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_________________INDEPENDENCE DAY 2016__________________
“Whose broad stripes and bright stars, Through the perilous fight, O’er the ramparts we watched, Were so gallantly streaming”..More stars than in 1814 when Francis Scott Key wrote those words, but this is my version of the image upon which they are based.
Broad stripes and bright stars, so gallantly streaming, 2014
Here’s to independence….it cannot be overrated.
Feeling the Heat / Good Days, Bad Days
River of Grass, Florida Everglades, 2009
Towering Inferno, Florida Everglades 2007
“In the days of my youth, I was told what it means to be a man.
Now I’ve reached that age, I’ve tried to do all those things the best I can.
No matter how I try, I find my way into the same old jam”..
Good Days Bad Days,
Led Zeppelin
Says it all…I got nothin’ else.
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.
Colors of the City / Broadway Lights
Cab Ride in the Rain, Radio City Music Hall, NYC 2009
Tonight Belongs to Phantom, NYC 2008
Don’t Let the Lights Go Out on Broadway, NYC 2012
As a photographer, even one whose first love is nature, I never could walk around the streets of Manhattan at night without a camera. The constant motion of the yellow cabs, the continuously changing mega screens in Times Square and even the lit billboards, create a canvas of possibiities to make a great image come to life. Cab Ride, shot from the back seat of a Yellow Cab as the CNN cast scrolled by, took several drives around the corner to get just what I was looking for.
Phantom was much easier to shoot as long as I avoided being run over by any one of the various forms of NYC’s transportation vehicles such as taxis, limos, or tricked out bicycle chariot/rickshaws.
Finally, being able to spread out tripod legs and use a long lens allowed me to capture an electrician repairing a single light amongst millions in the heart of Times Square. Timing the capture was critical to its composition because the images on the screens changed every few seconds. Clearly, this man’s job was to make sure… the lights don’t go out on Broadway (nod to Billy Joel).
Missing the Mountaintops / Lofty Goals
Mountaintops Reflected, West Yellowstone, MT 2010
With all the News reports of snow around the country, I miss the endless photographic opportunities that comes with it, along with the all the chaos.
On this particular day, in a place where snow is a fabric of the landscape much of the year, I made my first and only, unsuccessful attempt at flyfishing in a Yellowstone river. When I finally realized there would be no fish this day, I looked up to see the remaining light highlighting what looked like the clouds reflecting the mountaintops below them. I quickly exchanged my fishing gear for my camera gear to capture the scene before the light was gone. Using the almost sihlouetted row of Evergreens as a foreground element, this image was the one good thing I caught all day.
Later that night I enjoyed a fresh local trout, pan fried to perfection, at a small, West Yellowstone restaurant …the next best thing to catching it myself.
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.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016 From BARRY STEVEN GREFF PHOTOGRAPHY
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
Seen Again, but Through Different Eyes / Falling Water
Multnomah Falls, OR 2009
In my humble opinion, the Pacific Northwest in one of the most beautiful places our country has to offer. From spectacular granite cliffs, to sand dunes to majestic waterfalls cascading through dense, green foliage. Back in another lifetime, I went there when I could, to re-charge my batteries through the peaceful energy Mother Nature provided in her most spectacular locales.
The 620 foot Multnomah Falls is the most well-known of a series of 77 waterfalls that dot the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge. There are only three higher falls in the nation and Multnomah is arguably the most beautiful of those. A trail from the famous Multnomah Falls Lodge (built in 1925) climbs up the side towards the Simon Benson Bridge and then winds further towards the top. Due to 25 years of spine issues, although I have been known (on a good day) to head down a relatively level trail, this uphill battle was not one that I took on.
Instead, I tried unsuccessfully to capture the entire falls, including the zig zagging upper part, in my frame. The bright light at the top of the image is from the setting sun which also prevented me from properly exposing the entire falls. Finally, using a wide angle lens and a tripod, I cropped out the majestic lower falls and slowed down how the eyes see the water movement, which I could only do after the sun had slipped almost entirely behind the mountain. The smooth cascade and deep green surroundings transforms this visual capture of an iconic place from the usual scenic shot into a Fine Art image.
