ARTIST STATEMENT
I currently reside in New York City. My explorations around the world (to four of the seven continents), visiting and living with diverse peoples, and some of the most beautiful natural scenery our planet has to offer, has motivated my art.
My preferred photographic medium is black and white. I used to capture all of the images I create in color. Now, those I want in black and white I shoot in greyscale. I find the creative process of shooting in greyscale particularly exhilarating.
The techniques of my portraiture, both street and musical performers, are inspired by Alfred Stieglitz. Most of the time, I prefer emphasizing the details of a person's face in order to capture a momentary expression.
The techniques of my landscapes have been largely inspired by Stieglitz, Ansel Adams and Michael Kenna. Natural lighting, clouds and water moving at different speeds, contrasted with static scenery, create dramatic landscape images. By manipulating a scene with longer exposures, I seek to enhance tonal variations and complex textures transforming an interesting image into an unusual, unique and unworldly piece of art. The static scenery’s emphasis is enhanced, while the naturally occurring movement of nature adds its own creativity to my image.
My intent is for the viewer's imagination to travel where the art piece may take them.
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The slide show at the top includes twenty-five award-winning images.
The first three images won two awards as a landscape series, "Black Beach Art": Honorable Mention in the International Photography Awards 2019, Category: Fine Art, Landscape Series and Honorable Mention in the 2020 Monovisions Photography Awards, International Black and White Photo Contest, Category: Landscape Series. The first image of the series, "Icelandic Sculpture" (also awarded Honorable Mention in Monochrome Photography Awards 2019, Category Amature Landscape, single image) was captured October 2018 during a stormy sunset, a breathtaking scene on the black beach at Reynisfjara. The long exposure emphasizes the detail of a beautiful rock in the sea sculpted by nature. If you look close it appears like many hands reaching out. The second image, "Afternoon Moonlight" was captured October 2018 around noon. The beautiful and shapely clouds were backlit by the sun. The thickness of the clouds blocked much of the sun’s light. It appeared to be night time with a full moon glowing. The white grains in the black-volcanic sand were glistening, as well. The third image, "Haunted Black Beach" was captured October 2018 during low tide as a stormy sky was clearing.
The next 9 images won three awards as a series, "7pm Appreciation of Frontline Heroes in Brooklyn, NY": 3rd Place in the International Photography Awards 2020, Category: Event, Social Cause; Honorable Mention in the 2020 Monovisions Photography Awards International Black and White Photo Contest, Category: Series, People and Honorable Mention in the PX3 2020 (Prix De La Photographie Paris), Category: Street Photography, Special. These images are especially important to me. The first image of the series, entitled "Hope and Despair," was awarded a single-image Honorable Mention in the International Photography Awards 2020, Category: People, Portrait and Honorable Mention in the 2020 Black and White Spider Awards, Category, Photojournalism. It captures a healthcare worker, who came out right at 7pm and, wearing all of their PPE just looked up and reached for the sky as one colleague put a comforting hand on their shoulder. The second, "Difficult Day", is of a woman (I met Angela a few weeks later), who clearly had a difficult day. I was especially touched by this image. It was awarded a single-image Honorable Mention in the 2020 Black and White Spider Awards, Category, Photojournalism. The third, "Camaraderie", was taken a week later, three co-workers wanted to pose together. The fourth, "Painful Day" shows the impact of the daily events on these hospital workers. The fifth, "Better Day", is an image from the very end of April and clearly things were looking up. The sixth, "Exhausting Day", I happened to turn around and saw this healthcare worker simply taking a breather. The seventh, "We've Got This", seem to reflect what was happening in the city: the curve of death was really beginning to flatten in the beginning of May. The eighth image, "Relief" was in the same light. The ninth and last of the series, "Gracias," was a Nominee in the 2020 Black and White Spider Awards, Category, Photojournalism was a of celebration of the healthcare workers with the local fire fighters in mid-April. I went back a few weeks later and gifted a 24" x 16" fine print of an image, "7pm Appreciation", reflecting how much the neighborhood appreciates the heroic work everyone in hospitals in Brooklyn and throughout the world is doing to save lives threatened by the global pandemic. They are risking their lives every day; all we can do is show our appreciation and respect for what they do.
