Welcome to my blog! Read about photography, film photography in 35mm, medium, and large formats, pinhole photography, about darkroom printing, alternative photographic processes, and more. Thank you for visiting!
Train Blues
Looking for new light on a familiar place, quite literally. Rather than focusing on the depot and the roofed platform I walked to the other side of the depot where the train cars are on display, using the lit up depot as a background under the beautiful deep blue tones of the blue hour. I really liked the lamps and set the camera to turn them into the star bursts you can see in the photograph. The background lamps shed some light on the car in the back and the strong foreground lamp was great to work the scene around as it was blasting blinding light towards me. Once I stood there I had no doubts about what I came to find.
Train Depot BluesOrchard Park, NY
Train Depot Blues, Orchard Park, NY
Did you enjoy this post and the enclosed photographs? Would you like to see more photographs from Buffalo and Western New York? Visit my Buffalo Cityscapes and Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes and enjoy! Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help!
Using my links to do your shopping keeps me sharing more photographs and writing the stories behind them and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how large, no matter how small. Thank you!
More from the Orchard Park Train Depot:
Where the Trains Don't Go Any MoreOrchard Park Train Depot
Fall Colors by the Train DepotOrchard Park, NY
The Chestnut Ridge Air Recipe
First Snow in Chestnut RidgeOrchard Park, NY
December 2015 did not live up to the Buffalo winter reputation. No snow and temperatures like in spring bordering on early summer. All around gray, inspiration somewhat lacking. A lot of unexpected couch time!
How wonderful was it to wake up on New Year's Day to a gorgeous white world all around! And I needed fresh air badly. With the Chestnut Ridge park just up the hill I made a quick decision, put on the so far idle ski pants, jacket, and winter boots and off I was. There were quite a few people on the main hill and on the roads near the parking lot. But once I ventured a little further I was all on my own with no tracks ahead of me making my own path. I felt alive!
I made my way up the hill, then down, over the old stone bridge, and back up towards the open area of the park. Once I reached the top of the hill I turned around and faced this view. Now not everybody may be a fan of winter, but I hope you will all agree it's rather beautiful. To me, not too many things compare. There is just something special about winter. Everything looks clean, a lot of clutter is covered up by snow, colors are limited and muted, and the air! Yes, the air! Only in winter does air feel so fresh, with a little bite as you breathe it in. So that is what you have to imagine here, the slight breeze in your face, the cold air , whiteness everywhere around!
Commissioner's Cabin in WinterChestnut Ridge, Orchard Park, NY
I did not walk along the main road towards the baseball diamond right away. Once I passed the fire training facility I made a left turn towards the Commissioner's Lake and Cabin. While I had the lake in mind I struggled finding the winter scenes I imagined. I moved on towards the cabin. And even from distance across the lake I already knew that was what I was looking for. Further, it started snowing again and the slight breeze was tossing the fresh snowfall around creating a truly beautiful winter mood.
In the end, it was not the shots across the lake but the ones following the fence line that I liked the most. In situations like this I am really glad when no one is around. I can spend so much time in such a small area making the tripod dance of moving a few inches left, right, forward, and back, raising the tripod up, lowering it down, ... until it feels right.
From the cabin, I followed the creek leaving the lake, could not resist a few more photographs there, crossed the diamond, took just a few more photographs of trees and groups of trees in the snow, and eventually realized that our lunch would now be more like dinner and turned around and enjoyed a walk back. I met one more group that ventured all this way and that was it until I got almost back to the parking lot. Another advantage of winter and fresh snow? The gates were closed and there were no cars. I wished so many times cars would not be allowed in the park and winter granted me that wish!
Did you enjoy this post and the enclosed photographs? Would you like to see more winter photographs from Buffalo and Western New York? Visit my Winter Collection and enjoy! Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help!
Using my links to do your shopping keeps me sharing more photographs and writing the stories behind them and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how large, no matter how small. Thank you!
Timeless Buffalo
Last year, I started several new projects to expand my photography in new directions. Recently, I shared one of them with you: A New Chapter, a New Book - Pinhole Photography. Today, I would like to share another one, well really just the start of another one.
If you visit my blog here and there you have probably noticed I liked minimalism, black and white photography, and urban photography. After quite a while in preparation I would like to share a whole new website with you: Timeless Buffalo - Buffalo, NY in Black & White captured by Digital, Film, and Pinhole Photography. Well, that is the goal. The initial digital selection is ready right now!
Timeless BuffaloBuffalo, NY in Black and White, Digital, Film, and Pinhole
Timeless Buffalo, NY in Black and White, Digital, Film, and Pinhole
The new site is going to remain simple and show black and white galleries photographed with digital, film, and pinhole cameras. To stick with simplicity I won't be adding a blog there. Here, I always introduce new photographs in a blog post. I intend to keep up with that practice, however, may not be sticking with it for the new site. I would like to be able to share new photographs quicker and focus on the images themselves, not so much the accompanying text.
And yes, it's all new and it is just the beginning. So please, let me know what you think, what you would like to see there, or what you would not.
I can't even express how exciting this is for me! Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you (#etbtsy)!
