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Lensculture Posts BSG’s Niagara from Thousands of Worldwide Images
Niagara, Barry Steven Greff
is one of the largest destinations for curated, contemporary photography from around the world. Will Coldwell, writing in The Independent in 2013, described LensCulture as one of the ten best photography websites, calling it a “definitive resource for anyone who wants to keep up with the latest trends and debates in contemporary photography.”[4] Critic Sean O’Hagan, writing in The Guardian in 2012, listed it among the eight best photography websites or online publications, calling it “one of the most authoritative and wide-ranging sites.”[5]
Barry Steven Greff’s Niagara has been selected by Lenscultures’ editors to be featured in their Black & White Photography Awards 2019 Competition Gallery, visible to everyone who visits the website. “The Competition Gallery is a highly curated group of images selected by our editors to showcase only the best photos from entrants who are creating very strong work among our global community of photographers. This is an impressive accomplishment considering we get thousands of submissions from 160 countries.”
– WTC TRILOGY – WE SHALL NEVER FORGET – NEW YORK CITY –
Usually a Straight Shooter, Sometimes, my Imagination Runs Wild.
Fantasy Island, Many Locations, Over Many Years
I am primarily a straight shooter, I try to capture what I see. There is often some type of post-production required, but again, with my subjects being natural, I try to keep them that way.
Every once in a while, I have been known to create something that I saw, but only in my mind’s eye. Case in point, Fantasy Island. A composite image of various portions of many different images I have created that come together in an M.C. Escher..esque type fantasy. Taken over many years in places from Niagara Falls to Carlsbad, California, an Oregon lake to a waterfall in Boulder, Colorado and many more. Following the image around, water flows down then up again, there is a full moon, yet lightning strikes in the distance. Horseback riders on a Washington State beach, mystic lake boaters and even a Roseate Spoonbill from the Florida Everglades flying across the scene.
Taken together, this an example of how the overly creative side of my mind works. The black and white helps produce the seamless nature of the composition, the rest of it, I can’t really explain…it just happens.
The Unpredictability of Mother Nature / Unexpected Snow
Wikipedia defines snow as “forms of ice crystals that precipitate from the atmosphere (usually from clouds) and undergo changes on the Earth’s surface. It pertains to frozen crystalline water throughout its life cycle, starting when, under suitable conditions, the ice crystals form in Row Boat in Snow Storm, Colorado 2010
the atmosphere, increase to millimeter size, precipitate and accumulate on surfaces, then metamorphose in place, and ultimately melt, slide or sublimate away.” To me, it’s magical from a photographic point of view. The scene above occurred in June after an unexpected, instantaneous snow storm that began and ended within an hour on an otherwise sunny spring day, a couple of weeks before summer. I used a tripod held camera from under a covered tree so as not to get everything wet.
- Momentary Blizzard, OH 2013
The scene above also took place without a moments notice. One minute it was clear as day, the next minute brought blizzard conditions, and then it was clear again. Due to the instantaneous nature of the event, this was shot through a car window that had to be opened and closed quickly due to the power of the momentary storm.
Prone Grey Wolf in Snow, West Yellowstone, MT 2010
Finally, a few years back I was shooting wolves in West Yellowstone just outside the National Park. I had spent a good part of the day trying to capture iconic images of these beautiful animals. As luck would have it, just before i packed up my gear, it began to snow. Clearly not concerned by the sudden change in weather, this Grey Wolf laid down in the wide open for a rest, always mindful of his surroundings and I captured this image as he peaked out through the falling snowflakes. Again, a tripod mounted camera with a 400mm lens, shot from under cover and protected from the subject.
Just goes to show that you should always expect the unexpected and that anything worthwhile…. is worth waiting for.
