Photography
Scenes
31/10/09 00:02
Last week, it may have even been two weeks ago at this point, I had a day off and roamed Buffalo for 16hrs taking photo's. These were the scenes ( no photoshopping, just color correcting in Lightroom 3 Beta).
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Wonder Bread
25/09/09 21:05
Having only moved to Buffalo in January of 2007, I’m still discovering little gems of the city. Perhaps I should keep these gems to myself, as I just drove by the Fillmore Ave Projects and noticed it’s fenced off and getting a facelift from some conglomerate that will either start construction or just keep a fence around it.
Upon the request of my pal Mark Warner I headed to the Walden Ave/Genessee St. district of Buffalo the other day while I was out shooing. It seems like an obvious idea, but it’s one of those things that you don’t think about. It’s easy to go to the major landmarks in a city, but it takes patience wandering around unfamiliar neighborhoods, sometimes sketchy, to find that shot.
For example: The Wonder Bread Factory. Had I not been recommended to visit the Walden/Genessee district, I wouldn’t have found this gem of a building:
From the little research I found on the building, it appears it was neglected since 2003. The Wonder Bread Factory employed just under 150 people and different bakeries working out of it while it was operational. For a time, and possibly even still, part of the building was used for storage for recycled electronics. I do have a call into the real estate brokerage to see if I can get a tour of the vacant building.
The point of this is there are many gems out there, especially in Buffalo. As creatives, we nee to be on the look out and go to areas we normally wouldn’t to find an atmosphere that is different to us. Too often we get comfortable and photograph the same buildings or the same models and thus get in a creative rut. We need to push ourselves to find different subject matter. I’m as guilty as the rest.
-Nb
Upon the request of my pal Mark Warner I headed to the Walden Ave/Genessee St. district of Buffalo the other day while I was out shooing. It seems like an obvious idea, but it’s one of those things that you don’t think about. It’s easy to go to the major landmarks in a city, but it takes patience wandering around unfamiliar neighborhoods, sometimes sketchy, to find that shot.
For example: The Wonder Bread Factory. Had I not been recommended to visit the Walden/Genessee district, I wouldn’t have found this gem of a building:
From the little research I found on the building, it appears it was neglected since 2003. The Wonder Bread Factory employed just under 150 people and different bakeries working out of it while it was operational. For a time, and possibly even still, part of the building was used for storage for recycled electronics. I do have a call into the real estate brokerage to see if I can get a tour of the vacant building.
The point of this is there are many gems out there, especially in Buffalo. As creatives, we nee to be on the look out and go to areas we normally wouldn’t to find an atmosphere that is different to us. Too often we get comfortable and photograph the same buildings or the same models and thus get in a creative rut. We need to push ourselves to find different subject matter. I’m as guilty as the rest.
-Nb
Central Terminal: One
23/09/09 17:30
First and foremost, apologies for not updating over the last two days, I have been swamped with redesigning a website and finishing up two video promos. I could have updated earlier today but I wanted to go out and shoot to have something fresh to show. I took a pilgrimage to Central Terminal again to explore a little bit. One of these days I’m going to be stalked by the girls from The Shining and never make it out.
I love the Central Terminal. I know efforts are underway to restore portions of it, however I’d like it to remain as is; but who am I to make such a request. My goal is to photograph the platform area’s as much as I can. I know some people who frequent my site likely know people who work with the Central Terminal Restoration Corp. and will likely show them. While the main building has no trespassing signage, which I respect, the further platforms to not. Therefore I did not break any rules to take the following pictures. In the future I will coordinate to photograph the main building, like others have, but I hopefully will be able to put my spin on it.
The remaining platforms have seen quite a bit of activity over the years, in fact I’m confident people were there within the last 6 months as there was garbage from a recent Tim Horton’s promotion. The platforms are quite the photogenic spot. Portions are dilapidated, well most of it is actually, as well as over grown with fresh greenery. From a photographic/cinemagraphic standpoint the platforms are great because you get a real opportunity to play with a really great depth of field. The general platform area is also a good place to work on technique; I brought no tripod with me as to not draw attention and because there’s a significant lack of light I was shooting with a shutter speed between 1/8 - 1/30sec with a wide open aperture, thus it was a good chance to work on low shutter speed grip and technique.