The thirteenth image of the slideshow, "Jazz Bass" (Felipe Cabrera) was awarded Honorable Mention in the International Photography Awards 2019, Category: Event, Concert and Honorable Mention in the Monochrome Photography Awards 2019, Category: Amature Portrait.
The fourteenth image, "Alpenglow in the Dolomites at Sunrise", a panorama captured in the Italian Dolomites at sunrise (September 2015) won Bronze Award in the Epson International Pano Awards 2019.
The fifteenth image, "Approaching Paradise", captured from a helicopter over Na Pali Coast in Kauai, Hawaii (May 2013) won two awards: PX3 2013 People's Choice (Prix De La Photographie Paris), First Place, Category: Nature and Honorable Mention in Chromatic Photo Awards 2019, Category: Nature.
The sixteenth image, "Calm Costa Brava", captured at Cap de Creus in Costa Brava Catalonia, Spain after sunrise (October 2019) won 2020 13th Annual International Color Awards Nominee, Amature Category: Nature.
The seventeenth image, "The Glow of Kirkjufell", captured at Kirkjufell Mountain near Grundarfjördur, Iceland (June 2016) after a midnight sunrise won two awards Honorable Mention in 2020 International Photography Awards One Shot / Movement Photo Contest, Category: Nature and Honorable Mention in PX3 2020 (Prix De La Photographie Paris), Category: Nature/Landscape. "The Glow of Kirkjufell was also, the lead image in the series "Unworldly Iceland", which won Honorable Mention in 2020 Neutral Density International Photography Awards, Category: Nature (Series), Other, The series also included the eighteenth image, "Dark Storm Over Gullfoss," which was taken just as a very windy rain storm began to clear; the nineteenth "Alien Invasion" was taken in the WestFjords Region around two in the morning during the summer solstice; and the third image above, "Haunted Black Beach."
The twentieth, twenty-first, and twenty-second images, entered as a series "Costa Brava Art" won Honorable Mention in the 2020 Monovisions Photography Awards, International Black and White Photo Contest, Category: Landscape Series. The first of the series, "Calm Costa Brava" (Black and White, my preferred version) was during a beautiful golden glow after sunrise on the beautiful Costa Brava Coast at Cap de Creus. The second of the series, "Pulse" was near the same spot just as the sun was rising and the last of the series, "Morning Light," was taken after sunrise at Tossa de Mar.
The twenty-third image, "Living Atop the World" won Honorable Mention in the 2020 Monovisions Photography Awards, International Black and White Photo Contest, Category: Single, Landscape. It was taken from a beautiful tiny village at the top of the Pyrenees. Puértolas. The clouds were moving fast over the valley and the mountains from as far as France could be seen in the distance.
The twenty-fourth image was awarded Honorable Mention in the 2020 Black and White Spider Awards, Category, Portrait, is entitled "Sax on Juneteenth". We were walking home in Prospect Park from a Juneteenth celebration at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York.
The twenty-fifth image, "Pulse of a Storm," captured at Circle Beach, Southampton, New York this past summer won Honorable Mention in 2020 Neutral Density International Photography Awards, Category: Nature, Seascapes/Waterscapes.
7pm Appreciation of Frontline Heroes in New York City (Brooklyn)
The world has been facing the novel Coronavirus global pandemic head on. It is the frontline hospital workers whose lives are at high risk every day. This is extremely stressful work caring for those who suffer from the most severe symptoms, sometimes without proper PPE. They are true heroes.
New York City was the hardest hit city in the world. Late March, in the midst of facing the peak of the deadly virus, New York City began a daily 7pm cheering ritual. This ritual started in Wuhan, China and spread across the globe.
This series of 9 images (page 4 of People category) captures the hospital workers and the cheering and appreciation shown at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Brooklyn . Many times the local fire department and emergency workers—heroes, as well—join in the appreciation. These images were captured during the last week in April and the first week in May. I wanted to capture the heart-wrenching emotion of the hospital workers on the front lines as we all cheered, showing our appreciation for their heroism.
