STUDIO GRIFFOTO FINE ART IMAGERY
  Carnival Revisited
  Bodie
  Bradbury
  Brooklyn First Snow 2017
  Carnival -- Venice
  Churches
  Death Valley 2019
  Fall Colors
  Florence
  Forest Light
  Form Photography
  Italian Churches Revisited
  Nature and Landscapes
  Pompei
  Road Trip 2016
  Road Trip 2018
  Siena
  Travel
  Up and Away: Airplanes and Balloons
  Venice
  Wildflowers
  Winter
  Yellowstone
  Florentine Sculpture
 
  Winter in Black and White
  Digital Derivatives
  Abstract Form
  Airplanes
  Architecture
  Arno Abstract Reflections
  Doors
  Flowers
  Landscapes
  Masquerade
  More Masquerade
  Non-Objective
  Windows
818-421-3517
Camarillo CA 93012

BLACK and WHITE MAKES

Black and white photography, really good black and white photography, involves much more than the black and white extremes of the gray scale.  The Zone System developed by Ansel Adams is a method whereby photographers can previsualize an image using eight gradations of the grayscale, then expose in the camera and develop later to achieve that vision.  When I began to study photography in earnest, I learned composition, design and how to read light, and then how to employ the zone system to make a photograph.  I believe Ansel was absolutely correct saying, "You don't take photographs, you make them.

I spent a year studying with Leland Rice in weekly extension classes at UCLA with countless hours of darkroom work learning to make good photos using the Zone System.  It is not easy, especially with 35mm film loaded in short reels, shooting multiple subjects every week and developing negatives and prints until you get something good enough to post in class for everyone to critique.  Aside from the basic fundamentals of photography, I learned a lot about my own abilities to create photographs.  I recognized that my struggle to previsualize images in terms of the grayscale is because light and color are what I see photographically.  Today, I rarely make any black and white photos, even though my digital cameras offer that option.  It just isn’t my niche.

During the pandemic, though, in looking for new ways to present my work. I began converting some of my color images to black and white using the tools in Photoshop to try to approximate artistic Zone System prints. This is not an easy exercise, even with the algorithms and filters in Photoshop.  It is a fun challenge though, and compels me to look at my work differently.  Here are some examples of this project...

 
INDOOR POOL, HEARST CASTLE
LOOKING UP, PALAZZO PUBBLICO COURTYARD, SIENA
BRADBURY GHOST
BRADBURY SPIRAL
SEEING, AREZZO
LIU-JO 1, FLORENCE
ELEMENTS, FLORENCE
HUNG OUT TO DRY, FLORENCE
FACADE, PALAZZO DEL GIGLIO, VENICE
LIU-JO 2, FLORNCE
MISS MATCHED, VENICE
NEGLECTED TREASURE, FLORENCE
TRATTORIA ZA ZA'S RED ROOM, FLORENCE
WINTER MORN, RIALTO, VENICE
PATCHWORK, VENICE
AROUND THE CORNER, VENICE
GRAFFITI, VENICE
SHOCK GRAFFITI, VENICE
WALL PAPER, VENICE
GIUSY, VENICE
A QUIET STROLL, VENICE
A WALK ON THE QUITE SIDE, VENICE
COULDN'T RESIST, VENICE
BRAVING THE RAIN, VENICE
UNDAUNTED, VENICE
RAINY DAY REFLECTION, VENICE
OLD VENICE
CROSSING, PERUGIA
PONTE ALLE GRAZIE, FLORENCE
UFFIZI COURTYARD, FLORENC
UFFIZI COURTYARD 2, FLORENCE
CAMPANILE, LORENCE
SANTA MARIA NOVELLA, FLORENCE
LIGHT IN THE PALACE, SIENA
LIGHT IN THE CRYPT, SAN MIN1ATO, FLORENCE
GOD-LIGHT, ST. PETER'S, ROME
INTENSITY, CARNIVAL VENICE
SERENITY, CARNIVAL, VENICE
GREEN EYES, CARNIVAL, VENICE
LOLA, CARNIVAL, VENICE
CHARMER, VENICE
ARANCIONE 2, VENICE
LOVELY 1, VENICE
UNDRESSED, LUCCA
ANTIQUE SHOP, AREZZO
CASUAL SUNDAY, LUCCA
INTERSECTION, VERNAZZA
WAITING, VERNAZZA
I'M WALKING HERE, FLORENCE
BAZAAR, FLORENCE
HOT STUFF, PERUGIA
INFATUATION, SIENA
LUNCHTIME VIEW, SIENA
ART EDUCATION, SIENA
SATYR, GIAMBOLOGNA, FLORENCE
SATYR, GIAMBOLOGNA, FLORENCE
PERSEUS BEHEADED MEDUSA, CELLINI, FLORENCE
WATER LILIES
ALOE GLOW 1
CACTUS WRAP
ALOE GLOW 2
CYPRESS, POINT LOBOS
AFTERMATH, WOOLSEY FIRE
OCEAN ROCKS, MONTANA D'ORO
DEATH VALLEY
DEATH VALLEY 2
ALONE, DEATH VALLEY
OMINOUS, DEATH VALLEY
DUNE LIGHT, DEATH VALLEY
MUD FLAT, DEATH VALLEY
DEATH VALLEY 3
MONUMENT VALLEY
FORD'S LOOKOUT, MONUMENT VALLEY
VALLEY OF FIRE
VALLEY OF FIRE 2
T-REX AND LION, VALLEY OF FIRE
ABANDONED, BODIE
LOPSIDED, BODIE
CHURCH, BODIE
GHOST HOUSE, BODIE
MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME, BODIE
LIVING ROOM, BODIE
ASSAY OFFICE, BODIE
ABANDONED, BODIE
FILL'ER UP, BODIE
FORSAKEN CORRAL, CARRIZO PLAIN
BIG SKY, CARRIZO PLAIN
CORSAIR 1
EXECUTIVE SWEET
CHINA DOLL
CORSAIR 2
PRETTY POLLY
CHINA DOLL 2
PIANO PLANTER
PARKED PATTERNS, FLORENCE
OLD GLORY, BROOKLYN BRIDGE
INVERTED REALITY, COPENHAGEN
ANGEL, PERE LACHAISE, PARIS
D'ORSAY DOLL, PARIS
CHAMPS-ELYSEES, PARIS
LOUVRE STAIRWELL, PARIS