Cityscapes – Lights, Camera, Action…
Although the majority of my work tends to be of the natural world, I also have an affinity for creating images in urban spaces, particularly big cities such as New York and Chicago. The combination of architecture, artificial lighting and constant movement creates a multitude of
Times Square Cab and Kiss, NYC, New York, 2013
photographic opportunities. The image above was one that I first formulated in my mind’s eye. Dodging rain drops, once the traffic light changed allowing cabs to pass in front of me in the middle of Times Square, I moved my tripod out from under cover. A slightly slower shutter speed caught the cab’s motion while still being fast enough to freeze the surrounding people and constantly changing, brightly lit signs. An extra bonus in this image is in the lower left corner, just behind the cab’s rear window, a couple kissing under an umbrella waiting for the light to change.
Rush Hour, Grand Central Station, NYC, New York, 2009
Again, pre-conceiving the image, I set my tripod up on the upper level concourse of Grand Central Station. Using a slow shutter speed I captured the rush of people heading to and from their trains while others stand and wait for theirs. The classic architecture and subject called for a Black and White image here. 400 year old Fine Art paper maker, Hahnemuhle must have agreed when they used it to show off their product at the Photo Expo Plus in New York City.
Don’t Let the Lights Go Out on Broadway, NYC, 2012
This image was the result of an opportunity that arose while I was shooting in Times Square with a tripod fixated on the usual nightly action. Upon spotting this scene I quickly swung my camera around and caught this image of an electrician maintaining the antique street light posts that run up and down Broadway and 7th Avenue. Juxtaposed against the massive, modern, brightly lit digital video screens, these small, classic covered lights, atop antique poles, maintain the charm of old New York amongst the city’s modern-day extreme urban brilliance. The trick with shooting in Times Square is catching a pleasing composition of the quickly and constantly changing imagery on the screens.
(With a nod to the Billy Joel song) this worker (who, when the image is enlarged, can be seen on his cell phone), is extended high up and perched inside an electrician’s crane basket making sure the lights (no matter how small)…don’t go out on Broadway.
Varying Techniques used to Photograph Supermoons Over the Years
A supermoon is a full moon (opposite Earth from the sun) that closely coincides with perigee – the moon’s closest point to Earth in its monthly elliptic orbit. When the moon always swings farthest away from Earth once each month; that point is called apogee. These perigee, or
Nuclear Supermoon
supermoons, result in what seems like a larger-than-usual apparent size as viewed from Earth. There are 4-6 supermoons a year on average and can cause real physical effects, such as
Supermoon Reflected
larger-than-usual tides. From a photographic standpoint, supermoons also take on a deep reddish tint as they rise from the horizon, lightening in color to yellow and/or tan and then, eventually
Supermoon and Cruise Ship
to the regular, although a bit brighter, white. Due to the unique nature of this phenomenon, I have tried to capture supermoons in various ways over the years. In order of presentation here:
Supermoon and Distant Bird
(1.) has an effect similar to a nuclear explosion as the moon seems to be exploding from the horizon, (2.) within a second or two after that, the moon has risen above the horizon and
Birds Eye View
leaves a glint of reflection underneath, (3.) a cruise ship’s embarkation timed to pass the supermoonrise, (4.) a dusk supermoon also has a very distant bird silhouetted against the
Clouded Supermoon at Dusk
bottom, left corner,(5.) several birds silhouetted against a blurred, high rising moon offers another take on how to capture the scene. Finally (6.) a clouded moon framed as it rises between the silhouette of two trees at dusk.
Clearly, the phenomenon offers countless possibilities to capture a…super image.
What a Difference a Day Makes / Hurricane Irma’s Wrath
What a difference a day makes…The image below was created on a beautiful evening in Coconut Grove at Florida’s Dinner Key Marina. The water was perfectly calm and the sailboats were lit by natural light from a full moon… Fast forward to Sunday as Hurricane Irma came ashore on the
Moonlit Sailboats, Coconut Grove, FL 2010 / ©Barry Steven Greff
west coast of Florida some 100 miles across the state on Marco Island. Notwithstanding how far away the eye of the hurricane was, her intensity and strength had significant impact on much of the east coast because the storm stretched further than the width of the State itself. Below are a couple of news images of what Dinner Key now looks like after the storm. The moorings of the
sailboats that were secured specifically for the storm, were no match for her. The winds and surge of the water dislodged many of the boats with some of them winding up on the shore as seen above while others capsized in the water.
