Passing Before My Eyes

Natural Abstraction

mkriegh — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 11:47:50 +0000

Nature is an inexhaustible source of abstract beauty. The color, pattern and texture combinations are endless. These pictures were taken on Block Island this past weekend, near Mansion Beach.

Ice

mkriegh — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:02:33 +0000

I went for a walk down by the river today, camera in tow. It has been pretty cold for the past couple of days so I expected ice at the river. What I saw and photographed was another world. Shards of ice piled up on the shore like piles of broken glass. The tide was receding so ice, with water retreating from beneath it, was collapsing with a cacophony of pops and snaps. It was absolutely amazing. Hopefully these pictures give a small impression of what it was like…

Tree Silhouette

Shoreline

Across The Water

Across The Water II

Icescape

Icescape II

Icescape III

Icescape iV

All Piled Up

Sunrise and Low Tide

mkriegh — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:42:09 +0000

The shoreline of the Hudson River continues to be an interesting place to prospect for photographs. I especially like low tide as it reveals a world of in between. Areas of the shore that are sometimes under water, sometimes not. All of these photos were taken just after sunrise, another border line, this one always of comings and renewal. It is kind of amazing to think that many miles up the river from the sea there are tides. Substantial ones too. The photos of the roots of a dead tree in particular intrigue me. They are like strange creatures, elephants, martians and what not.

New Year Stroll Along the Hudson

mkriegh — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:18:23 +0000

Almost the first thing I did this year is go for a sunrise stroll along the banks of the Hudson in Beacon. The tide was on the low side exposing a lot of rocky shoreline. There was a light haze in the air and the water was almost dead calm. Canadian Geese were carrying on loudly and as the sun rose above Mt. Beacon, they took off in several groups for parts unknown to me. It was such a peaceful morning. I hope a few of my photos captured that tranquility. Happy New Year!

Portrait of Faith

mkriegh — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:26:21 +0000

About a week ago there was a big fog in Beacon. As I have noted before, fogs are incredible atmosphere makers. As soon as daylight began I headed out to get some pictures. My main objective was St. Lukes Episcopal Church in Beacon NY. Between the church and the surrounding grave yard and trees, I was sure it would make a great subject in the fog. I believe I got one of my best shots of the year that day. And it is a shot that turns out to be less about the building itself, and more about the idea of religion and faith and nature. It is a kind of ethereal, ghost like portrayal that is at once nostalgic about concepts of humanity, god and nature, but is equally relevant to our present time in depicting what faith has become, a shadowy and imprecise attempt to know the unknowable. And it asks whether faith is fading from usefulness in answering our questions about meaning and existence, or is there something ineffable about that existence?

All images may be enlarged by clicking on them.

Morning Walk

mkriegh — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:49:31 +0000

When I work from home I like to start the day with a walk down by the river, usually with camera in tow. Last night there was a hard frost and everything was “hoary white.” Coupled with the sun just coming up, the effects were camera ready. This is the selection of shots I boiled it all down to.

Precious Light

mkriegh — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:26:32 +0000

Yesterday I got the opportunity to tour an old mansion home owned by the United Order of Tents. I took these photographs while I was there. One of the trends of modern architecture is to provide as much window area as possible. To remove the barrier between nature and our controlled indoor environments. This is most famously exemplified by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House and later, Phillip Johnson’s Glass House. Both are seminal achievements of modern architecture. As I spend more time in old structures like the building photographed here, I realize that there is value in not being so profligate with light. The worlds conjured up by the shadows in these photographs seems magical.

In A Fog

mkriegh — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 13:17:31 +0000

It is well known that photographing in a fog can produce amazing photographs. This is a collection of photographs I got last April in my home town Beacon. I think these are among the best photographs I have taken all year. All photos were taken with, and processed in, an iPhone 4

Bus Stop Gods and Goddesses

mkriegh — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:39:39 +0000

I imagine these men and women as the gods and goddesses of our age. I imagine this is how a civilization picking through the artifacts of our civilization a thousand years from now might view them. Larger than life images of beautiful humanoid gods and goddesses. They would think we worshiped them and might go looking for the mythology behind them. Like the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses of long ago. As the fabric of the world economy unravels in Greece and Italy right now, the images seem even a little more poignent. Gods and goddesses of consumption, their hedonistic excess come home to roost…

Black and White Blossoms

mkriegh — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:49:02 +0000

A selection of blossom photographs I made this summer with my iPhone camera. Processing generally pumped up the contrast to darken the background and make the blossom stand out. All shots were processed in the iPhone using PhotoShop Express, which is probably my favorite photo app on the iPhone. The tools are basic, but they are all I feel I need.