One theme I noticed on the platforms were since that said: Watch Those Labels. At first I thought nothing of it, but they were reoccurring so much that it became slightly eerie. What labels should I be looking out for I thought at one point. I guess I find it so intriguing because it is very clear that the Terminal platforms were simply abandoned one day.
I could talk for hours about my opinions and theories about Central Terminal and society, but for now I’ll let the pictures speak for me:
I love the Central Terminal. I know efforts are underway to restore portions of it, however I’d like it to remain as is; but who am I to make such a request. My goal is to photograph the platform area’s as much as I can. I know some people who frequent my site likely know people who work with the Central Terminal Restoration Corp. and will likely show them. While the main building has no trespassing signage, which I respect, the further platforms to not. Therefore I did not break any rules to take the following pictures. In the future I will coordinate to photograph the main building, like others have, but I hopefully will be able to put my spin on it.
The remaining platforms have seen quite a bit of activity over the years, in fact I’m confident people were there within the last 6 months as there was garbage from a recent Tim Horton’s promotion. The platforms are quite the photogenic spot. Portions are dilapidated, well most of it is actually, as well as over grown with fresh greenery. From a photographic/cinemagraphic standpoint the platforms are great because you get a real opportunity to play with a really great depth of field. The general platform area is also a good place to work on technique; I brought no tripod with me as to not draw attention and because there’s a significant lack of light I was shooting with a shutter speed between 1/8 - 1/30sec with a wide open aperture, thus it was a good chance to work on low shutter speed grip and technique.
One theme I noticed on the platforms were since that said: Watch Those Labels. At first I thought nothing of it, but they were reoccurring so much that it became slightly eerie. What labels should I be looking out for I thought at one point. I guess I find it so intriguing because it is very clear that the Terminal platforms were simply abandoned one day.
I could talk for hours about my opinions and theories about Central Terminal and society, but for now I’ll let the pictures speak for me:
Sabres
20/09/09 12:41
I’ll preface this with the following: Every time I go to a Sabres game they lose. Every time. I’ve been to five games in two years and they have lost all five. That being said, this time I brought my camera gear with me to document the game. I was surprised and delighted to know that HSBC arena has a relatively lax photography policy for Sabers. If you have a pretty decent lens, such as a 300mm on up. We were sitting in section 109, so we weren’t that far away. My problem was my lens wasn’t very fast focusing, but that’s no excuse. Perhaps I’m just too slow. Regardless, not too many shots from the game, but a couple decent ones, I guess I need to go to more and get a press pass.
Gallery can be found here.
Gallery can be found here.
Chernobyl, New York
19/09/09 07:55
I’m fascinated with the amount of urban abandonment throughout Western New York. Any local you talk to will give you the song and dance that this building or that building is “just about to make its comeback.” We’ve been hearing that about the same buildings for twenty years, and it likely wont change anytime soon. The big hoopla are area’s like the old Central Terminal site, and the Jefferson Projects. While local government insists they will force federal government to invest in these landmarks, it remains to be seen.
I’ve been going to several spots for the last twelve months as part of a two year project about the Urban decay in the greater WNY area. Hopefully I’ll eventually be able to show this in some setting but that also remains to be seen. I’ve entitled the project Chernobyl, New York. Naturally its title gives the project a certain gloom and doom, but it’s meant to be optimistic. I’m in favor of not restoring these landmarks, but that’s a debate for an artists statement.
I encourage you to sample the preview I have posted. I’m hoping to be able to display this exhibit in winter 2010 or spring.
I’ve been going to several spots for the last twelve months as part of a two year project about the Urban decay in the greater WNY area. Hopefully I’ll eventually be able to show this in some setting but that also remains to be seen. I’ve entitled the project Chernobyl, New York. Naturally its title gives the project a certain gloom and doom, but it’s meant to be optimistic. I’m in favor of not restoring these landmarks, but that’s a debate for an artists statement.
I encourage you to sample the preview I have posted. I’m hoping to be able to display this exhibit in winter 2010 or spring.
Have Heart - Thank You
17/09/09 15:04
Last night, 9.16.09, two hundred and thirty people witnessed a band say their final farewell to that town. Have Heart, a band that has played the Syracuse/Rochester/Buffalo area a dozen times over the last 7 years, said goodbye on their Syracuse leg of their final tour.