As a resident of a state that has gone through many hurricanes, Floridians are a resilient bunch. No doubt, given enough time, Dinner Key will once again be restored to its natural splendor. It’s been done before and… I’m sure it will be done again.
You can help those affected by the storm by contacting the Red Cross at 1-800-HELP NOW or online at: http://rdcrss.org/2y1q1VV
Granite Flow on a Rainy Day
Another black and white image of water flowing downward over and around hard granite rock in the beautiful state of Colorado. Although I usually stay away from even the slightest political
Granite Flow, Boulder, Colorado 2008
reference in my photography, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to achieve considering the way things are going, which certainly wouldn’t be described as smooth.
Notwithstanding, in my work I always try to concentrate on the natural beauty that has (so far) survived all that has occurred around it. This image was created on a rainy day, just outside the classic Colorado city of Boulder. The muted sky allows for the tripod mounted camera’s shutter to remain open long enough to slow down the motion of the water and the rain emphasizes the sharp detail of the granite rock.
Here’s to hoping things around us flow more smoothly going forward… although as I hear myself write it, I recognize just how hard it will be to achieve.
Flowing Downward / Rocky Mountains
A classic black and white image of a mighty river flowing downward in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Downward Flow, Colorado 2010
After a particularly snowy winter, the melting runoff created a powerful flow down river. Captured using a tripod from a bridge over the river, the slow shutter speed caught the motion of the rushing water as it made its way around boulders and fallen trees.
Happy Holidays 2016
Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season…
White Christmas, Rockefeller Center, NYC 2009
As if on cue, while visiting Rockefeller Center during the holidays in 2009, the snow began to fall over this iconic scene. Backing up behind the row of trumpeting angels, I shot this familiar, but still magical, view.
It was lucky that I got this shot when I did. The next year I went back their was a photographic set up at this spot, with a long line of tourists willing to pay big bucks to have their photo taken in front of this scene.
Lesson learned, always capture the classics when they come up, you never know if…or when they will ever be available again.
Patterns in Nature / Seeing is Believing / Sometimes…Less is More
Circumstances beyond my control have kept me from creating new work for a while, so I have been reaching into my archives, which are very deep. This post is about seeing patterns in
Flamingo Feathers, 2013
nature. When I would look at a scene to photograph, I crop it in my mind to create the maximum impact. The flamingo’s feathers were all that were required here to showcase an example of the beauty of natural patterns. In the image below the patterns of this spider web became more
Beaded Web, Weston, FL 2011
pronounced by the beaded drops of water after a light rain. Again, although the web spanned between two fence posts in my backyard, omitting them from the composition made the image.
The lesson…sometimes less is more.
Duncan Miller Gallery, Los Angeles recognizes Barry Steven Greff’s image: Rush Hour, Grand Central Station in their Your Daily Photograph
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Magnum Editors recognize BSG’s jellyfish image:”Ascension” from his FLOW series in their Magnum Photos Award Competition Gallery 2016
Magnum Photos is historically, one of the most well respected names in photography. It is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo.
According to its co-founder (and one of the great photoraphers of our time), Henri Cartier-Bresson “Magnum is a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on and a desire to transcribe it visually.”
The iconic Robert Capa, Cartier-Bressson and a few other founding members created Magnum http://www.magnumphotos.com/ in Paris in 1947. Over time it has continued operating by its roster of members who are some of the greatest names in the history of photography, such as Ansel Adams, Eve Arnold, Cornell Capa, Bruce Davidson, Elliot Erwitt, Ernst Haas, Dorothea Lange, Mary Ellen Mark, Steve McCurry, James Natchwey, Martin Parr, W. Eugene Smith, Alec Soth and Sebastio Salgado, to name a few.
