Gateway 1Ascendant gateway,
Entryway to the future -
Whether bright or dark Gateway 2Ascendant gateway,
Entryway to the future -
Whether bright or dark Gateway 3Ascendant gateway,
Entryway to the future -
Whether bright or dark These three images are titled Gateway 1, Gateway 2 and Gateway 3 and they comprise my Gateway mini-series. The series represents an interpretation of the Gateway Arch, which is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri. The caption of each of the three images is:

Ascendant gateway,
Entryway to the future -
Whether bright or dark

Recently I was driving through St. Louis on my return to Denver from a photo printing workshop and made a short stop at the Gateway Arch. It was a hazy morning which turned out to be good conditions for making images showing the sunlight and its reflections on the arch. I remember watching the arch being built in the 1960's when my grandfather would sometimes take me to a Cardinals game so being there brought back those pleasant memories.

It was fun exploring different viewpoints, vantage points and angles. And as often happens, that exploration piqued the interest of others who were there that morning and wondered what I was doing. That led to a nice conversation before getting back on the road.

Here's some information about the Gateway Arch from WikiPedia:

• Both the width and height of the arch are 630 feet (192 m). 
• The cross-sections of the arch's legs are equilateral triangles, narrowing from 54 feet (16 m) per side at the bases to 17 feet (5.2 m) per side at the top. 
• The arch is hollow to accommodate a unique tram system that takes visitors to an observation deck at the top.
• The arch was designed by architect Eero Saarinen in 1947. Construction began in 1963, and the arch was completed in 1965.

Urbane VBeginning of day
Sun rising over waking city
What will the day bring?

The title of this long exposure image of Downtown New York is Urbane V, and it's part of my Urbane series. The vantage point was in New Jersey with the Hudson River in the foreground. There were vessels on the river so the long exposure nicely eliminated those.

The image's caption is:

Beginning of day
Sun rising over waking city -
What will the day bring?

My intent was to contrast the sharp detail in the buildings with the smooth and soft water that resulted from the long exposure. Also to highlight the morning light on the buildings.

The sun is rising to the left of the image. Unfortunately I had read The Photographers Ephemeris app 180 degrees backwards. I was expecting the sun to be behind me but when I arrived it was in front of the camera. That limited the available compositions. Usually I'm not that geographically challenged but was apparently turned around.

The image was with the Fuji GFX100s medium format body and Fujinon 45-100mm lens at 70mm. It was a 6 minute and 40 second exposure using a 16 stop neutral density filter and a polarizing filter. Since the lighting was the opposite of what I was expecting I made this one image and got back on the train and went to Brooklyn for images with the sun to my back.

Chrysler BuildingLiberty redux
With eyes brightly lighted -
gargoyles watching
_Richard Lionberger – June 2023_

This image of the top of the Chrysler Building is from the recent Julia Anna Gospodarou workshop in New York. It's also part of my Urbane Series.

The title is Chrysler Building, and the caption is:

Liberty redux
With eyes brightly lighted -
gargoyles watching

My intent was for a portrait of the top of the Chrysler Building straight on with shading to show depth. The arched areas at the top of the building have always reminded me of the headpiece on the Statue of Liberty repeated again and again. Also the mental image that I have of the building includes the triangular windows lighted at night. So I wanted to emphasize those windows by making them bright and to emphasize the arches by making them stand out in a repeating way.

The image was made at street level but I used DxO Viewpoint to adjust the perspective and make the image appear as if it had been made from approximately the same height.

Grand CentralIn stately grandeur
Always in a hurry - to where?
Under timeless sky

The title of this image is: Grand Central. The caption is:

In stately grandeur
Always in a hurry - to where? 
Under timeless sky

My intent was to have an exposure just long enough to indicate hurried movement in the mass of people moving through the hall. The sense of movement is greatest the nearer the person is to the camera. I think that the fact that the hall is not entirely symmetrical adds to the aesthetics of the image.

This is a composite of 6 images using the shift capability of the 24 mm Canon tilt shift lens. Actually there were three bracketed images for each of the 6 but I found that only one of the three was needed and I discarded the other two. The six images that I used were merged into two separate panoramas in Lightroom (one for the ceiling area and one for the hall) and then those two panoramas were merged in Photoshop. The final image could have been considerably more expansive if I had taken a couple of more images of the corners of the ceiling. Redoing this image to include those is just one more of many reasons to return to New York soon.

This was taken with the GFX100S camera and the Canon 24mm tilt shift lens with no filters. The shutter speed of 1/5 of a second was enough to capture the sense of rushing that I was looking for.

