Steven

Say What?

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven

 

Say what? New York City © Steven Willard

You know how you can be walking around and catch a part of a conversation that attracts your attention? On a recent meet up with some members of the Monochromia blog we found ourselves waiting in Grand Central Station. I was walking past the information kiosk when those words caught my attention. That’s all I heard, but it was enough to spin me around in search of the source, hoping for a photograph. I saw this and the camera came up long enough to record this image and then everything changed. People stepped in front of me, and by the time I got another look it was all over and the woman at the window was gone. Damn, this street photography business is hard for an old guy like me!

Olympus OMD EM1 with 12-40mm f2.8 zoom processed in Snapseed.

Marc at home

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven

Marc at home © Steven Willard

I’m glad to call Marc my friend. Former Marine wounded in Vietnam, photographer, camera repairman, a true polymath with more books than some town libraries. I made this portrait of Marc while he was sitting at his bar, lit by one overhead light fixture, one of those hanging things with a large frosted bulb with a white shade.

I don’t take enough portraits of my friends. It’s something I should do more often. You probably should too.

Pentax K5IIs with legacy 50mm f1.4 lens processed in Snapseed.

Please visit my blog https://stevewnwillardimages.wordpress,com

 

Fond Memories

Photography

Fond memories © Steven Willard

Some images you just like because they bring back fond memories. This photograph was made when my very good friend Dave Woodruff, whom I had known since high school, came for a visit from Austin, Texas. He died, not long after this trip, of brain cancer. He never complained. One of the nicest guys you would ever hope to meet. We were good friends for over fifty years and I still miss him.

Canon G10.

Please visit my blog https://stevenwillardimages.wordpress.com

A Place In The Sun

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven

A place in the sun © Steven Willard

I marvel how Hollywood manages to adapt novels into screenplays and then into movies. It’s hard for me to imagine Theodore Dreiser ever dreaming that his novel “American Tragedy” (1923) could be transformed into the movie “A Place in the Sun” (1951) starring the ever moody Montgomery Clift and the translucent Elizabeth Taylor. The general plot is the same, or similar enough that there has been no argument about attribution, but just about everything else, location, names and title have been changed. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a terrific movie, it is, but it argues in favor for the talent of the screen writers (Michael Wilson and Harry Brown) and director George Stevens. Worth watching.

For me, a place in the sun, means something different. It’s a place to sit and enjoy a few quiet minutes in the warm glow of afternoon, and someone interesting to share it with.

Pentax K5IIs processed in PS Cs4.

Please join me at my blog https://stevenwillardimages.wordpress.com

Never Too Old

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven

 

Never Too Old © Steven Willard

Friend Giles invited me to his fly tying class under the belief I was interested in learning to tie flies. I may have given him that impression, but what I was really after was the opportunity to make some photographs. Most of the group, which numbered about a dozen, were near my age, and extremely friendly, even sharing their snacks and wine. Who knows, I may go back and give it a go. Never too old.

Olympus OMD EM5 with Panasonic 42.5mm f1.7 lens.

Please visit my blog https://stevenwillardimages.wordpress.com

United We Stand

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven

United We Stand © Steven Willard

Just not HERE!

OLYMPUS OMD EM1 with 40-150 d2.8 zoom processed in LR and Snapseed®

Please visit me at: stevenwillardimages.wordpress.com

Fallout

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven
Pine and needles, Woodbury, CT © Steven Willard

Pine and needles, Woodbury, CT © Steven Willard

We get so interested in Fall colors it’s easy to overlook what else is going on around us. I had Wally, my dog, out for an afternoon stroll, and he surprised me by taking a different path than usual. No doubt he had caught the scent of a stranger, maybe a deer or a turkey, perhaps just a feral cat. At any rate, we were walking down a trail that wasn’t on our normal dog walk, when we came upon this pine tree standing in the middle of a bed of pine needles. They looked completely undisturbed, unusual because the grounds crew hadn’t swept them up.

It didn’t occur to me to make a photograph at first. Truthfully, I couldn’t imagine how to compose the subject, if there really was a subject. Here came Wally to the rescue. He found something he really liked the smell of and he refused to leave. I was stuck there, waiting while Wally had his nose to the ground, so why not make an exposure? So that’s what I did; I made one exposure while standing on his leash, and then he was satisfied. What a smart dog he was. I still miss him terribly.

Panasonic G3 with 20mm f1.7 lens, processed in Photoshop CS4 using Silver Efex Pro 2.

Please visit my blog at www.stevenwillardimages.wordpress.com

Last One Standing

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven
Last One Standing, Roxbury, CT © Steven Willard

Last One Standing, Roxbury, CT © Steven Willard

I’m not quite sure why I find lone trees so interesting. Is it somehow symbolic of the lone individual? Do I imagine Gary Cooper in “High Noon”, standing alone against the gang of outlaws? Or maybe Alan Ladd in “Shane”? I give away my age when I reference these two classic movies, but isn’t there something heroic in human lore about the rugged individual standing alone against the world? All I know is that whenever I see one of these old, gnarly trees that show the evidence of hardships, I feel strangely proud of them, and sad at the same time.

I learned from friends that this tree was finally felled by a storm. I drove back up to see for myself, and there standing by the side of the road, I wept.

Pentax K5IIs with 70mm f2.4 lens, processed in Photoshop CS4 and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.

Please visit my blog at, http://www.stevenwillardimages.wordpress.com.