***I encourage all of those interested to leave comments/posts on my blog page.
My preferred photographic medium is black and white. I used to capture all of the images I create in color. Now, those I want in black and white I shoot in greyscale. I find the creative process of shooting in greyscale particularly exhilarating.
The techniques of my portraiture, both street and musical performers, are inspired by Alfred Stieglitz. Most of the time, I prefer emphasizing the details of a person's face in order to capture a momentary expression.
The techniques of my landscapes have been largely inspired by Stieglitz, Ansel Adams and Michael Kenna. Natural lighting, clouds and water moving at different speeds, contrasted with static scenery, create dramatic landscape images. By manipulating a scene with longer exposures, I seek to enhance tonal variations and complex textures transforming an interesting image into an unusual, unique and unworldly piece of art. The static scenery’s emphasis is enhanced, while the naturally occurring movement of nature adds its own creativity to my image.
My intent is for the viewer's imagination to travel where the art piece may take them.
* * * * * * * * * *
The slide show at the top includes twenty-five award-winning images.
The first three images won two awards as a landscape series, "Black Beach Art": Honorable Mention in the International Photography Awards 2019, Category: Fine Art, Landscape Series and Honorable Mention in the 2020 Monovisions Photography Awards, International Black and White Photo Contest, Category: Landscape Series. The first image of the series, "Icelandic Sculpture" (also awarded Honorable Mention in Monochrome Photography Awards 2019, Category Amature Landscape, single image) was captured October 2018 during a stormy sunset, a breathtaking scene on the black beach at Reynisfjara. The long exposure emphasizes the detail of a beautiful rock in the sea sculpted by nature. If you look close it appears like many hands reaching out. The second image, "Afternoon Moonlight" was captured October 2018 around noon. The beautiful and shapely clouds were backlit by the sun. The thickness of the clouds blocked much of the sun’s light. It appeared to be night time with a full moon glowing. The white grains in the black-volcanic sand were glistening, as well. The third image, "Haunted Black Beach" was captured October 2018 during low tide as a stormy sky was clearing.
The next 9 images won three awards as a series, "7pm Appreciation of Frontline Heroes in Brooklyn, NY": 3rd Place in the International Photography Awards 2020, Category: Event, Social Cause; Honorable Mention in the 2020 Monovisions Photography Awards International Black and White Photo Contest, Category: Series, People and Honorable Mention in the PX3 2020 (Prix De La Photographie Paris), Category: Street Photography, Special. These images are especially important to me. The first image of the series, entitled "Hope and Despair," was awarded a single-image Honorable Mention in the International Photography Awards 2020, Category: People, Portrait and Honorable Mention in the 2020 Black and White Spider Awards, Category, Photojournalism. It captures a healthcare worker, who came out right at 7pm and, wearing all of their PPE just looked up and reached for the sky as one colleague put a comforting hand on their shoulder. The second, "Difficult Day", is of a woman (I met Angela a few weeks later), who clearly had a difficult day. I was especially touched by this image. It was awarded a single-image Honorable Mention in the 2020 Black and White Spider Awards, Category, Photojournalism. The third, "Camaraderie", was taken a week later, three co-workers wanted to pose together. The fourth, "Painful Day" shows the impact of the daily events on these hospital workers. The fifth, "Better Day", is an image from the very end of April and clearly things were looking up. The sixth, "Exhausting Day", I happened to turn around and saw this healthcare worker simply taking a breather. The seventh, "We've Got This", seem to reflect what was happening in the city: the curve of death was really beginning to flatten in the beginning of May. The eighth image, "Relief" was in the same light. The ninth and last of the series, "Gracias," was a Nominee in the 2020 Black and White Spider Awards, Category, Photojournalism was a of celebration of the healthcare workers with the local fire fighters in mid-April. I went back a few weeks later and gifted a 24" x 16" fine print of an image, "7pm Appreciation", reflecting how much the neighborhood appreciates the heroic work everyone in hospitals in Brooklyn and throughout the world is doing to save lives threatened by the global pandemic. They are risking their lives every day; all we can do is show our appreciation and respect for what they do.