Urbane IVCalm and Serene or
Hectic, Unquiet City --
A Dichotomy

The third in my series of images from the recent Julia Anna Gospodarou workshop in New York is titled Urbane IV. It’s also part of my Urbane series of cityscapes and urban architectural images.

The caption is:

Calm and Serene or 
Hectic, Unquiet City —
A Dichotomy

This image of Downtown NYC was made from from Brooklyn at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

My intent was to create a dreamy, calm, atmospheric, soft image that contrasts with the structure and harsh angularity of the City, presenting a dichotomy. What’s the reality? I believe they both can be real depending on one’s mindset, vantage point and perspective. The idea was to create that duality by using a long exposure to soften the water and the sky, and by using local contrast on edges to make certain buildings stand out. 

This particular vantage point was spectacular in that there were the strong lines in the foreground water leading into the downtown area, and especially to the brightest building in the center. The weather was generally clear that morning but luckily there were enough faint clouds that I was able to coax them out in post processing to create the soft sky with fluid-like clouds.

I visited this vantage point a few days earlier but was not pleased with the images due to the flat lighting, so I returned. It seems there is always something to forget to check. On the return visit the tide was about 1 to 1.5 feet higher, but luckily the center line of posts was not completely submerged.

The exposure was 5 minutes and 27 seconds using a 16 stop neutral density filter and a polarizing filter. The image was made with a Fujifilm GFX100S medium format camera and 50mm Fujinon lens. 

Gale ForceIn gale conditions
With sails set for the squall--
Propelled by light
_Richard Lionberger – June 2023_ This image, titled Gale Force, is of the IAC Building by Frank Gehry. The building is located in New York not too far from the waterfront between Greenwich Village and Midtown. I understand the architect intended the building to remind one of sails, maybe because it is near the waterfront. It did make me think of a sailing ship under way and I intended the lighting in the image to simulate a storm . . . a storm indicated by strong light acting on the building. Hence the title of the image.

The caption is:

In gale conditions
With sails set for the squall--
Propelled by light

By Richard Lionberger, June 2023

This is the second in a series of images that I made at the Julia Anna Gosporadou workshop in New York. It's one of my favorites from the workshop and was fun to create. I particularly like the lamppost. One of the lights was burned out so I had to fix that. To use Roland Barthes' term, the lamppost could be the punctum, the jab, the pin prick. It establishes place and shows that the entire building is not included, only the upper portion.

The image was made with a Canon 24mm tilt/shift lens on a Fuji GFX100S medium format camera. The lens was shifted up to the maximum but the camera still had to be tilted up some due to being so close to the building. The verticals were corrected in post processing. The exposure was 2 minutes and 40 seconds using a 16 stop ND filter and a polarizing filter.

Top of the RockShining bright beacon
Among quiet art deco friends;
Attracting evening light
_Richard Lionberger – June 2023_

A couple of weeks ago I attended a workshop in New York put on by [Julia Anna Gosporadou]. It was both a learning experience and an opportunity to make images of the outstanding architecture and waterscapes in New York. Julia’s black and white work is incredibly interesting and avant-garde. She may be the next Ansel Adams. And in addition to being a talented photographer she’s also a talented teacher. Those of us who attended were fortunate to be able to see and learn her methods and processes demonstrated in person. I’m going to be posting several images from the workshop over the coming weeks. This is the first in that series.

The title of this image is “Top of the Rock”, referencing the popular visitor attraction at Rockefeller Center. The upper part of the building is also the focus of this image. 

The image was taken handheld with the camera pointed up focusing on the upper part of the building. The idea was to express the soaring nature of the building and a little bit of its setting, which is indicated by the subtle, dim structures on the right and left sides. Also the lighting from the left, making the right side buildings lighter than those on the left.

Somewhere, I got the idea that I would like to create a Haiku poem to go with my images. So I’m giving it a try here. These are my first attempts at Haiku, and I admit that they don’t always comply strictly with the rules. But they’re close. Here’s the caption for Top of the Rock:

Shining bright beacon
Among quiet art deco friends;
Attracting evening light

 

This is a Triptych consisting of a series of three images of the forest, all taken on the same day during a hike.

I'm pursuing mini-projects in connection with a workshop that I'll be participating in with Alain Briot in a few weeks. As he has pointed out, often we get bogged down and don't complete projects because they just get too time consuming, especially for a recovering perfectionist. In contrast  I finished this mini-project in about one and a half hours from beginning editing the images to completion and publication here. Just getting the project finished gives a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.

A walk in the forest reveals so many forms, shapes, textures and feelings. To me these images are representative of those.

Trees 1-1 Trees 1-2 Trees 1-3
 

The images may now be found on the website in the Mini-Series titled Trees 1. 

https://www.rllphoto.com/p498816434