A Night of Architecture

Just before college I began to become very inspired by the work and images of Julius Shulman. The way he was able to compose the frame and present a space. His images may have sometimes been cold and lacked the personality of the artist, for he was a very chipper man as times. However, His ability to organize space within the frame was second to none in the world of architectural photography. He was able to add resonance, breath, and the sensation of movement to the sometimes distant feeling, stagnant, geometry of Modern design. I envy his ability to respond to space with such a heightened sensitivity. He was one of the reasons Modern architecture and design became popularized in America and arguably the most important architectural photographer of his time. Without him, Modern architecture would certainly not have been what it was.

Here are two (4) images that I made tonight inspired by Julius Shulman.
I greatly favor architectural photography to be in black and white because, unless color is an integral part of the space or design it distracts and detracts from the beauty of the space. I've supplie black and white as well as color versions of both photographs. PLEASE feel free to comment, critique, or ask questions.

I neglected to take down the address or the name of this apartment complex. I've got some searching to do.

Links to Julius Shulman's works:
http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/shulman/
http://ehehr1955.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/julius-shulman-photography/

Bing image search (large+wallpaper size only)

Here is an image I made over a year ago. To this day it is still one of my favorite architectural photographs of mine. I don't believe it's previously appeared on this blog so I'll upload it now.

SUNY Purchase Dance Conservatory - 2010 - ©Steve Shillling 

Revision (Sat. March, 31st)
It seems this photograph does appear on this blog in a much earlier post which can be seen by following this link.
http://visual-drone.blogspot.com/2011/02/inspiration-series-1.html
Again, Julius Shulman is spoken about and I provided some example work of his.

Letter to a Priest

I've recently been traveling around New York City in an attempt to photograph many of the churches and sacred spaces starting with Manhattan. Recently I stepped inside the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America - St. John The Baptist church. It's located at 143 East 17th Street New York, NY 10003. You walk inside this dimly lit space with only one aisle, velvet red carpet, red candles, a beautiful alter and the walls are lined with dramatic paintings. It's a wonderful space and the priest is a kind man who used to build and ride motorcycles. If you ever find yourself in the area, stop by and see if he's in. His name is Father Vasilios Bassakyros.

Peace,

-S.

P.s. It you wish to read the letter it's best if you right click and select open in new window. unless you're running Firefox in which case I believe it does that automatically.

Also, please do not click download file. I understand I'm presenting this file on the web where nothing is safe or private or personal but these are my words and I'd like to feel that I can share my thoughts online.

Information regarding the swastika and it's uses in world religions.
Information taken from:
http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/symbols/swastika.htm

"The swastika (Sanskrit svastika, "all is well") is a cross with four arms of equal length, with the ends of each arm bent at a right angle. Sometimes dots are added between each arm.

The swastika is an ancient symbol found worldwide, but it is especially common in India. It can be seen in the art of the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Celts, Native Americans, and Persians as well Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.

The swastika's Indian name comes the Sanskrit word svasti, meaning good fortune, luck and well being.

In Hinduism, the right-hand (clockwise) swastika is a symbol of the sun and the god Vishnu, while the left-hand (counterclockwise) swastika represents Kali and magic. The Buddhist swastika is almost always clockwise"

Image of the Night (Early Morning) # 13 [Carl Schurz Park]

I've undertaken a fair amount of photographic endeavors and so posting will be sparse.

I recently developed a roll of ISO 400 Fujifilm and here are my favorite images.
The images are of various locations in the Carl Schurz park (favorite entrance @ 86th street).

©Stephen Shilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Stephen Shilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Stephen Shilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Image(s) of the Night #'s 9 and 10 - NYC By Night

©Steve Shilling II; 2011 -  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Steve Shilling II; 2011 -  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Union Station D.C.

I recently took a trip down to Washington D.C. which I'll get into briefly in the next post. In the mean time here are three images made from essentially the same object. If you've never been to D.C. I suggest going, especially if you;re a fan of architecture. I got off the train late at night/early in the (dark) morning and was not expecting to walk through such a magnificent train station. I'm used to crumby ol' Penn Station.

©Steve Shilling ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Steve Shilling ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Steve Shilling ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Nearing 2,000

I've not much to speak towards tonight. We're nearing 2,000 views with less than 200 to go so that's certainly got me excited.  My day's been filled with Fritz Lang, Elia Kazan, and soon to come Dennis Hopper.

-While The City Sleeps (1956)

-A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

-The Hot Spot (1990)

As for images, here is a second image from the Tenth Presbyterian Church.

Best,

-S.

©Steve Shilling II ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Image of the Night #5 Church Interior

Here we have by far one of my favorite dark and eerie images I've ever shot.
Shot inside the very beautiful Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia we see a lone child with a man standing in the doorway in the background. This was shot using my old half format Chaika camera from Ukraine.
Tenth Presbyterian Church has a gorgeous interior as well as a very talented choir and I urge any and all who find themselves in the Philadelphia region to sit in on a service if possible.

