Archive
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.
Not just Pretty Pictures / Vetted Artwork for Display
I greatly appreciate all of the positive comments on the images I post via social media. Today’s post is a gentle reminder that the work, which has been widely published, exhibited, awarded and collected, is available as framed (or behind acrylic) prints for residential, corporate, healthcare
and even yacht display. Working with Interior Designers, Art Buyers and sometimes clients themselves, I have developed a process by which the images can be viewed in any space first by virtual reality (adding several choices onto a photo of a blank wall to see how it would eventually look). This has also allowed me to do projects around the U.S. from my base in South Florida.
I have enclosed a few samples of installations, some of which have been accomplished as mentioned above, others which contain work that has been chosen directly from my website: https://www.barrystevengreff.com 
So for future reference, whenever you come across a blank wall, imagine the possibilities of hanging an iconic image there and what it can ultimately do to create a beautiful, impactful space.
That being said, here’s to hanging with you someday:)
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.