Have Heart means a lot to me personally, more than I will ever get into on a public forum. But I will say this, I have never witnessed a band that had more passion, more drive, more integrity than Have Heart. I cannot say there has been a Have Heart performance that I didn’t enjoy, whether it be at the Westcott or in a larger venue. They made the Westcott seem like an arena and larger venues seem like living rooms. Seeing Have Heart as much as I have over the years, last night was a fulfilling conclusion and end of a chapter in my life.
So where does that leave us? It’s time for band to take their place and evoke the same amount of passion in a crowd as Have Heart did. Two bands that could easily do the same are Forfeit and Cruel Hand, both of which played with Have Heart last night. It will be an interesting time for punk/hardcore. There’s dozens and dozens of hardcore bands that are awesome, but will any of them touch my life the Have Heart did....we’ll see.
View the Galleries:]
Have Heart
Forfeit
Have Heart means a lot to me personally, more than I will ever get into on a public forum. But I will say this, I have never witnessed a band that had more passion, more drive, more integrity than Have Heart. I cannot say there has been a Have Heart performance that I didn’t enjoy, whether it be at the Westcott or in a larger venue. They made the Westcott seem like an arena and larger venues seem like living rooms. Seeing Have Heart as much as I have over the years, last night was a fulfilling conclusion and end of a chapter in my life.
So where does that leave us? It’s time for band to take their place and evoke the same amount of passion in a crowd as Have Heart did. Two bands that could easily do the same are Forfeit and Cruel Hand, both of which played with Have Heart last night. It will be an interesting time for punk/hardcore. There’s dozens and dozens of hardcore bands that are awesome, but will any of them touch my life the Have Heart did....we’ll see.
View the Galleries:]
Have Heart
Forfeit
Tomorrow a High of Snow with a low of more Snow
14/09/09 19:22
My relationship with snow is love hate. I love to hate it. More importantly I love to photograph it. Luckily I own the proper coat otherwise I’d probably photograph hot water heaters or ovens for a living. Buffalo has the best summers in the world, anyone who lives here is a testament to that. Winter in Buffalo is arguably more beautiful than summer, depending how you look at it.
For my wife who insists I call the landlord if the heat falls before 67.9 in the winter, she wholeheartedly hates winter weather (loves christmas cookies and houses that smell like cinnamon though). For me, nothing is better than putting on layers and walking around the city photographing its wonder.
As it turns out, Lake Erie (at its shallow parts) gets about 15 feet solid during the winter months. It is somewhat intimidating hearing all the ice shift under your feet, especially since any second the ice could cave and I’d be nothing more than a fossil. The mound of ice above was about 9 feet high of solid ice, sand and snow. There isn’t much in this world besides steel that is as solid as that mixture of elements. But everything in Buffalo isn’t as gloomy in the winter:
For my wife who insists I call the landlord if the heat falls before 67.9 in the winter, she wholeheartedly hates winter weather (loves christmas cookies and houses that smell like cinnamon though). For me, nothing is better than putting on layers and walking around the city photographing its wonder.
As it turns out, Lake Erie (at its shallow parts) gets about 15 feet solid during the winter months. It is somewhat intimidating hearing all the ice shift under your feet, especially since any second the ice could cave and I’d be nothing more than a fossil. The mound of ice above was about 9 feet high of solid ice, sand and snow. There isn’t much in this world besides steel that is as solid as that mixture of elements. But everything in Buffalo isn’t as gloomy in the winter:
Tora, Tora, Tora, as my grandfather use to say
12/09/09 18:56
My grandfather was obsessed with air shows. Every year we would go to the air show in Elmira and watch the nostalgic fighter jets and bombers. He would scare the death out of me as a child and go running and yell “get outta the way!” when the fighters would pass over; and because I was naive I would dive under his old Mercury until he did the all clear sign. I can’t remember if I was scared out of my mind or just playing along. I suppose the trauma of it all has blocked the small details.
In may I was hiking and ended up near Silver Creek and I was reminded of the jets and my grandfather while photographing some Sea Fowl diving into the water for small fish. I used the opportunity to observe them and practice staying tight with fast moving objects with my gear. I think photographing/filming nature is one of the best ways to keep you on your toes technically. While on the surface this may sound absurd, I think if you give yourself adequate time your technique will improve. Birds, especially, are interesting and difficult to simply ‘go take photo’s of’. After spending time photographing fast paced nature you will realize that you are better equipped mentally for the common ‘shotgun’ type of work that my generation seems to be getting accustomed too. By shooting nature, you’re consistently making split decisions in fractions of seconds; what shutter speed? What aperture? Where’s the sun in conjunction to my position? Is anyone next to me because my elbows are flailing? Do I need more lens? All the while you’re keeping your subject in frame and because they aren’t making it easy they are flying or running in any direction at any moment.
