Tuesday, August 26, 2014

The Art of Architectural Photography 8-26-2014

I am pleased and honored to be hosting a webinar for Tiffen Dfx tomorrow, Wednesday August 27, 2014 at 12 PM est.






For more information please visit:
http://www.tiffensoftware.com/tutorials/webinars

Saturday, August 16, 2014

The Art of Architectural Photography 8-16-2014

Light is integral to all visuals.  And light is the basic component of photography.  Yet light is elusive, mysterious, not easy to grasp either figuratively or literally.  Light is beautiful in its power and its ability to unify.  It is decorative, illuminating and creative.  Light can be harsh or soft; blinding or guiding; relevant or discordant.  As a photographer light is my adversary, my friend and my teacher.

On a recent trip to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, I was gifted with a day of varying light patterns.  The day started out cloudy.  Often a cloudy day provides the "best" conditions during which to photograph outdoors because there is no glare. My day then became gloriously sunny giving me a chance to shoot shafts of sunlight sifting through leaves and creating shapes on walkways.  Still later, humidity caused my lens to occasionally fog up.  (Not necessarily a bad thing, fog, if used to its advantage as a diffuser.)  The different lighting options gave me natural lighting opportunities to hone in on some macro photography I had been wanting to do.  Later, I enjoyed walking on the dappled sun/shade paths the Gardens offer.  All was lush and dense with summer's greenery and flowers.  Each lighting scenario accentuated the colors and forms.

In every season and weather, I always love looking at the natural plantings in the Gardens.  And I am delighted with the way that the architecture of the buildings complements these beautiful plantings.  Interiors and exteriors feature lovely augmentations to the gardens.  The art deco lobby I visited that day in one of the BBG's central buildings brought forth the memories I have of Brooklyn when deco abounded.  The style was extremely popular throughout the middle decades of the twentieth century and I grew up seeing art deco detailing in numerous buildings all over NYC.  It is a marvelously adaptive design palette that emphasizes light and all of its characteristics.  The forms and lines of art deco attract and appreciate every light perogative.  It is especially enchanting to see art deco shapes of light echoing, enhancing and creating design as they are admitted through the wonderful glass deco door panels.  

 Black and white architectural photography: Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, Brooklyn NYC

To learn more about light visit:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/light.htm
http://www.starlight2007.net/pdf/proceedings/CesarPortela.pdf
http://www.physicsinsights.org/interference_1.html

Monday, August 11, 2014

The Art of Architectural Photography 8-11-2014

As previously mentioned: nature is the great architect.  Molding, building, sculpting and shaping nature creates our universe.  It is from nature that many architects derive their inspiration.  Occasionally nature is glorified by the setting aside lands for the specific purpose of enjoying the majesty that nature seemingly offers effortlessly. 

One such natural place is the Flume Gorge in Lincoln, NH.  Here, a wonderful pathway created from natural wooded walkways and stairs allows visitors to follow the passage that nature creates with water, trees, vegetation and rock.  This natural marvel is for hiking, reflecting and observing nature.  There are also natural locations where humans have utilized nature's instruction to benefit commercial projects.  The Panama Canal is one such undertaking that used natural resource as a platform for architecture and building.  Whatever the case, nature in its genius for construction freely shares knowledge that we may use to better our own creations.

Sepia architectural photography: Lincoln, NH

For more information please visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flume_Gorge
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/22/travel/frugal-traveler-misty-about-niagara-falls.html
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/panama-canal

Sunday, August 3, 2014

The Art of Architectural Photography 8-3-2014

Light and its mannerisms play a most significant part in taking a photograph and the subsequent look of the image.  Further, light appeals to our emotions.  The way that light plays on a subject can trigger different responses from viewers to photographs.  For example, a harshly lit image may cause the viewer to feel repelled or excited by the photograph.  On the other hand, a softly lit scene may appear romantic or induce a sensation of calm.

There are few scenes that can elicit the melting moment of the magic hour after a rain in the bucolic countryside.  Recently I had the pleasure of seeing such a sight from the porch of an old inn in New Hampshire.  The emotions of peace and pleasure came to mind as I snapped the shutter on the fleeting scene that the light, time of day, setting and architecture had conspired to produce.

Sepia architectural photograph: Whitefield, NH

For more about light and its effects in photography and painting visit:
http://www.edwardhopper.net/
http://www.adammarelliphoto.com/2011/05/robert-mapplethorpe/
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/natural-light-photography.htm