As my analogies have gone for some time, for those of you who actually read what I say, this also exemplifies the downward fall I have been experiencing with my health. After a very long battle, hopefully my future posts will begin to elicit some hope in that department. We shall see. …Either way, I have captured some serious magic in my time, in my images and in my mind.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow… Way Up High
Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Florida Everglades, 2013
E.Y. Harburg wrote the lyrics sung by Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz.”Somewhere over the rainbow..Way up high. And the dreams that you dreamed of…Once in a lullaby”
I wonder if this is what he was writing about. (Graduated Neutral Density Filter/Tripod for the photographers).
Now, if I could only get out there and catch some more of them…or at least find that Pot of Gold at the end of it.
Rare Break / Lavender Sunset
Rare Break, Lavender Sunset, Deerfield Beach 2014
In a rare, medically induced break from my current madness, I made it to the Sea one day last year at sunset. As luck would have it, just after the sun set, the clouds took on their nightly orange glow inside a pastel lavender sky.
The message I took from that last light was that although it was one of the last Seascapes I have created as of late…I will do whatever I can to make sure it is not the last…that I will create.
Happy July 4th / Independence Day 2015
Light Up the Sky, Independence Day, Sunrise, FL 2014
Not having been creating much new work lately, I re-post this image from last year with a more specific explanation of how it was made.
Using a tripod and opening and closing the camera shutter, I caught various single July 4th Fireworks bursts as the rockets took off and exploded. This Composite image was created in post production from six or more different sets of explosions from the same overall display, but captured minutes apart..
The colored lines on the bottom of the image are the streaking headlights of vehicles driving by the celebration.
Here’s looking forward to more independence (for me) to shoot…some day soon.
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.
Timing is Everything…Even When it Isn’t
Low Tide, Nubble Light, York, Maine 2004
Staying with some of the older, classic images from my archive, I post this rendition of the (very) often photographed Nubble Lighthouse on the Coast of Maine http://nubblelight.org/. One of my earliest Fine Art images captured digitally, the natural light was gorgeous and the low tide exposed the waterline on the rocks when we arrived at the spot from which the famed lighthouse is most often viewed. Knowing I had to try and add something to the image that made it my own, I noticed that there were a couple of seabirds flying continuously around the island on approximately the same path during each turn. I set up my tripod for the best composition and followed the birds in my minds eye as they circled. When I felt I had one placed in the perfect position, I clicked the shutter. The other bird is actually blurred in flight directly below the bird in the sky, and in front of the white picket fence.
Hence, my timing worked out, thanks to some great light, and a couple of cooperative…and predictable, seabirds.
Two Strikes / One that started it all and stands the test of time
Two Strikes, Singer Island, FL 1990s
While scouring my archives for early images, I came across one that was probably the earliest Fine Art image that I actually specifically worked to create. This image was shot so long ago, it was originally captured on film and scanned to digital for presentation here.
First, as I have mentioned before, when traveling/photographing I always sought out the view with the best photographic potential. In this particular case, the first room available was too low and had palm trees blocking the view (can you believe that I can actually remember that far back?). After moving to a higher floor with an unobstructed view, I set the (Minolta) camera and tripod on the balcony during an evening lightning storm. As explained in previous posts, the trick with lightning is to leave the shutter open until you believe you have recorded the lightning strikes that best fit your composition. In this case, I lined up the beach chairs (lit both naturally and by the building I was in), a wooden storage hut and a small beached catamaran along the bottom of the image. If you look closely, you can actually see a small campfire on the beach, just left of center.
After composing the image, I shot throughout the night, opening and closing the shutter after various lightning strikes were exposed on the film. This, the best image of the night, shows two strikes approximately 10 minutes apart. After visualizing where the two had hit, I closed the shutter (and in those days) had to wait until the slides came back from the developer to know exactly what I captured.
Thanks to Mother Nature, the perfectly fitting composition of the Two Strikes (if I do say so myself), convinced me that I knew what I was doing with this Photography thing and with that knowledge and a bit of luck, I could create images that…stand the test of time.