Joss and Main

I was delighted to see one of my black and white architectural photographs featured on the Joss and Main site.  Joss and Main presents very beautiful and functional home furnishings.  The following appeared on Joss and Main:
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DCI Studio

Curator's Collection

Featured on HGTV’s Battle on the Block and Designers’ Challenge, DCI Studio founder Phyllis Harbinger’s impeccable taste is informed by her globe-trotting spirit. An award-winning NCIDQ interior designer and practitioner of Feng Shui, the New York-based decor maven infuses her clients’ homes with stylish opulence and a luxe European air. Phyllis’s Art Deco collection, curated exclusively for Joss & Main, showcases her coveted aesthetic, boasting tufted headboards, vintage-inspired bedding, shimmering accent pillows, striking side tables, and more.

Here is my photograph:

Checkered Staircase

The Joy of Sharing

Part of the wonderful life of an artist is the ability to share with others who are passionate about art.  I was fortunate to speak at Brooklyn College's IRPE Life Lecture Series to a group of photography enthusiasts whose love of photography and art matches my own.  This communication among people who are deeply involved, whether as amateurs or professionals,  provides not only a joyful interaction, but the ability for me to improve my own photography by looking at my work through the eyes of deeply caring colleagues.

For a transcript of the talk go to http://www.ellenfisch.com/insights.html and click on The Art of Photography: How to Take Great Photos

Photographs courtesy of Brooklyn College IRPE Life Lecture Series Coordinator Madeleine Appell

Multiple Layers

Often, when I see something that catches my eye, or rather my camera's eye, I don't absorb other parts of the image.  An example of this might be the following.  Let's assume that you are presented with a beautiful flower.  You may not immediately notice the stem, leaves, wrapping paper.  The senses pick up the beauty of the flower first and then the other parts of the whole may be experienced as they are revealed to the eye.  Today, more than ever, our senses must filter an avalanche of perceptions.  We don't take in everything at once.  When I am photographing something that appeals to me, other parts of the image ofter appear when I really look at the "whole" in post production. 

The striking gold numbers on this glass doorway attracted my attention as I was walking in midtown Manhattan.  I took a few shots and then turned my focus on an elaborately ornamented building across the street.  When I carefully examined the gold number image on my computer screen, I saw so many other elements in the photograph.  These "finds" often make photography an unexpected and multilayered way of seeing.  www.ellenfisch.com

Art genre: sepia art architectural detail/ signage photograph

Complimentary decor: Traditional, Modern, Art Deco, Eclectic 

Photography tip: Carefully look for captured unexpected images in post production.  You may be surprised at the multiple layers of images you find in a single photograph!

 

Location: Midtown Manhattan

Brooklyn College Talk

--> When IRPE Coordinator Madeleine Appell approached me about speaking at Brooklyn College, I was delighted.  It is my great pleasure to participate as a speaker in the Brooklyn College IRPE Intellectual Life Series.  I earned my B.A. at Brooklyn College where I learned the fundamentals of photography, architecture and art.  As a proud alumnus, I return to speak at the College on Tuesday, November 13.  My topic is The Art of Photography: Getting the Great Photograph which can be seen on my web site under Insights.  Information on IRPE and my talk also appears on my site under Seminars & Workshops. wwwiellenfisch.com

Brooklyn College

Contrasts Provide Interest

One of the key, if not THE KEY, ingredient in any visual is keeping the viewer interested.  A photographer would hope that when you look at his/ her photograph your eye travels around the composition, lingering on details and taking another look at the whole.  One way to keep it interesting is to provide contrasts.  It is critical to offer the viewer enough variety to engross the eye, but not so much that the senses are overloaded.  This image, taken on 5th Avenue, contrasts an ornamented building with the sky.  Each element has its own contrasts: the sky has bands of clouds and the building's brickwork is juxtaposed with windows; stone bands; and floral stone embellishments.  While the photograph seems to be divided into two distinct verticals, the horozontals allow the eye to "read" the image fluidly. www.ellenfisch.com

Corner on 5th

Art genre: Black & White art architectural detail photograph

Complimentary decor: Victorian, Traditional, Art Nouveau, 

Photography tip: The eye has been taught, in Western culture, to travel in horizontals, such as reading text.  If you want to "divide" your photograph into parts as this image is divided into verticals, make sure that there are horizontal references that carry the eye across the photograph.

 

Location: Fifth Avenue, NYC

Watchers

You see them in most major cities that have history.  They watch as newer construction takes place.  Often today the builders do not include the ornamentations of yesteryear.   Hopefully, these watchers will spark recollection of our past and the glories that lay within the work of artisans and builders who paused to include personality in structures.  Modern construction also has its watchers; its marvels and its greatness.  But look we should look to the watchers of the past as we forge the future.
www.ellenfisch.com

Art genre: Sepia art architectural detail photograph

Complimentary decor: Any

Photography tip: Squares of window reflections in the lower half of this photograph provide depth to the composition.  Various shapes and highlights further the interest in the reflections.

 

Location: Fifth Avenue, NYC

Breaking the Rules

Sometimes I break the rules.  In each photograph, I try to devise an interesting composition.  Photographs are essentially ways in which I can express what I see and my interaction with my focus.  Usually, I am drawn to architecture and architectural details that reflect times when artisans left their mark.  Modern architecture is beautiful in its way, too: however, I am frequently fascinated by the older structures and their embellishments.  Recently I was with a friend in a space that has soaring modernistic forms.  I loved the fluid shapes as they ascended to the top orb of light.
 
In post production, I try to adhere to the rule of thirds: each area of the grid must have varying values.  Here, there is one allotment devoted to the darkest dark. I think it works.  After all, the surprise element also keeps the eye moving around in the image.  That is the optimal for any creative work.

Art genre: Sepia art photograph

Complimentary decor: Modern, Eclectic, Contemporary

Photography tip: Try for the rule of thirds, but occasionally break it.

Location: Chelsea, NYC