I also think photographing nature is gratifying from a historical standpoint. While hiking that day I heard a tree fall and had one of those “if a tree fell” revelations. By photographing a bird diving into the water, or a snake bathing in the sun, you’re documenting a part of history that no one else is likely witnessing. In fact if you were to ask someone if they’ve ever seen Sea Fowl dive into the water for fish there’s a good chance they’d say no.
I need to shoot more nature scenes, if for anything to merely practice. The more we practice the better we will be at our day jobs. So to move on from sounding like a father, here’s some shots from Lake Erie
gallery can be found here
In may I was hiking and ended up near Silver Creek and I was reminded of the jets and my grandfather while photographing some Sea Fowl diving into the water for small fish. I used the opportunity to observe them and practice staying tight with fast moving objects with my gear. I think photographing/filming nature is one of the best ways to keep you on your toes technically. While on the surface this may sound absurd, I think if you give yourself adequate time your technique will improve. Birds, especially, are interesting and difficult to simply ‘go take photo’s of’. After spending time photographing fast paced nature you will realize that you are better equipped mentally for the common ‘shotgun’ type of work that my generation seems to be getting accustomed too. By shooting nature, you’re consistently making split decisions in fractions of seconds; what shutter speed? What aperture? Where’s the sun in conjunction to my position? Is anyone next to me because my elbows are flailing? Do I need more lens? All the while you’re keeping your subject in frame and because they aren’t making it easy they are flying or running in any direction at any moment.
I also think photographing nature is gratifying from a historical standpoint. While hiking that day I heard a tree fall and had one of those “if a tree fell” revelations. By photographing a bird diving into the water, or a snake bathing in the sun, you’re documenting a part of history that no one else is likely witnessing. In fact if you were to ask someone if they’ve ever seen Sea Fowl dive into the water for fish there’s a good chance they’d say no.
I need to shoot more nature scenes, if for anything to merely practice. The more we practice the better we will be at our day jobs. So to move on from sounding like a father, here’s some shots from Lake Erie
gallery can be found here
Polar Bear Club_Forfeit
12/09/09 00:00
So besides working a 12hr workday and then going to a show, I thought I’d quickly import/color-correct a bunch of shots from the Polar Bear Club Record release show from earlier tonight. Per usual, Polar Bear Club did not disappoint and Forfeit is still one of the best hardcore bands around, and I’m not being bias.
At any rate the show was intense and glorious. It reminded me how much I love going to shows and that I need to make a more valiant effort to go to more of them and bring my gear with me. I had wanted to post a dialogue about shooting shows, but I need to collect my thoughts so I don’t come off the wrong way.
That being said here’s a few snapshots and a gallery of Forfeit and Polar Bear Club from tonight’s show:
gallery can be found here
At any rate the show was intense and glorious. It reminded me how much I love going to shows and that I need to make a more valiant effort to go to more of them and bring my gear with me. I had wanted to post a dialogue about shooting shows, but I need to collect my thoughts so I don’t come off the wrong way.
That being said here’s a few snapshots and a gallery of Forfeit and Polar Bear Club from tonight’s show:
gallery can be found here
Niagara St. Fire, Summer 2008
11/09/09 08:19
I always seem to start my updated sites with these photos, but I like them and am still somewhat amazed that I was able to capture them. Last June there was a significant 4-alarm fire on Niagara St. in Buffalo. A pool supply warehouse went up in blaze and caused all sorts of havoc along the riverfront. The I-190 was shut down for a chunk of the day, several blocks surrounding the fire were blocked off, and residents in the area had to shut their windows or leave their homes due to the burning chemicals spewing into the fresh June air.
