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.
Here’s to the New Year: 2019
Having had several rough years, I have not been posting nearly as much as I should. This image reminds me of better days, driving up the California Coast and stopping to shoot every beautiful scene I came across. 
Surfers, Carlsbad, CA 2008
Taken some ten years ago in front of the magical cliffs of Carlsbad, California, it captured several surfers waiting for the next big wave to pick them up and carry them forward. Although their small silhouettes are dwarfed by the grandeur of the overall scene, when the image is enlarged, you can almost see the contentment on their faces.
I post it for two reasons.
First, the early morning quest of the surfers symbolizes the hope of a New Year.
Secondly, having come full circle, ironically, my son now lives a short drive up the coast and surfs these waters himself.
So, taking a deep breath here’s looking to 2019…
New Bern and the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Pre-Hurricane
Lightning, OBX, North Carolina, 2005
Thinking about all those in the path of Hurricane Florence, the Outer Banks (known locally as OBX), New Bern and much of the rest of the states of North and South Carolina.
While staying in the historic city of New Bern, a two and a half hour road trip north to the Outer Banks resulted in the image above. Having forgotten my tripod in New Bern, I rested my camera on a towel on the railing of the hotel room’s terrace during a lightning storm and timed the opening of the shutter just right to capture the largest strike I have ever seen. It shook the building and the composition of the bolt and the lifeguard stand in the flowing sea oats made the image.
These are images of the Tryon Palace and New Bern Grand Marina, North Carolina, created in 2005. These are images from beautiful New Bern which is now already under water because it is located at the confluence of the Neuse and the Trent rivers. It is a historic city much of which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Many of the buildings, residences, stores and churches date back to the early eighteenth century.
The Governor’s Palace, New Bern (also known as Tryon Palace, above), served as the capital of North Carolina from 1770 until the state government relocated to Raleigh in 1792. George Washington actually slept in New Bern. Visiting the room in which he stayed, was an eerie and historically moving experience.
Here’s hoping that both survive the Hurricane and can re-build as soon as possible.
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.
Happy New Year 2017 / 2018
A New Years tradition at the Keystone Resort in Keystone, Colorado is known as the Torch Run. Skiiers, and now snow boarders, snake down the mountain as the clock ticks toward midnight, carrying red flaming flare/torches. The sight is something to behold, as I did in 2007 and I have
Torch Run,Keystone, CO 2007
included a couple of my images here along with a still screenshot from a You Tube video of the event.
Looking back into the archives, I found this image that I hadn’t seen in a very long time, of some of the participants at the bottom of the mountain. Clearly, in the dark, these were difficult images to capture. A tripod, gloves and a great deal of patience helped.
Torch Runners, Keystone, CO 2007
Wishing a Happy New Year to All.