For the Editors of this hallowed institution, who deal with such incredible photography each day, to recognize my work and prominently display it, is a great honor for which I am truly grateful.
Diary of a Fine Art Print / Amongst other things, it’s all in the Details
Niagara, 2006
(Cropped portion of people and bird from- Niagara, 2006)
The discussion as to what makes a Fine Art photograph is one for the ages. I have long respected the genre and have worked diligently to hone my craft. Although there are various definitions of what makes a photograph fine art, I subscribe to a more tradional theory that such an image is created with an aesthetic intention, that the value lies primarily in its beauty, rather than for journalistic, editorial or commercial purposes. I also believe that the image should tell a story, be unique, iconic, powerful…or all of the above. As beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, so goes a fine art photograph which usually entails vetting by those respected in the field. Knowing this, I fearlessly spent my early years placing my work in front of some of the most well respected photographers, gallerists, curators and collectors in the business. With the help of their support, the work was widely published in fine art magazines, exhibited in galleries across the U.S. and over time, a significant resume was built.
I believe that one of my signature images, Niagara, clearly exemplifies these equalities (shot from atop a hotel two miles away to capture this angle)… It has countinously been singled out by many of those alluded to above, in that the composition juxtaposing the grandeur of the falls with the minutia of the toursists indicates just how small we humans are in comparison to the forces of Mother Nature.
After getting past the composition (and then lighting, both of which cannot be adequately discussed in a blog post, if at all), I personally take significant pride in capturing the exacting details of a scene, whether it be the people in this image or the fine feathers in one of my close-up animal portraits.
Then, finally, and consistent with the teachings of the great Ansel Adams himself, capturing the image is only one half of the process. The printing (again, not something that can be covered here), is crucial to the creation of a fine art photographic print. Being true to the process, I hand print each of my images (up to 17″ x 22″) on a professional Epson 3800 printer using Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl paper and I personally oversee the larger prints to make sure they are color correct (again, another significant concern for another day) and that they print without a single unexpected blemish.
Finally, I pride myself on the key details of my images being “tack” sharp, as exemplified by the enlarged cropped portion of the image above. Although some of the older images can go only so far, as a perfectionist, I have gone through an entire roll of paper (athough thankfully not often) in order to ultimately create a single large print for a collector, and to my exacting standards. When a gallerist who regularly sells the work of masters such as Ansel Adams and Edward Weston calls my prints “magic,” I know that I am doing something right.
Hence, there are many sources by which one can obtain a Fine Art print. I simply offer one that is created in my mind’s eye…and always from my heart. It is universally accepted that the first rule of collecting fine art photographyy is to actually enjoy the work. Hence, I strive to create images that make the viewer not only think…but feel, and I have been honored to have satisfied a wide array of selective collectors, and look forward to doing so for many others in the future.
And Now for Something Completely Different / Time for a Change
Fantasy Island, Ode to M.C. Escher, 2006-2010
Albert Einstein is attributed with the clever quote: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” Although it has come into question as to whether or not he actually said it, it is still both catchy and thought-provoking.
After an absolutely awful year of health, which is still challenging me through the new year, it leads me to think it would be insane not to try something new going forward. That being said, my work has always been known for its rendition of Mother Earth’s natural beauty with very little, if any, help from post production “magic.” Notwithstanding, over the years, I have (secretly) dabbled in the creation of scenes which have been born in my mind’s eye and then generated from several composite images I have captured over time.
Hence, for the first time seen beyond my eyes, one of my more complicated compilations, Fantasy Island. Created from over a dozen images taken over several years, this is truly one that the viewer can see new things at every different turn. Produced in the mystical style of M.C. Escher, following the composition around, brings you back to the beginning…or does it? It’s enough to drive you insane.