I was coming home from North Tonawanda and had my camera gear with me. I had spent a majority of the morning with my ipod on while taking photo’s up north by the falls and hadn’t heard about the fire. As we now know, the fire department had the blaze under control but sometime in the afternoon lost control when the brick building heated up again and caused the blaze to start up again. As fate would have it I was driving along the 190 when a huge plume of smoke rose into the air, not knowing what was going on I got off the nearest exit and followed the smoke on the surface roads. I had to pull over about four blocks from the fire, per the request of the very......very polite county sheriff. I parked on a one way side street directly off Niagara and tried walking towards the scene. Naturally the very.....very polite county sheriffs wouldn’t permit me to get within two blocks of the fire, which was useless to me due to my lack of expensive telephoto lenses. The advantage for me was that a month earlier I had a gallery showing for one of my undergrad classes in one of the warehouses that were in that area, and I remembered that a train track ran along all the warehouses. This track separated the tracks from the 190. Knowing that CSX would have shut down the rail for safety reasons I walked back a few blocks and cut between some buildings and headed down to the tracks.
From the moment I walked on the tracks I knew I would be getting some decent shots because there were nothing but firemen down there, no police. I’ve learned that if you respect what their doing, firemen will allow you to hang around and do your job, they’re not as ‘polite’ as county sheriffs tend to be. I approached the firemen with caution and inching closer with each shot. Eventually one of them said to me:
Fireman: “ How’d you get down here?”
Nb: “ Well I know the area and I knew that CSX would have shut the rail down and that the police probably weren’t down here.”
Fireman: *laughed* “Well since you out smarted the police and the news crews feel free to shoot away.”
I took his advice and took about 1500 photo’s of the fire for about 2hrs. Most of them were the same shot, with minor changes in crews and number of hoses and what not. I eventually got too cocky and headed back to the front of the fire by Niagara St and nearly was arrested by a Buffalo Policeman, granted he was just doing his job so I haven’t held a grudge. However yet again I did out think him and the only reason I didn’t get arrested was because I told him I was with the Rochester Times and I would surely be fired if I didn’t report back to my editor with at least one shot of the fire. He let me shoot for five minutes then sent me on my way, so I thank him for that, but there’s just one, minor detail...
There is no Rochester Times.
The full album can be found here. I’d really love the opportunity to spend a week or so with the Buffalo Fire Department. I need to look into that a little bit more I think.
-Nb
I was coming home from North Tonawanda and had my camera gear with me. I had spent a majority of the morning with my ipod on while taking photo’s up north by the falls and hadn’t heard about the fire. As we now know, the fire department had the blaze under control but sometime in the afternoon lost control when the brick building heated up again and caused the blaze to start up again. As fate would have it I was driving along the 190 when a huge plume of smoke rose into the air, not knowing what was going on I got off the nearest exit and followed the smoke on the surface roads. I had to pull over about four blocks from the fire, per the request of the very......very polite county sheriff. I parked on a one way side street directly off Niagara and tried walking towards the scene. Naturally the very.....very polite county sheriffs wouldn’t permit me to get within two blocks of the fire, which was useless to me due to my lack of expensive telephoto lenses. The advantage for me was that a month earlier I had a gallery showing for one of my undergrad classes in one of the warehouses that were in that area, and I remembered that a train track ran along all the warehouses. This track separated the tracks from the 190. Knowing that CSX would have shut down the rail for safety reasons I walked back a few blocks and cut between some buildings and headed down to the tracks.
From the moment I walked on the tracks I knew I would be getting some decent shots because there were nothing but firemen down there, no police. I’ve learned that if you respect what their doing, firemen will allow you to hang around and do your job, they’re not as ‘polite’ as county sheriffs tend to be. I approached the firemen with caution and inching closer with each shot. Eventually one of them said to me:
Fireman: “ How’d you get down here?”
Nb: “ Well I know the area and I knew that CSX would have shut the rail down and that the police probably weren’t down here.”
Fireman: *laughed* “Well since you out smarted the police and the news crews feel free to shoot away.”
I took his advice and took about 1500 photo’s of the fire for about 2hrs. Most of them were the same shot, with minor changes in crews and number of hoses and what not. I eventually got too cocky and headed back to the front of the fire by Niagara St and nearly was arrested by a Buffalo Policeman, granted he was just doing his job so I haven’t held a grudge. However yet again I did out think him and the only reason I didn’t get arrested was because I told him I was with the Rochester Times and I would surely be fired if I didn’t report back to my editor with at least one shot of the fire. He let me shoot for five minutes then sent me on my way, so I thank him for that, but there’s just one, minor detail...
There is no Rochester Times.
The full album can be found here. I’d really love the opportunity to spend a week or so with the Buffalo Fire Department. I need to look into that a little bit more I think.
-Nb
