked if I could continue to post some more of my black & white images, now that the Black & White Challenge is over.  A landslide vote!  OK, so I will post another week's worth of some of my old B&W photographs.  I had always wanted to own a Hasselblad, but they were pretty expensive.  In 1980 I finally bought a used one and began looking for square pictures.  The 2 1/4 by 2 1/4 black & white negatives are four times the area of a 35mm frame.  The fine detail that is visible in the finished prints is astounding in comparison.  So this is a photograph of a corner of my grandfather's barn, in Guilford, Connecticut. The photograph is about the beauty of the textures of the weathered wood and stone.  It may be a more subtle photograph than some of my other landscapes.  I would love to know what you think.

Armistice Day

I was on the way to an appointment this afternoon and was running late, when I spotted this house while at a stop sign.  I thought "I can come back later" and then realized the folly of my thinking.  Shoot it now, or it is gone forever.  So I did.  I love the beauty of this giant flag, displayed in honor of Veterans Day.  When I was a kid, the day was known as "Armistice Day," and I remember that because it was my grandmother's birthday.  Armistice day was declared on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.  It commemorated the end of World War I.  In 1954 it was renamed Veterans day, which celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving.  So my question is which of these two photographs do you like best.  I like the top photograph best, even though the flag is not as large. Something about the context of showing the whole house seems to make it more interesting.

The B&W Challenge - Bonus Image

The B&W Challenge is all done, but I have one other photograph that I want to post. Think of it as a "Bonus Image." I have always been fascinated by all the abandoned mental hospitals that were on Long Island, so twenty years ago I proposed a photo essay which an editor friend called "The Architecture of Despair." (Thanks Ridgely!) So I shot the whole series with a 4x5 view camera in black & white. I had to fight tooth and nail to be able to shoot B&W. The big deal editor wanted it shot in color, so I ended up shooting both. The cover ran in color, and all the inside photographs, fortunately, ran in black & white.

Day 5 - The Black & White Challenge

Day 5 of the B&W Challenge. About 10 years ago I got a freelance assignment from SONY to take some beautiful landscape photographs, anywhere in the United States I wanted to go. They sent me two cameras, and a whole box of lenses. Only problem was that it was February! So I chose California. I contacted an astronomer that I knew in California, who I knew was an outdoor guy to ask for suggestions. He said that I HAD to stop at Montana de Oro State Park. He was absolutely right, and this is where I took the best photograph from the whole week-long trip!

Day 4 - The Black & White Challenge

This is an aerial photograph I took back in the late 1960's. I think I was doing some photographs for the newspaper after a snowstorm, and of course, while flying around I was looking for other, more artful things. You know "One for me, and one for the company!" I really love doing aerial photography because it gives us an entirely different view of the world we live in.  The world can be a magical place from 500 feet.