As a follow up to a post I did on January 4, 2015, I am celebrating my all time top selling print which is the Griffith Park Observatory with downtown Los Angeles in the background. On the original post, I was asking for input (Griffith Park Observatory in Black and White) on which prints were favored so I could narrow it down to a few to post in my art gallery. I featured six captures I had narrowed down from a series of them. The three captures I ended up posting in my gallery were #1, #4 & #6 now known as Griffith Observatory and Downtown Los Angeles, Open For The Telescope and Observatory In Art Deco. I thought it would be interesting to see what the vote was from the original post. Number 1 received the most votes with #4 coming in second. #6 didn’t receive votes, but it struck me as a nice compliment to the other two to finish out the series. All in all, all three of the ones I picked have done well, but #1 has blown the roof off.
Today I’m featuring a photo shoot I did a couple of weeks ago. The subject matter is the Oceanside Pier in Southern California. I had not been to the pier for a few years, but remembered it well. It is the longest pier along the western US coastline at 1954 feet (596m). The current pier was built in 1987 replacing a number of prior piers lost to stormy weather. For more information: Wikipedia. The town of Oceanside is located in northern San Diego County just south of Camp Pendleton (which lies along the coast between San Diego County and Orange County to the north).
I had a couple of hours of free time (I was a car pool buddy for my wife coming and going from Northern Los Angeles to a bridal shower for my niece at my sisters home in San Diego) during the afternoon and had decided to do this photo shoot. The pier is very impressive and I had just viewed another photographers photoshoot of a pier and was reminded how impressive the architectural structure of these larger piers were. I also chose to do the shoot in black and white as I like the architectural detail that is highlighted in a monochromatic shoot such as this. For some reason I have always been drawn to shots under the structure of piers, thus the number of those on this shoot. At the end of the pier was a restaurant (prior to Covid), which we had frequented. I’m assuming a new tenant will be found as it is a great location.
I open the shoot with a shot I took walking from my parking spot to the beach area underneath the pier for the next few shots.
Coming out from underneath on the other side of the pier which gives you another appreciation of how far out it goes with the restaurant building on the end.
Pier 6
I was walking out to the end and stepped off on one of the “pop outs” you see in this photo.
Pier 7
Passing the tower structures on each side as in seen above, I took this shot approaching the restaurant structure on the end.
Pier 8
And on the other side of the pier with all of the people fishing.
The last capture is from the end of the pier next to the former restaurant looking back towards the coastline. You can see just how far out the pier goes from this perspective as well as from the shore looking out to this point.
Pier 10
In case you were wondering why three of these shots have names under them, those are the ones I added to my galleries. It always amazes me how many shots I take and how I whittle them down to just a few favorites. If any of those I hadn’t named strike you as “gallery worthy” let me know!! Thanks!!
I was going through some old stock the other day and came across a photo shoot I did in Eastern Iowa circa 2013. The timeframe was February…no snow, but trees were obviously leafless. I love certain subjects in black and white and older architecture is one of them. I converted the original captures into black and white and the following are the results which I just added to my gallery.
The photo shoot was in and around the Amana Colonies ( Wikipedia) settled in 1856 and comprise 7 villages that sit on 26,000 acres of farm land near Iowa City.
For those of you that have been following me, this post won’t be a surprise. I periodically post different captures from my black and white photography gallery with the reasons I think they stand out more using the black and white motif.
We’ll start with “The Rock”. I love this shot and showing it this way allows the detail of the rock itself to be highlighted. The scene is unique unto itself with this huge rock structure, but it also emphasizes the white surf of the waves coming ashore.
Next is “Admiralty Head Lighthouse 2” which is located north of Seattle, Washington. By showing this in black and white, the architectural details stand out as the center of focus. The subtle lines along the lower level of the first and second floor become more obvious along with the same type of lines along the top of the tower and second floor. The window framing actually pops because it contrasts with the white stucco of the building itself, as does the roof and top of the lighthouse itself.
Admiralty Head Lighthouse 2
“The Unfolding Of Petals” is a perfect example of detail that “pops” out with the absence of color. The color photograph of this rose is stunning and no getting away from the brilliance of the color. Having said that, I did this in black and white because the amount of detail that pops with the petals is intense, from the actual shaping of the petals to the veining that shows on each petal.
