My Vision

Taking liberties using the iconic Bauhaus student dorm building.

Matthew G. Beall   Out in the Air    2012

Matthew G. Beall   Up, Up, Up   2012

The iconic Bauhaus Building by Walter Gropius (built  1925 - 1926) sits in Dessau. The outside is a beauty, and the inside is beautiful.

Matthew G. Beall   Bauhaus Window   2012

Matthew G. Beall Photography   Bauhaus Stairs and Window    2012

What is it about stairways and light & shadow?

Somewhere in Weimar, Germany is a staircase and a glass ceiling from which light bathes the walls of the stairwell.

Matthew G. Beall   Stairway to Light   2012

Matthew G. Beall   Stairway to Light 2  2012

While at documenta 13 in Kassle, we took advantage of visiting the Brüder Grimm Haus.These creaky stares are a wonder to look at as well as to climb. Of course, I couldn't resist making a black and white photograph of the staircase.

Matthew G. Beall   Brüder Grimm Haus Staircase  2012

Ingredients of a photo: 

Sun, Clouds, Sand, Beach Chairs, Old Buildings, Fauna, Light, Shadow. 

Mix together

Matthew G. Beall   Ahlbeck   2012

On the island of Rügen on the Baltic Sea coast of Germany.  The roofed wicker beach chairs (Strandkörbe) waiting for the storm to come.

Matthew G. Beall   Rügen: Waiting for the Storm   2012

Sometimes really playing around with a photograph brings about something unexpected even though you started with a certain end result vision. The unexpected can be, at times, better than the expected. The unexpected can take you into a new direction, it can open your eyes wider, it can lead you to paint outside the lines, and it can remind you that you can fun with your art, too.

Matthew G. Beall   The Chairs   2012

Matthew G. Beall   The Chairs II   2012

 Take about 13 minutes to watch what goes into making a Canon. Video from 2010.

European cities have plenty of old, old buildings and things. Some of these have been restored, some are in need of restoration, and some have no hope.

Even though I live in an old German city, I am constantly surprised by the things I see that I have not seen before even though I may have passed the thing a 100 times. I believe most of us just walk blindly through our every day life, and this includes me at times ...

So, when you go out to shoot, look up, look around, and seek out the unseen.

There is a ruin, which is built into the old fortress wall, I made a photograph of called Hidden. I asked those that live in Ulm where it is. Yes, they got it!. This ruin sits in the center of the city (Stadtmitte = city center/center of the city) close to the Danube. I am pretty sure most that live in Ulm have walked past it many times, but have never actually looked at it.

The ruin is here. Walk through the tunnel and you are in the Rosengarten at the Danube. It is next to the Meeting House - (Holy) Trinity Church. (English translation)

The Ruin

Matthew G. Beall   Uhrturm    2012

There is always an object to photograph. Sometimes the object is as plain as day and sometimes it is hidden i.e. it is not really looked at.

It was a sunny day, a sunny spring day with strong shadows. It was a perfect day for shooting black and white. Shadows and light grab me!

Limited Edition Prints available.  

Matthew G. Beall    Hidden    2012

An exquisite glow

A beautiful illumination

The Flower

Matthew G. Beall Photography   The Flower   2012

better than black and white.

Matthew G. Beall   June Leaves   2012

The Big Five

Light and Shadow = mood

 

Contrast = attention

 

Shape and Form = interest

 

Pattern = interest

 

Texture = emphasis

 

Matthew G. Beall  Lines and Shadows 5  2012

 I was out and about in Söflingen, a part of Ulm, on a slightly overcast day with camera and intent mixed with vision. There is always something to make a photograph of.

"Black and White makes a oneness ..." Clyde Butcher  ---  If you don't know Clyde's work, you NEED to have a look, a long look at it.

Matthew G. Beall   Lines and Shadows 1  2012

Matthew G. Beall   Lines and Shadows 2  2012

Matthew G. Beall   Lines and Shadows 3   2012

Matthew G. Beall   Lines and Shadows 4  2012

 The PPS American Experience  Adams: A Documentary Film is worth every second of your time.

Ansel simply understood light. More precisely he took a specific quality of light that radiated on a specific place at an exact moment in time and made art. 

And THE book to have ...

You can never have enough books. And when they are about Ansel Adams pictures, you have to spread the word to buy it.

"Ansel Adams: 400 Photographs offers an exciting survey of his development as an artist. Of the themes and subjects that animate his work and of the evolution of a style that is uniquely that of Ansel Adams -- America's best-known and best-loved photographer."

Matthew G. Beall   My Ansel Adams Pictures  2011

Composition

    vision 

Light

 and

Shadow

Shades

Matthew G. Beall   Light, Shadow and Shades   2011

So much has changed in photography over the past few years allowing us to take more photographs in a shorter space of time and to publish them within seconds. However, the fact is that sometimes less is more. In other words, you won’t necessarily become a better photographer by simply snapping off a lot of random shots.  

Although it is easy to take a photograph these days, it doesn’t mean that you can replace quality with quantity. This means it is better to critically look at your photographs, delete the ones that don’t cut it, and keep in mind what didn’t work by asking yourself, “How can I make it better next time?”

Making a photograph takes intent, knowledge, focus and, yes, hard work. Anyone who attempts to claim otherwise is being either naïve or ignorant. So, get out there and practice with intent and focus. Learn to look, see and think. Bring it all back to the digital darkroom and make that photograph you have in your mind’s eye.

Learn to be vision driven.

A day in May along the Danube on the Neu Ulm, Germany side of the river. The wonder, the beauty, the surface of leaves in black and white.

Matthew G. Beall  Leaves Along the Danube   May 2012

Matthew G. Beall  Leaves Along the Danube 2  May 2012

 A Never Ending Odyssey

 I have a new Facebook page: MatthewGBeallPhotography  I need YOU to "like" it for me, please.
Thank you for taking the time to do that!

Matthew G. Beall   The Beauty of Black and White   2012

Matthew G. Beall   The Beauty of Black and White 2  2012

Matthew G. Beall  Flowers and Leaves  2012

Matthew G. Beall  Flowers and Leaves 2   2012