It was a beautiful morning. Sun rays and grayish sky.

Matthew G. Beall   It Was a Beautiful Morning  2011

It has rained here off and on at Vytlacil Artist Residency and has left puddles in unusual places. Puddles and memories of childhood bring nice thoughts to my mind.

Follow my residency stay - Matthew G. Beall :: Inside the Studio

Matthew G. Beall   An Unusual Puddle  2011

MATTHEW G. BEALL: BLACK & WHITE

Matthew G Beall is an artist-friend who lives in Ulm, Germany.  He has recently shifted his creative pursuits to photography with stunning results.  I sent him an email asking him about his current pursuits and why black and white photography keeps him enthralled.  Here's his answer:

"Black and white photography has an inherent dignity and there has always been something dramatic, timeless and gripping about well-made black and white photographs that resonate with me deeply. The emotional power of a black and white photograph is an appealing quality that captivates and speaks to the viewer. This emotional appeal or language of light, shadow, texture, shapes, composition, tones, moods and the feeling of timelessness activates something primal within each of us that curiously pulls you in for a closer look. It is this that pushes me. The purity of black and white photography simply reaches within the core of my being. Black and white pictures have artistic and emotional qualities that are just not possible to achieve in color photography. It is these qualities that attract me to this genre. To sum it up ... "To see in color is a delight for the eye, but to see in black and white is a delight for the soul." -- Andri Cauldwell.

I am a vision driven photographer and painter. Hence, I subscribe to the idea that you don't take a photograph, you make it. This is the art. I spend many hours working on selected pictures in my digital darkroom to achieve this.

Matthew G. Beall

Matthew G. Beall Photography

Thanks Mike! 
 ArtBookGuy.com

Morning light rays through and in the trees at Vytlacil.

Fiat Lux!

Matthew G. Beall   Fiat Lux!   Sept. 2011

Light normally goes through the lens, but sometimes it radiates on the lens. Looking at the ordinary is often very interesting. It all depends on how you see it.

Matthew G. Beall Photography  Light and Lenses  2011

Matthew G. Beall Photography  Light and Lenses 2   2011

What is it about water? About rain drops? Why do we stop and watch the rain fall?

We had several days of steady rain fall earlier in the week. I am somehow drawn to rain... I like to stand and watch and listen. And, of course, make some photographs.

Taken at The Art Students League of New York Vytlacil Campus in Sparkill, NY where I am doing an artists residency.  Be sure to check out my Inside the Studio blog!

Matthew G. Beall Photography   Rain and a Roof   Sept. 2011

Matthew G. Beall Photography  Rain Drops from the Roof  Sept. 2011

Light casts shadows. Shadows enhance. The mundane remains no longer ordinary.

Matthew G. Beall  Waiting  2011

Matthew G. Beall  Anticpation  2011

I am doing an artist residency at The Art Students League of New York at Vytlacil

 It has rained for the past several days, but this morning I woke to some sun. Sun means light and shadows. This means photograph time.

Matthew G. Beall  The Studio Walkway  Sept. 2011

A Tree and Shadows at Vytlacil - where I am doing an artist residency

Light and Shadow's playful display.

Matthew G. Beall  A Tree at Vytlacil  Sept. 2011

Rocky Mountain National Park puts you close to the heavens. Atop the highest part of the park, you can touch the clouds. Clouds, sun and blue sky are the best ingredients for black and white landscapes. And throw in some snow and you've got a helluva lot to work with.

Matthew G. Beall  High Atop  2011

Matthew G. Beall  The Window to Awe  2011

Writing the ordinary, the mundane in light at 10ish in the morning . Again, I find much to shoot in my apartment and studio.

Matthew G. Beall  10ish in the Morning  2011

Matthew G. Beall  Much Softer  2011

Matthew G. Beall  The Source  2011

As I have said, there are many, many ordinary things of interest within the walls of my apartment. Light and shadow takes a mundane clay bowl and turns it into an object to look at. Light and dark. Contrast. Tones. Texture. The mundane, the everyday in black and white.

Matthew G. Beall  The Clay Bowl  2011

I know it has been extremely hot in many parts of the US. In my neck of the woods in Germany, it has been more like early spring and early fall. It got me thinking about snow. Will it be an early winter here?

 The beauty of black and white in winter.

Matthew G. Beall  Winter Outside my Window  2011

The ordinary can sometimes be made to be out of the ordinary. The mundane can sometimes be interesting. It is about vision. Visualize your shot: Look, See, Think.

Matthew G. Beall  Flughafen  2010

Matthew G. Beall  Baggage Carts Frankfurt  2010

Using my 7D and looking at the mundane.

The ordinary wine glass reflects the oncoming evening.

Matthew G. Beall  The Reflected Evening  2011

A HUGE thank you to Axel Busch! Follow his adventure here: Sailing Adventure.

I have a new member of my camera family. A Canon 7D. Wow! When you get a new 'toy', you immediately begin to play with it. And let me tell you, there are a lot of (new) buttons to get to know!

A straight shot using Sigma 30mm fixed focus lens. Not bad image quality for a straight out-of-the-camera shot.

Same set-up but outside with post-production work.

Matthew G. Beall  The Reflective Place  2011

We have had a lot of rain here in Ulm, Germany. I like it. There's something about rain drops on a window on a gray rainy day that captures curiosity and draws you in for a closer look.

Matthew G. Beall  Raindrops on a Window  2011

Matthew G. Beall  Look at that Rain  2011

The origin of the word coffee or café in French led to our much loved small and informal places serving refreshments and food called cafes or cafés.

Matthew G. Beall  Corner Cafe NYC  2010

At the Entrance to Bryce Canyon NP in Utah is Ruby's Inn

Matthew G. Beall  Ruby's Inn  2009