West Third
West Third II
“Some photographers take reality…and impose the domination of their own thought and spirit. Others come before reality more tenderly and a photograph to them is an instrument of love and revelation.”
Ansel Easton Adams
“What can possibly be different today?”, I ask myself. Then I look outside the studio window and slightly down. Incredibly, the roof is now a garden/ forest where there was debris and a lonely branch just three months ago (small photographs). It is clear what lies ahead. Even for this building- constructed like a fortress as a tire factory ninety two years ago, it is back to the earth eventually.
Renewal. 6.24.2010.
“The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking.” - Brooks Atkinson
“You have a lifetime to learn technique. But I can teach you what is more important than technique, how to see; learn that and all you have to do afterwards is press the shutter.” - Garry Winogrand
West Side Market 5.21.2010
Stepping into the West Side Market is entering into a world that was, from it’s beginning almost 100 years ago, designed for the shopper to feast on the foods of sight, sound, and smell. I will be visiting often during the next year to photograph for the new book by Laura Taxel and Marilou Suszko that will celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of The Market.
Occasionally I come upon expressions of creativity which, in their similarities and simplicity, spark a moment of recognition. On a recent walk these door details and ornaments spoke to me in this way….
#1 1.22.2010
#2 1.22.2010
#3 1.22.2010
“The artist is nothing without gift, but the gift is nothing without work.” - Emile Zola
[1840 – 1902] French writer and amateur photographer
“I am not interested in shooting new things - I am interested to see things new.” - Ernst Haas
Innerbelt. 4.17.2010
Boiler. 4.17.2010
Geometry. 4.17.2010
Nickel Plate. 4.17.2010
Columbus. 4.17.2010
Columbus. 4.17.2010
PNC. Dawn.
Next week PNC will be unveiling an exhibition in their new Cleveland, Ohio, home. The display will highlight the National City Bank legacy and is anchored by a 22 foot long by 11 foot tall photo mural of the Cleveland skyline.
The mural photograph was produced to some very specific guidelines in less than ten days from the initial request. Fundamentally, I was asked to create a skyline view of downtown Cleveland in which the PNC (formally National City) building held some prominence. There was no question as to what the ideal view would have and not have in it. It was a question, though, of- from where does such a view exist?
With some research on Google Earth and several hours of roaming the perimeter of downtown, Mike and I came up with the solution. The weather the week of March 15th was the most gorgeous imaginable! Day after day of clear, windless, warm (enough) temperatures- more than ideal for rapid completion of this challenging assignment. The client’s choice follows below:
Cleveland. 3.17.2010
On September 21st, just three days before the Pittsburgh G-20 Simon Taxel and I spent several hours walking downtown Pittsburgh, PA. The pre-G20 energy was building with alternating bands of anarchists and law enforcement officials reconnoitering the streets surrounding the Convention Center. While our conversation covered a wide range of topics, my camera (my inner camera, that is) was drawn to the wonderful sense of place that Pittsburgh possesses.
Pittsburgh Geometric
Liberty Avenue
Wired Pittsburgh
Discount Red
Waiting for G20
BT
Sausalito
Dashe Cellars, Oakland
Financial District, SF
Fitzpatrick Winery, Fairplay, CA
Clouds, Lake Tahoe
Palace of Fine Arts, SF
China Beach, SF
Peppers, Ferry Market, SF
Lee and Merce by Avedon, SFMOMA
Ocean Beach, SF
Ferry Wedding, SF
Self Portrait, SF, 2009
Many heartfelt thanks to our generous hosts, friends, and guides in Oakland and San Francisco-Dianne Jacob, Owen Rubin, and Susan Taxel Wolin. And a special salute to the winemakers of Oakland (Dashe Cellars) and the Sierra Foothills (Drytown and Fitzpatrick), who helped make this journey especially enjoyable. BT
These images speak for themselves. I have been photographing Ray W. Clarke’s interior designs for over thirty years and he continues to amaze me! Recently Ray had me dip deep into our files and scan the work going back to the beginning of our association for his new website Ray W. Clarke. A small sampling….
Ad
Walden
Climaco Law Firm
Doctor's Office
Ray's Office
On a recent starlit night on an island off of the east coast, I was awestruck by the vast display of stars, planets, and galaxies. I am a city person. Where I live the vividness of the night sky is hidden, more often than not, by the urban illumination and smog. This particular evening, on this island in the Atlantic Ocean, the life of the universe spoke to me of wonder and possibility.
The following morning we visited a centuries old burial ground. When we travel, cemeteries are often on our itinerary, as the markers and arrangements reveal a great deal about the local people and culture. Many of the markers on this particular island, having been settled by Europeans in the 17th century, are used by nature as home for various mosses and lichens.
Apparently still under the spell of the night sky from the evening before, this photographer saw and felt the stars, planets, and galaxies, including comets and shooting stars, in the timeless surfaces of the tombstones.
It’s as if the markings we humans and nature leave behind are a sign of integration, of oneness in time. Stories unfold in smudges of algae and droppings to create a micro-cosmos of sorts.
And as I allow my imagination to move into each image, looking into the night sky takes on a reality that is undeniably exceptional.
BT