Best,

-S.

©Steve Shilling II ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Image of the Night #1 - 'Urban'

Doing my best to get back into the swing of blogging. Recently I've begun working (interning) at Hearst Corporation and it's been rather exciting, if not time consuming.  Anyway I just wanted to pop on and deliver an 'Image of the Night'...now, no guaranteeing this is even going to be a regular occurring post...more likely it'll be a quite irregularly occurring post but I'm going to do my best.

©Steve Shilling II AL RIGHTS RESERVED

Featured is a piece I recently shot simply called 'Urban.' It is a piece that's for sale and if anyone is considering buying a print please email me at: SRS2Photo@Gmail.com.

Sincerely,


-S

Image From Medford

©Steve Shilling 2011   ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

500 and Counting... Let's Take a Look Backwards

Hello everyone, we've hit another milestone, the passing of 500 page views!  Since my last milestone post had 'legitimate' photography of mine I'll keep in step with that and again include some in this post.  Also, I thought it fitting that since my last post dealt with some golden oldies I'd show two images that have recently surfaced from the depths of my archives.

©Steve Shilling

This first image was shot the day I received, in short, an entire darkroom from a very generous family down in Maryland who was no longer using it.  I had a stack of what I knew to be expired black and white printing paper and a location in mind that I wanted to shoot so I picked up my tripod and the only 35mm I had at the time and headed towards a nearby abandoned dairy farm.  I shot to my hearts content and since I was new to this world called photography my heart thought it was fulfilled quite quickly and only two rolls later I headed home.  Down to my basement I went, literally cracked open the expired 'Royal' brand printing paper, and I threw a pice on for an initial test print.  What I was expecting was the paper to work poorly or not at all...I wasn't expecting this gorgeous result.  Granted the image is nothing special (give me a break, I hadn't even held a camera for more than a year) but the cloudiness and tonal quality of the print astounded me.  Looking at it now makes me wish I had some of that paper up here with me in New York.

©Steve Shilling

This next image came about a few years later after I purchased my first large format, 4x5 monorail camera from a photographer named Reginald Wickam.  He shared with me his long history with that camera and I cannot express how honored I am to have that camera passed down to me.  The image is of an illuminated incandescent light bulb exposed for approximately four minutes at f/64 and if you look closely you can actually see the illuminated filament suspended on the left hand side.  The image is a scan of a direct negative image captured on Ilford fibre based paper rated at an ISO of 5 (tho some places it says 3).  Maybe a smarter man than I can explain the smokey phenomenon that is occurring in the image but I cannot. It may have to do with the way the glass was manufactured but I can assure you that is was not the paper.

Both of these opportunities, the darkroom as well as the camera, would not have come my way had it not been for my connection to Julie Basello-Holt owner of Creative Genius Art Gallery and Studio located in South Jersey.  Julie and I have known each other for a while both professionally and as friends. She's a strong woman truly devoted to the arts and the creative spirit.

Tonight I hope to have yet another still life to post but at the same time I also wish to catch up on some sleep I've let slip by.

Sincerely,

-S.

Luxury Living: A View from Below

©Steve Shilling

What you're looking at is 200 Eleventh Avenue located near Chelsea Piers.  While on a gallery tour the other day I snapped a photograph of the monumental building with my trusty Blackberry.  The new 'In-Style' way of living in Manhattan (for those wealthy enough to afford it) is to reject the notion of "oh it's the city I can't have my own garage for my Mazaratti (insert pointlessly expensive car of your choice)."  For the right price you are now able to park your car in your very own personal garage.  Yes you read correctly. Below I've posted a video from Youtube that explains and illustrates this outrageous new form of luxury living created by the outstanding Selldorf Architects.  Their known for their beautiful modern designs that almost always tend towards the hi-end style of living and lets be honest...if the notion of having your own personal garage in your two story apartment doesn't scream hi-end then these images certainly will.

The mastermind behind this breakthrough leap in Manhattan residential living is non other than architect Steven Kratchman. Great name if you ask me. Among other honors he holds the prestigious Full Member status of the Urban Land Institute's Mixed Use Urban Development Committee Chapter. You may read more about both Steven and the Urban Land Institute by clicking on their links.

Sincerely,

-S.

P.S. Selldorf Architects has a beautiful book available highlighting their architecture. It features some fabulous architectural photography. It's a bit pricey so if you can find a better deal on Amazon and you're an Architecture enthusiast I seriously suggest you buy it.


Video displaying the car elevator and garage feature of 200 Eleventh Avenue.

Google Maps with Street View for those who'd like to investigate further:

View Larger Map

Inspiration Series #1

Above are six images from my favorite architectural photographer and notably one of the most important architectural photographers to have lived, Julius Shulman.
Below are two images I myself have shot.  Both images are of the campus of the State University of New York in Purchase, New York.  No doubt I've got quite a ways to go still.

©Steve Shilling

©Steve Shilling