Steven

Ezra Stoller It’s Not

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven
Guggenheim Museum, NYC, 1972 © Steven Willard

Guggenheim Museum, NYC, 1972 © Steven Willard

I loved (love) Ezra Stolller’s architectural photographs, but on my first trip to New York City I had no illusions about the likelihood of coming anywhere close to his images of this famous Frank Lloyd Wright structure. All I had with me was the Pentax Spotmatic I had bought at the PX while I was in the Army, a cheap Soligar 28mm lens and a couple of rolls of Tri-X. How was I going to get anything with that combination on a bright contasty day with people milling around in the foreground? But as I walked, just like in the movies, I heard the voice of Robert Capa, “If your pictures aren’t good enough you aren’t close enough”. So, with the camera to my eye, I walked closer and closer, reframing every few steps until I had zeroed in on the “fold” of the façade where the “M”s come together. If you know the building those letters, and the sweeping arches above are enough.

It’s no Ezra Stoller, but I still like it.

Scanned from a gelatin print and reworked in Photoshop to more nearly match the original.

I invite you to visit my blog at – here.

Stone Drain

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven
Stone Drain, Brookfield, CT © Steven Willard

Stone Drain, Brookfield, CT © Steven Willard

Looking around near where I live I often stumble across places where there is evidence of different eras. This drain, or culvert, was clearly constructed well before the road that passes over it was paved. No contractor today would use such materials; much too costly.

Olympus Omd EM5 with 20mm f1.7 lens, converted to B&W in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

Meat Market by Moonlight

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven
Meat Market by Moonlight, Steven Willard

Meat Market by Moonlight, Steven Willard

The hills of northwest Connecticut were blanketed in a fresh snow. The winds had stilled, the clouds had lifted, and a full moon lit the countryside.

Pentax K10D with kit zoom.

Guest Post – Steven Willard

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven

This week I would like to introduce a local photographer from Connecticut and the newest member of our team Steven Willard. I have been following him for quite some time now and I hope you take the time to visit his site.

From 133 bridge_Pano

View from 133 bridge, Bridgewater, Connecticut. Pentax K10D with kit zoom, four exposure stitch using PS CS4 converted to B&W in Silver Efex Pro 2.

My name is Steven Willard and I have pursued black and white photography since I first picked up my dad’s Leica in 1955. At the time it was really the only viable route to processing one’s own work, color was far too costly for a youngster, and black and white was really the de facto language of most photographers then. So, like many, I concentrated on learning the craft as it was taught by Adams, White and Zakia and would have been satisfied with that. Then came digital, and everything changed, or so I thought.

I finally bought my first digital camera (and computer and printer) and set about in learning a new language, or maybe grammar is more accurate. It was hard. I had a lot to learn and had no teacher to teach me about Photoshop, as everyone seemed to have gotten so far ahead of me and I didn’t know enough to ask proper questions let alone understand the answers. But an interesting thing happened. As I struggled to learn the new vocabulary of digital, I discovered that the message was still the same; see the subject for what it is, and as Minor White said “see it for what else it is”. That has been my goal.

To see more of my images please visit – My site