Did you enjoy this post and the enclosed photographs? Would you like to see more? Visit one of my Photo Galleries and enjoy! Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered. Looking for a wall decor present? Choose from several ready to hang solutions. Select a photo you like and click View All Products to add it to your shopping cart. Canvas gallery wraps, vivid metal, and standouts are available in the Showcase category. You can also choose a fotoflōt (from its own category). Or you can stay with the traditional photographic print (under prints) and use the Customize button to dress the photo in a mat and a frame (under the Mount & Frame drop down). Select your frame first and mat and glass options will appear.
Using my links to do your shopping keeps me sharing more photographs and writing the stories behind them and costs you nothing. You can also use the Amazon search box in bottom left for anything not mentioned here. I truly appreciate each purchase, no matter how large, no matter how small. Thank you!
Thank You!
It's hard to believe that this website is four years old now. And that would not be possible without all of you. So thank you for your interest in my photography, thank you for visiting and reading my blog, thank you for buying my photographs for your walls, and thank you for clicking on my Amazon links! Thank you all for a wonderful 2015 and for four years that have flown by!!
Buffalo, NY - 2015 Post Card
Enjoy the beauty that surrounds you (#etbtsy)!
A New Chapter, a New Book - Pinhole Photography
Cloudy Beach at DawnPinhole Photo #001
A whole different post today as 2015 is winding down. It does not really have anything to do with the fact that one year is approaching its end of life and another one is about to start. It just so happened and that is fine with me.
Right now, I have two completely new projects that I have just started and plan on dedicating quite a bit of effort to in 2016. One I will not reveal just yet, and the other one is pinhole photography that you can see some initial attempts for in this post.
If a passionate pinhole photographer happens upon this post, I apologize for the way I have started - with a DSLR and a body cap. I know that is not the true pinhole photography and certainly plan to do something about it. I just wanted a quick way to start while I learn more about the field and plan my next course of action.
If you visit my blog somewhat regularly you know I love simplicity. I love minimalism, I love black and white photography, and I love combining the two together believing that removing color is one way to simplify the scene in front of my camera.
Buffalo Main Street at Shea'sPinhole Photo #002
Last year, I first tried refractography (Indoor Photo Project: Flying through a Black Hole, or Discovering Refractographs, Indoor Photo Project: The Teleport, Continued Fun with Refractography, Indoor Photo Project: Lanterns, Back to Refractography, Indoor Photo Project: Imaginary Sailboats, A New Collection: Refractography, Abstracts by Light), another way of simplifying photography. Just a camera, no lens, and light reflected onto the sensor. So I guess my lensless journey started back then. Just here, instead of the lens mount bing left wide exposed a lens cap covers most of it except for a tiny pinhole, thus the name.
After some minimal research I acquired my first pinhole body cap and headed out to try it out. Hey, look, another reason to head out and look for either new photographic subjects, or to capture some familiar ones in a whole new light.
While my very first photo is of a natural landscape, the cliffs at Hamburg Beach (that is Hamburg, NY), out of my few attempts so far I like the urban photographs the most. I really like the old-style soft focus look despite the almost infinite depth of field with pinhole photography. It also resembles my world when I take the glasses off. Therefore, I suspect you will see more of those in the future.
I've also learned more about pinhole photography in the meantime, including the SLR body caps. I suspect the one I started with and that these photos were taken with has a hole a bit too large. By comparing exposure to my normal lens photography at f/22 I have calculated the pinhole to be approximately f/128. And that is about 1 stop slower than many other pinhole caps being sold as f/192 or thereabout. Needless to say, I have already bought one of those and look forward to comparing the looks. It should appear sharper and more contrasty. I will report back.
One Way off Main StreetPinhole Photo #003
So what are we looking at in my first series of pinhole photographs? Buffalo Main Street shortly after sunrise. Time selected mostly based on my color urban photography that usually provides nice colors over the architectural landmarks. However, the contrast of the light and shadows at that time works well for black and white photographs too and that is what I intended to do with my pinhole photography from the very beginning. Who knows, maybe color will find its place at some future point but right now, I plan on sticking with the simplicity of photographing with no lens and no color.
If you want to enjoy the pinhole blur, feel free to click on any of these photos to go into a slideshow mode, then move left and right to slide through them all.
So what is next? I've shared one thing already, the second pinhole cap to compare. Then, more experience, more urban photos of Buffalo, possibly a natural landscape or two. And of course, I am not planning to stay with digital pinhole. I feel limited by the approx. 48mm angle of view I can get that way and would love to go wide, really wide. I gather that most pinhole photographers use 6 x 6 cm film or larger but I may have my own reasons to try 35 mm first before heading the medium format and possibly large format route. Why? That's a story for another day, a story that is tied to the other project. And the other project? Stay tuned and I will figure out a way to introduce it. I am very excited about it and hope you'll share that excitement when it's out too.
Buffalo City Hall Down Court StreetPinhole Photo #004
Pinhole Photo #004 - Buffalo City Hall Down Court Street
Thanks for reading, enjoy the beauty that surrounds you (#etbtsy)!
Did you enjoy this post and the enclosed photographs? Would you like to see more? Visit one of my Photo Galleries and enjoy! Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered. Looking for a wall decor present? Choose from several ready to hang solutions. Select a photo you like and click View All Products to add it to your shopping cart. Canvas gallery wraps, vivid metal, and standouts are available in the Showcase category. You can also choose a fotoflōt (from its own category). Or you can stay with the traditional photographic print (under prints) and use the Customize button to dress the photo in a mat and a frame (under the Mount & Frame drop down). Select your frame first and mat and glass options will appear.