Rainy Night Dock / Weather or Not, Expect the Unexpected
Rainy Night Dock, Deerfield Beach, FL 2014
I haven’t posted for a while, because I have been laid up due to a couple of surgeries. When I do post, I often look for an image that relates to an event, season or mood I am in at the time. Although I actually enjoy inclement weather personally, and for photography, a dreary, rainy night sums up my situation (and has for some time).
On one of the last nights I had actually been able to go out to dinner, a casual dockside dining experience was cut short by a South Florida rain storm. Although the outdoor patio was closed to diners, I used a bit of an overhang to capture a moody image of the scene. The rain was so intense, it was blowing the door closed and I was barely able to shoot without my camera getting soaked. Notwithstanding, sometimes the worst conditions can result in the best images. Using a soft filter and shooting the scene in black and white, I like to think I created a moody, timeless image from a scene that many would avoid.
Moral of the story, don’t let some unexpected weather keep you from creating something…. unexpected.
Twin Towers – 9/11 – Never Forgotten – Remembering and Rebuilding
Twin Towers, Never Forget
Unable to Post my usual 9/11 tribute yesterday, better late than never, I do so today. Three of my own fond memories of the Towers include this (never before published) pre-digital image I took from a New Jersey hotel room; having an elegant business dinner at the Windows on the World and a wonderful tourist visit with my buddy JC and Goddaughter Ari.
To say that the buildings, their occupants and the first responders will never be forgotten…is an understatement for the ages.
WTC Memorial, NYC 2013
Here in their place, as I have posted before, the WTC Memorial and new One World Trade Center tower rising to the Heavens, to always remind us of our loss….and our determined spirit to rebuild.
Rising to the Heavens, One World Trade Center 2013
I Ain’t Lion / King of Beasts / Magnificent Creatures
Old Lion, 2009 King of Beasts, 2008
With the illegal killing of a beloved protected Lion (Cecil) this week in Africa, I was moved to post two of my favorite Lion portraits from my Series: Of the Wild. The younger male on the right might not have the wisdom of the older one on the left, but the distinct scar on his nose indicates he has been around.
Either way, the beauty and majesty of these creatures cannot be denied and they should be cherished for all those that will come after us to enjoy them…(at a safe distance).
For some great TV fiction on the relationship between humans and animals, watch James Patterson’s ZOO each week on CBS. http://www.jamespatterson.com/books_zoo.php#.Vb6mKvlViko
Happy Father’s Day 2015 / Make My Day
BSG’s Parental Guidance in Duncan Miller Gallery’s YourDailyPhotograph
Parental Guidance, 2010
BSG’s image: “Parental Guidance” made the daily post of YourDailyPhotograph http://eepurl.com/bk2i8b (right above the image of Marilyn Monroe by the great Richard Avedon).
In the recent past images from Henri Cartier-Bresson, Andreas Gursky, Richard Misrach, Andre Kertesz, Edward Burtynsky and other photography legends have appeared in YDP
The site is sponsored by the Duncan Miller Gallery http://www.duncanmillergallery.com/ of Santa Monica, CA and YDP appears in 74 countries. My sincere appreciation to the DMG/YDP for exhibiting my work.
Happy Birthday to Me / Ballroom Memories
Ballroom, Coral Gables, FL 2013
Over the years, I have spent birthdays inside Ballrooms and atop Granite Cliffs, in New York City or in the Pacific Northwest. This, being a particular dark Birthday for me due to persistent health issues, I have posted a particularly dark image (plus I just like it). Having always come back in the past…here is to better and brighter days, and if not future ballroom dancing, at least to some great scenery…
As for the image above:
When you peak inside the doors of a Hotel Ballroom, especially a classic old one like above, think of the wealth of memories that have been created over the years. The Grand Ballroom in the iconic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida is just such a special place. http://www.biltmorehotel.com/
At the time of day this was taken, the particular lighting begged for black and white and the beams of light streaming in from the vintage windows added a touch of mystery.
So, added to the countless memories having been made inside this Ballroom in the past, here’s, looking forward to the next happy occasion. May we all share in some of that happiness…inside or out.