Thanks to Richard Wasserman

[Kirk Gittings]

Fellow member here, Richard Wasserman graciously came to my architectural photography class at SAIC yesterday to share his fine work. He showed original prints of two outstanding bodies of work, his Chicago River and Bensenville series. Richard is one of those guys I consider the "salt of the medium" doing fine work on their own because you are simply driven too by the subject matter.

Thanks so much Richard. It was a treat for the me and the students. Best of luck with the upcoming book of the Chicago River images and accompanying exhibit at the Harold Washington Library.

http://richardwasserman.net/

[tgtaylor]

Wow! Architectural Photography – supposedly that's one of the few fields in photography where one can “possibly” still make a humble living at.

I never concentrated on architecture – just photographing it as I happened upon it. Here's two images for your review - both were taken years apart and are un-manipulated flatbed scans so please pardon the dust on the B&W.

The first, Millbrae Station, was taken with a 90mm Grandagon from the parking lot. Do you think I included too much by incorporating the clock on the parking garage on the far right? Should I have been closer to the subject?

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4096/4752543347_a19b6ea9a5.jpg

The second, A Julia Morgan Designed Mansion in Berkeley, also taken with a 90mm Grandagon, was taken last December while on a "photo walk" with a group of DSLR shooters. The light on the upper left of the house struck me as too harsh but I shot it thinking that I could "burn it down." Do you think this composition works? What about the reflections in the windows - should I have used a polarizer to remove them?

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4119/4736908829_3267b09598.jpg

What do you think?

Thomas

[Mel]

Fellow member here, Richard Wasserman graciously came to my architectural photography class at SAIC yesterday to share his fine work. He showed original prints of two outstanding bodies of work, his Chicago River and Bensenville series. Richard is one of those guys I consider the "salt of the medium" doing fine work on their own because you are simply driven too by the subject matter.

Thanks so much Richard. It was a treat for the me and the students. Best of luck with the upcoming book of the Chicago River images and accompanying exhibit at the Harold Washington Library.

http://richardwasserman.net/

S-t-u-n-n-i-n-g! Tremendous inspiration. Thanks for sharing Richard Wasserman's images. I wish I could have joined your class at SAIC, Kirk, and will anxiously await your next one. Please post those details here.

[Henry Ambrose]

snipped......

What do you think?

Thomas

I think you crashed someone else's thread.

[Frank Petronio]

Why not start a new thread to show your work? It's kind of rude and off-topic. We should be seeing Richards' fine work here instead.

[Richard Wasserman]

Kirk,

I don't know why I just now found this thread. Thank you so much for your kind words, I really enjoyed showing my work to your class and meeting you and Tim. I'm always happy to share my work.

Thanks too for the yummy lunch!

[Jay DeFehr]

Beautiful work, Richard. Your affection for the subject matter really shines through.

[bob carnie]

Very nice Richard, this beautiful work reminds me very much of Steven Evans of Toronto, He photographed the Toronto Ravines with one project , and another the Ontario Thames river.

[Eric Rose]

When does architectural photography become documentary/environmental photography and vis a versa?

[Kirk Gittings]

When does architectural photography become documentary/environmental photography and vis a versa?

Architectural photography embraces the full spectrum from hard core documentation of buildings like HISTORIC AMERICAN BUILDINGS SURVEY (HABS) to high style advertising images of buildings. It also includes landscape architecture and thus can include many diverse elements of the man-built environment like the Chicago River and its environs.

[paulr]

When does architectural photography become documentary/environmental photography and vis a versa?

I think Richard's work is successful when looked at in any number of ways. It could have been labelled as documentary or envirnmental or as cultural landscape or as probably a few other things, all without feeling like a stretch.

When someone chooses one label for their work to the exclusion of other possible labels, I assume that they're nudging us, for whatever reason, to pay more attention to one category of interpretations.

Kind of like saying, "this is the angle I was most interested in." Of course, it can also just be the angle that a publisher or dealer or customer base is most interested in ...

[tgtaylor]

I think you crashed someone else's thread.


Why not start a new thread to show your work? It's kind of rude and off-topic. We should be seeing Richards' fine work here instead.

Well... no, you are both wrong. It would never be my intention to crash another's thread to show my own work. But I do thank you both for the implied compliment which is as unexpected as I am sure it was unintended.

Thomas

[Daniel Grenier]

I met Richard and saw his work on the Chicago River at a workshop some years ago. I was very, very impressed by his beautiful photographs and his ability to create a concise body of work. The instructors, and the rest of the class, were also equally impressed. This is the kind of work that deserves to be in book form and available to a wider audience. It`s that good.

[Richard Wasserman]

I met Richard and saw his work on the Chicago River at a workshop some years ago. I was very, very impressed by his beautiful photographs and his ability to create a concise body of work. The instructors, and the rest of the class, were also equally impressed. This is the kind of work that deserves to be in book form and available to a wider audience. It`s that good.



Hi Daniel,

I hope all is well with you. Thank you very much for the nice things you said about my work–I truly appreciate them.

A book of the Chicago River photos is being published by The Center for American Places and will be released early autumn next year. It's been a long time coming, but we are now in the final stages before going to the printer. The process has been arduous, but very interesting.

[Joe O'Hara]

Richard, that is good news indeed. I will be buying a copy of the book when it comes out. Your Chicago pictures are very strong compositionally, in my opinion.

I enjoyed your (I suppose, roll-film) square format images on the website as well.

[Richard Wasserman]

Richard, that is good news indeed. I will be buying a copy of the book when it comes out. Your Chicago pictures are very strong compositionally, in my opinion.

I enjoyed your (I suppose, roll-film) square format images on the website as well.

Joe,

Thanks! Yes, my dog walking photos are done with a Rolleiflex that I carry with me when, of all things, I walk the dog.