Anyone that has been following me knows I love black and white photography for a variety of reasons. One of those reasons being that you can focus on the subject when there isn’t a variety of colors grabbing your attention.
Today I am featuring two photographs from a shoot of the Seattle Great Wheel I did a few years back. It’s located at the end of one of the many piers lining the waterfront and has become an icon in the Seattle skyline. It is the largest observation wheel on the west coast standing 175 feet tall. The wheel has 42 fully enclosed gondolas with a special VIP gondola sporting leather bucket seats and a glass bottom floor.
I took a number of shots including a series of close ups to focus on the simplicity and beauty of the gondolas taking passengers up and around the giant ferris wheel. I presented these captures in black and white to allow the focus to be on the shape and arrangement of the gondolas on the wheel. The composition of both captures was to create a more artistic photograph versus just a snap shot of the entire ferris wheel.
“Three Gondolas “
Gondolas 8-11
Thoughts?
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I have attached four prints of covered bridges in the state of Oregon, from my Black and White Photography One Gallery. These particular bridges are located in the west quadrant of Oregon north of Grants Pass up to Cottage Grove south of Eugene. They were a quick detour off of Interstate 5 (which winds its way up and down the entire US West Coast from Canada to Mexico) done on a rainy day in early spring.
The first shot is of the Grave Creek Covered Bridge, which was built in 1920. This bridge is located 14 miles north of Grants Pass, Oregon right off of Interstate 5.
The next shot is the Neal Lane Covered Bridge, which spans Myrtle Creek and is located north of Grants Pass also. The bridge was originally built in 1929. This bridge I lovingly call the “Short Covered Bridge” as the span of the bridge is only 42 feet.
The third capture is the Stewart Bridge, which spans Mosby Creek and is located east of Cottage Grove (Cottage Grove is along Interstate 5 between Grants Pass and Eugene). The bridge was originally built in 1930.
The last print is of the Dorena Covered Bridge that spans the Row River. It was built in 1949. It is located further east of Cottage Grove than the Stewart Bridge at the upper end of Dorena Reservoir.
I think this presentation in black and white captured the mood of a cool rainy day and the age of the bridges. Thoughts?
The shots I am attaching today actually tie into two prior blog posts. Last weeks post titled Phoenix Trotting Park is a result of the work I did on todays post and todays post is a result of a photo shoot I shared last October titled: Architectural Elements. So let me back up to the October post. That post was about a series of shots I took of the Griffith Park Observatory last fall that focused on the architectural element of the observatory. I love the details of this art deco building.
The observatory came up again in a conversation I had with someone in Los Angeles towards the end of last year. They were looking for some black and white prints for one of their rooms and specifically wanted shots of the observatory. They also love the art deco look of the building and thought shots in black and white would give it a retro look. That’s all it took for me to get rolling. I played with a number of the shots and came up with the technique I described last week on the racetrack photo shoot. Those shots were a result of me finalizing the technique on the observatory photographs.
I have attached the six art prints that resulted from that conversation. The client ended up buying three of them from a private gallery I set up for them. I wanted to share them, as they aren’t available yet to the public.
Observatory BW 1
Observatory BW 2
Observatory BW 3
Observatory BW 4
Observatory BW 5
Observatory BW 6
I’d be curious which one is your favorite and what your thoughts are around this black and white look with this type of building.
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The excerpts from a photo shoot I want to share today are of a hallway in the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia. The shot was taken a few years back on an excursion to that beautiful city. We stayed at the hotel and enjoyed the Victorian elegance and tradition it is known for. You might ask me what why I took a shot of a hallway and that would be a legitimate question. It’s the visual depth the architecture of the hallway has. I actually took a number of shots; vertical, horizontal, zoomed in, normal, etc. All of that said, I haven’t done anything with the shots until now. I came across them recently and find them intriguing, so I thought I would use this one in particular to demonstrate an example on how you can take one photograph and create a variety of looks of the same subject.
