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.
Happy Holiday Season 2017 / Let there be Light… Displays
Wherever you are located in the country, this time of year brings out varying forms of holiday light displays. For generations they have come to represent the spirit of the season. So, whether you are in the city:
Ornaments, New York City, NY 2012
in the suburbs:
Holiday Light Display, Davie, FL 2013
or even in the mountains:
Lit Tree, Winter Park, CO 2007
The tradition will inevitably be handed down for generations to come:
Enlightenment, Davie, FL 2013
Wishing a Happy Holiday season to all.
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.
BSG: International Exposure / SILVERSHOTZ Cover & Feature Portfolio
Barry Steven Greff has received significant International exposure, chosen for the COVER and 16 image feature interior portfolio of the SILVERSHOTZ November 2017 issue. Published in Australia and England, Silvershotz, THE CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINE showcases “the best photographic images from around the world. Curatorial selection is made by 
experienced editors to ensure international standards are achieved.” As featured inside:
Barry greatly appreciates the honor, support and exposure as provided by the Editor extraordinaire of SILVERSHOTZ, Clive Waring-Flood. Subscribtions to this gorgeous on-line magazine, including access to all past issues and annual print issue can be purchased at: SILVERSHOTZ.(14 Day Free Trial available).
Barry Steven Greff – USA
OF THE WILD
Of the Wild is a series of intimate, close-up animal portraits in various forms of captivity that are found behind bars or enclosures. They are protected from the viewer and the viewer is protected from them. Greff’s images capture the life force that is simultaneously controlled, yet untamed. He is drawn to animal’s eyes, which is what draws the viewer into the frame. The framing device jolts the viewer from reading the image as a cliché. By abstracting the eye or face from the rest of the body, Greff forces an intimate exchange of energy and focus between the image and the viewer. These images make us confront the dignity, personality and identity of these magnificent creatures and remind us why; they too, so desperately need our protection.
A life in photography
Greff grew up on Long Island, New York and his family travelled often, and always had cameras with them. In addition to snapshots of the family, the photo albums contained landscape images depicting the locations visited. This immersion into photography at an early age continued with his first camera; a Kodak Instamatic with flash cubes. Eventually he moved to Miami, Florida for college and began renting underwater photo equipment to shoot in the Florida Keys. He graduated to Minolta film cameras and began shooting sea, land, cityscapes and wildlife images. Eventually, his love for photography caused him to enter into magazine competitions. After winning his first competition and seeing the images published, he was hooked.
Fine art and commercial
Greff has managed to combine his love for photography to produce fine art prints, of what he calls the ethereal sea, plus intimate portraits of animals and jellyfish. His work has been published in many of the reputable Fine Art magazines. He uses the strong work ethic of honesty and professionalism he learned growing up to make sure that all of his dealings wholly satisfy the collectors or art buyers that ultimately obtain his work.
Although the images project well on-line, the museum/gallery quality of the work, including the sharpness of detail and perfection of printing, becomes apparent in the enlarged Fine Art prints. That same insistence on quality shows through in the timeliness of delivery and reproduction of his licensed advertising images. Greff is based in Weston, Florida and available for commercial commissions; some of his clients include Ogilvy and Mather, Canon USA and Berkshire House Publications.
Mother Nature Shows Her True Colors / Despite Showing Her Wrath
As Autumn arrives in much of the rest of the country, Mother Nature exhibits some of her most vibrant colors. Although she has recently slammed many of us with her most extreme weather, in between dealing with the reality of the storms, I remember those moments of glorious color that
Gold Standard, near Steamboat Springs, Colorado 2008
I have witnessed in years past. From the western golden Aspens to the eastern Blue Ridge swatch of colors, this is the picturesque side that reminds us of her best…
Autumn Cascade, Tennessee, 2009
Rocky Road, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 2009
while we are still seeing red from some of her worst (Harvey, Irma and Maria)….
Seeing Red, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 2009
So, here’s to the day when we can again concentrate on her beauty and not so much on her wrath. In the meantime, here are ways to donate to Hurricane relief for the ongoing devastation in Puerto Rico. Unicef ….. Save the Children ….Red Cross. Every bit helps.
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