The thirteenth image of the slideshow, "Jazz Bass" (Felipe Cabrera) was awarded Honorable Mention in the International Photography Awards 2019, Category: Event, Concert and Honorable Mention in the Monochrome Photography Awards 2019, Category: Amature Portrait.
The fourteenth image, "Alpenglow in the Dolomites at Sunrise", a panorama captured in the Italian Dolomites at sunrise (September 2015) won Bronze Award in the Epson International Pano Awards 2019.
The fifteenth image, "Approaching Paradise", captured from a helicopter over Na Pali Coast in Kauai, Hawaii (May 2013) won two awards: PX3 2013 People's Choice (Prix De La Photographie Paris), First Place, Category: Nature and Honorable Mention in Chromatic Photo Awards 2019, Category: Nature.
The sixteenth image, "Calm Costa Brava", captured at Cap de Creus in Costa Brava Catalonia, Spain after sunrise (October 2019) won 2020 13th Annual International Color Awards Nominee, Amature Category: Nature.
The seventeenth image, "The Glow of Kirkjufell", captured at Kirkjufell Mountain near Grundarfjördur, Iceland (June 2016) after a midnight sunrise won two awards Honorable Mention in 2020 International Photography Awards One Shot / Movement Photo Contest, Category: Nature and Honorable Mention in PX3 2020 (Prix De La Photographie Paris), Category: Nature/Landscape. "The Glow of Kirkjufell was also, the lead image in the series "Unworldly Iceland", which won Honorable Mention in 2020 Neutral Density International Photography Awards, Category: Nature (Series), Other, The series also included the eighteenth image, "Dark Storm Over Gullfoss," which was taken just as a very windy rain storm began to clear; the nineteenth "Alien Invasion" was taken in the WestFjords Region around two in the morning during the summer solstice; and the third image above, "Haunted Black Beach."
The twentieth, twenty-first, and twenty-second images, entered as a series "Costa Brava Art" won Honorable Mention in the 2020 Monovisions Photography Awards, International Black and White Photo Contest, Category: Landscape Series. The first of the series, "Calm Costa Brava" (Black and White, my preferred version) was during a beautiful golden glow after sunrise on the beautiful Costa Brava Coast at Cap de Creus. The second of the series, "Pulse" was near the same spot just as the sun was rising and the last of the series, "Morning Light," was taken after sunrise at Tossa de Mar.
The twenty-third image, "Living Atop the World" won Honorable Mention in the 2020 Monovisions Photography Awards, International Black and White Photo Contest, Category: Single, Landscape. It was taken from a beautiful tiny village at the top of the Pyrenees. Puértolas. The clouds were moving fast over the valley and the mountains from as far as France could be seen in the distance.
The twenty-fourth image was awarded Honorable Mention in the 2020 Black and White Spider Awards, Category, Portrait, is entitled "Sax on Juneteenth". We were walking home in Prospect Park from a Juneteenth celebration at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York.
The twenty-fifth image, "Pulse of a Storm," captured at Circle Beach, Southampton, New York this past summer won Honorable Mention in 2020 Neutral Density International Photography Awards, Category: Nature, Seascapes/Waterscapes.
7pm Appreciation of Frontline Heroes in New York City (Brooklyn)
The world has been facing the novel Coronavirus global pandemic head on. It is the frontline hospital workers whose lives are at high risk every day. This is extremely stressful work caring for those who suffer from the most severe symptoms, sometimes without proper PPE. They are true heroes.
New York City was the hardest hit city in the world. Late March, in the midst of facing the peak of the deadly virus, New York City began a daily 7pm cheering ritual. This ritual started in Wuhan, China and spread across the globe.
This series of 9 images (page 4 of People category) captures the hospital workers and the cheering and appreciation shown at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Brooklyn . Many times the local fire department and emergency workers—heroes, as well—join in the appreciation. These images were captured during the last week in April and the first week in May. I wanted to capture the heart-wrenching emotion of the hospital workers on the front lines as we all cheered, showing our appreciation for their heroism.
***I encourage all of those interested to leave comments/posts on my blog page.
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