Original
The first shot is the original. I didn’t use a flash and depended on natural lighting. It isn’t the most technically correct shot, but it does have an interesting element to it (and yes the hallway really is that wide and that long). The natural lighting creates a shot with strong golden hues. The color works with the style as it lends to a warm comfortable feel.
Sepia
The second shot is with a sepia tone. The sepia tone element is easy to do and lends itself well to the age of the Victorian hallway. Using this tone plays on the history of the Victorian Era. The sepia format was the look of photography in that era.
Black and White
The third shot is in black and white. The black and white aspect doesn’t play to the style of the hallway and the era it depicts, but to the architectural elements of the hallway. The strong lines and contrast work very well when you take a color photo to the world of black and white. Notice how it presents a totally different look to this shot.
Fresco Watercolor
With the fourth shot, I went a few steps further. As I have stated, I haven’t done anything with these shots, but there is an element to them that appeals to me. Trying to figure out how to pull that out in the best manner to tell a story is the fun part of what I do. A lot of it is trial and error with most of it being archived or deleted. With this last print I used a fresco watercolor technique highlighting the architectural lines and the warm golden tones.
From one photograph, we now have four different looks to the same hallway. Two of the three changes were easy with the fresco watercolor a little more challenging. Thoughts?
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Two weeks ago, I had to make a quick trip from where I live in the Phoenix area to Los Angeles. It’s only a 5.5 hr drive and straight down Interstate 10 all the way. Being a former Californian, we refer to that as The 10 or The 10 Freeway. The 10 skirts Palm Springs and on the western edge of the valley it is lined with wind turbines. Having been to the Palm Springs area many times, it dawned on me that the wind turbines would make a great photo shoot and I always travel with my camera as one never knows when it will come in handy. From that excursion, I have attached nine shots in groups of three. The first shot being the original, the second shot cropped and adjusted and the third shot done in black and white. I might add that I was shooting into 35 MPH winds that made it a little challenging to get clear shots even with a tripod. Let me know what you think….
Wind Turbine 1 Original
Wind Turbine 1: Cropped
Wind Turbine 1: Black and White
Wind Turbine 2: Original
Wind Turbine 2: Cropped
Wind Turbine 2: Black and White
Wind Turbine 3: Original
Wind Turbine 3: Cropped
Wind Turbine 3: Black and White
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On my website, one of my galleries is called Note Cards. I have my art on the front of a variety of thank you cards and all occasion cards (the cards are folded with a blank inside for personalizing your thoughts). I just added a number of new prints and am featuring four of them here.
The first one is from my Black and White Gallery. I took this sunset shot about three years ago along the coast of North San Diego County. You usually see sunset shots in full color, but I did a series for a business in San Diego and their decor required all black and white photography. They loved this particular series and I have to admit when it was done, I was surprised at how well it worked (there are four shots in this series). I have sold a number of them and thought this particular one would make a great Thank You card. It has a more professional and business feel.
So we go from black and white to purple abstract. This particular print is from my Abstract Oil Gallery. Again, I thought this would make a great thank you card without being over the top and works well for a variety of people (as a former corporate regional manager, I use to send thank you cards with a personal note to my top performing employees each month. I always struggled to find cards that were warm, yet professional).
This print was actually taken from the deck of our house overlooking the Pacific Ocean and no that’s not a smudge above the “a” and “n” in the sky above “Thank”, but a flight going between San Diego and Los Angeles….just off the coast is the airplane highway between the two areas.
And the last one I’m featuring is a watercolor of a garden lamp surrounded by vines. This is a print I did of one of the courtyard lamps found in the Alamo located in San Antonio, Texas. I was shooting a series of pictures of the architecture of the Alamo and around the Alamo (River Walk) when I saw this hanging near a bench my wife was sitting on patiently waiting for me to finish.
The last comment I wanted to make was about the words “Thank You” in reference to the font to be used and location of the words. On a finished product one should not give that any thought. If a person doesn’t give it any thought then I’ve done a good job, but I must say it’s fun to watch how many fonts and sizes and locations are tried before settling on the final product.
I invite you to come into the gallery to view the new additions to the collection in the Note Card Gallery.
Please visit my main gallery: TheWallGallery (All domestic orders over $60.00 – free shipping!)
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