This is the first image I ever sold.  A nice lady, in Ohio I think, loved the drama of it. She also said that when she and her husband visited New York, it was one of the building they were most taken with.  Her budget was stretched but we made a deal and I resized the file and just sent emailed it to her. Payed by PayPal and delivered through the ether.

You couldn’t do that in the days of the darkroom.

OK, I think this is called the United Church way uptown on Broadway. I’ll research it some more and make another post with the info.
But what I love about this formerly theater, now church, is the amazing mixture of architectural details.

I have a whole series on this, just of the gorgeous, high-relief exotic details. This might even be Arabic.

Have fun with it,

Bob

This is the first post of 2011.  My New Years Resolution is to be more consistent with these things but there are so many architectural gems, so little time.

Anyway, I love to meander in Greenwich Village because you never know the interesting people you’ll meet.
Like this lady.  I’m sure there is a name for this kind of detail because you see it very frequently throughout New York’s older architecture.

But I was drawn to this lady because of the stony, yet somehow lifelike expression with which she beckoned me.
When I opened the image on my computer, I couldn’t help but notice her eyebrows, features and cascading blond  hair, almost as if she was made up, for a night on the town. And her expression, as if she might be a real woman entombed in mask of concrete, was one of quiet resolve, playing her role of the beautiful, silent sentinel of  Perry Street.

Sometimes, architecture is life.

You would think it would be easy to capture New York City’s most iconic architecture.
Well, it isn’t.

You’ll hear me say this over and over, well, if anybody read this you would, but since so few do it might be more correct to say you’ve never heard me say this or will never hear me say this . . . isn’t blogging fun. You can just go on and on.

But anyway, in photography, the essence of a thing is what most defines it. For much of New York City’s most fabulous architecture, it is the sky-scrapery way in which unique architecture ‘pierces the sky’. And for context, there’s nothing like beautiful clouds with which to frame the starkly intruding architecture.

To impart the dramatic effect you see here of the Flatiron Building set against the clouds required the blending of two exposures.  The exposure for the clouds that yielded a provacative mass of swirling darkness, punctuated with sunlight, rendered the building itself into a nearly black profile. Great for clouds, not so much for buildings.  So I made another exposure to capture all the details of the Flatiron Building.   By the time the details were fully exposed, the sky, with all those delicious clouds, was rendered into a flat white canvas.

But we have some amazing techniques that more or less, replicates, digitally, the old time dodging and burning processes of yore.

I think the end result of my Flatiron Building speaks to the essence of it’s shape, architectural splendor and it’s relationship to the sky.

This image is also in the gallery and available for prints.

Thanks and keep looking up!

Bob Estremera

Quick post today. I really need to do these more often.
But I’ve always loved the texture of this Church. It’s on Fifth Avenue in the 20′s.
It’s a gritty, old thing that I called ‘the Dark Church’ from the moment I saw it. I even wrote a short horror story where it was practically the key character.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the dark, foreboding mix of texture, shape and religion I’ve conjured up for you this morning.

Thanks, Bob Estremera

I walk past past Macy’s on 34th Street at least 2 or 3 times a week. It’s my favorite store, anywhere. I love the history and it’s place in New York City.  It’s got some great little architectural details too; not the least of which is this clock on 34th Street.

When my telephoto lens arrived, this was one of the first things on which it was trained.

Although I shot quite a few shots of it, I seemed to gravitate towards the one in which the essential details were isolated and balanced.

So here you go, Miracle on 34th Street – Macy’s. You gotta love it.

Thanks for visiting, Bob

This is one of my favorite shots. It’s on Fifth Avenue just a couple of blocks down from the Empire State Building. Must below 34th and above 32nd Streets. My built-in GPS system is uncanny sometimes.

I shot it a few years ago with a point and shoot Canon (A630) but went back with the dSLR so it could be printed large without losing the details.
The shapes, textures and architectural elements enjoy a pleasing visual rhythm  and invite the eye to the dance.

Another significant departure from my norm is color. This image was served nicely by applying and manipulating a quadtone adjustment.
My specific quadtone application still yields the mystery and impact of classic black and white but with the addition of a slightly warmer tone.
This, of course, should provide a print buyer with an additional option of color when considering one of the images for a given space where the warm tones might be more appropriate.

Any of my images can be converted to this quadtone but it is especially effective when the subject is masonry or stone where the warmer tone is more organic to the subject.
You can give me a call or drop me an email if you’d like to discuss further.

This image will be placed in the on-site and sales  galleries shortly.

Thanks for stopping, or happening by and hope to see you again soon.

Very best,

Bob Estremera

Didn’t realize how fascinating this was until I viewed it on my monitor.
Although this looks like two images, placed together, it’s actually the seam of two different buildings with similar architectural details.

I don’t think I’ll put it into the sales gallery just yet, unless – a few of you tell me it would make an interesting print that you can see matted and framed.

Oh, I forgot, I don’t think I have a few readers yet.

Thanks for coming. Come back soon.

Very best,

Bob Estremera

I was going to name this post ‘Broken Promise’ but couldn’t find a  promise that this cast iron capital had broken. I thought I was clever enough to come up with something subtle and brilliant but I guess I’m less subtle and brilliant than I imagined.
So I just  went for it’s most literal description.  I rolled the new title around on my tongue. Well, actually I let it rumble around in my head. And since ‘Broken Capital’ is so poignantly  correct it, considering our profoundly dysfunctional government, I think it works.

I think this is on Fifth Avenue below 14th Street, not far from the Forbes Building.  I love columns, you’ll see plenty of them here and in my galleries. Of course, this one attracted me because the once-balanced symmetry of marble column and cast iron capital has been eternally disrupted. It limps, visually, kind of  like a 3-legged dog.  But I love it, like my 3-legged dog named ‘Tripod’. I don’t actually own a 3-legged dog named ‘Tripod’ but it’s an old joke that just fell out of my head.

This image is also available as a beautiful fine art print. Email or call for details.

Thanks for listening,

Bob Estremera

Feeling a little artsy today after photographing the Westbeth tour for the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP). They’re a great organization dedicated to preserving the life, history and vitality of Greenwich Village from the evil empire. That’s NYU and quite another story.

Anyway, Westbeth is an artists community in what initially feels like quite the industrial enclave. But when each of the apartment (studio) doors open, you are at once enveloped with the warmth and creativity of the artist, poet, musician, you name it, that resides within.

So, I grabbed one of my more abstractish shots for today’s post.
It’s a rule in photography that you simply MUST shoot any kind of spiral, winding or twisting staircase when you are confronted with one.  Failure to do so will result in the immediate confiscation of your camera as you are unworthy as a photographer to allow such gem opportunities to go unmolested.

This is shot in the Salmagundi Club on Fifth Avenue, below 14th Street – itself a repository of beautiful and diverse local art.
There’s a beautiful restaurant there too.

This image is also  available for purchase as I am an shameless promoter.

Thanks and enjoy!

Bob Estremera