Don't just take a photo – create a work of Art

Archive for: �’

The Angel and the Wingman – Down to Earth for Photo Fun

April 30, 2012 Posted by cdg

Earlier this month I had the pleasure to photograph two lovely friends of mine: Rita Strough (who talks to Angels) and Mike Gross (a.k.a. “the Wingman”). They are co-hosts of Talk’n’Angels radio show which airs live every Wednesday night on 1460 AM radio from Florence, NJ and online on blog talk radio.
I had photographed the two of them a little over a year ago, but was never really happy with the photos. (Heck, I had a good excuse – I had a couple of cracked ribs and could barely hold my camera much less use any lighting equipment.) But this time I was nice and healthy, and we had a gorgeous spring day – who could ask for better!
The photos were shot outdoors at the Ryerss Museum in the Burnholme section of northeast Philadelphia at Central & Shelmire, just off Cottman Avenue. The cherry blossoms were vibrant and the sky was a rich blue, so although I generally love black-and-white, today was a day where color ruled! I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. Thanks Rita & Mike for being such fun and fabulous subjects!

Okay, I had to do some black & white!

Read full article |1 Comment
Tags: No tags
Categories: General photography, Portraits

Backlit Cherry Blossoms

April 13, 2012 Posted by cdg

While walking my dogs one evening, I picked up a clump of double cherry blossoms off the street. The flowers were beautiful, at their peak of bloom. Not wanting to waste their beauty, I took them home, back-lit them with a small light-box and then photographed them. I used a Sigma macro lens that I did a review of in an earlier blog. It worked well for this, allowing me to get nice and close. I exposed to get the lit background nice and white, which gave delicate edges to the flowers, partially blending them into the background for what I consider to be a pretty effect.

All photos © Colleen D. Gjefle, 2012

Below are variations of the same photo:

Read full article |Leave a comment
Tags: cherry blossoms, flower, flowers, macro photography, pink
Categories: For Fun, General photography

Urban Jungle: Philly Coal Piers

March 31, 2012 Posted by cdg

I love ruins! It’s especially fun when you discover well-hidden, little-known local ruins that are absolutely remarkable. Case in point: the Philadelphia Coal Piers.

Back in the days of the coal-powered transportation, ships had to refill their supplies, and that’s where the coal piers came into use. Now graffiti-covered relics, these behemoths are found on the Delaware river in Philadelphia, right off the intersection of Richmond Street and Girard Avenue. I took these photos on March 24, 2012.

Read full article |Leave a comment
Tags: coal, concrete, decay, forgotten, graffiti, industrial, Philadelphia, pier, relic, ruin, structure, urban, urban exploration
Categories: Film Noir, For Fun, General photography, Ruins & Forgotten, Urban / Street

Return of the Furniture Guys

March 13, 2012 Posted by cdg

Remember “The Furniture Guys” from TLC and PBS? You can still see lots of their shows on YouTube. I’ve known Furniture Guy Ed Feldman for a couple of years now and recently he asked me to take a few photos of him with his cohort Joe L’Erario. The Furniture Guys may be making a comeback to TV, so they needed some publicity photos to send to whoever they send such things to. These are my favorite photos from that shoot, all taken at Architectural Antiques in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia.