Andrew Wyeth and a New Jersey Shack The Judge's Shack is a beach shack and one of our state's lesser icons. New Jersey is known for many things. but our beach shacks tend to get little attention. They were small vacation homes built in rural parts of the Jersey shore back when there were rural parts of the Jersey Shore. Their only real [...]
My First Desert Storm For a guy from New Jersey, the the power of the desert is very impressive. It is a harsh environment that requires strength to survive, let alone thrive in. Yet it is also a place of amazing beauty and Joshua Tree National Park is a great example of that. This is why I keep being drawn back there. As many times as [...]
Morning in the California Desert I love the "tortured landscape" of Joshua Tree National Park. Under the right light it can range from dramatic to alien with just a touch of the surreal. On this particular morning the soft diffused morning light was pretty consistent, so it was not necessary to work quickly to catch that quickly vanishing moment of perfect light. I took advantage [...]
Missouri's Rugged, Beautiful Landscape Here are more photographs from my trip to the Ozark Mountains in Southern Missouri with photographer Craig McCord. In my previous post I showed the old mills we visited which were set in a beautiful and rugged landscape. The photographs below show more of that landscape. There were not a lot of opportunities to photograph the grand landscape of the Ozark [...]
Strange, Surreal, and Fantastic Light in the Arizona Desert I'm going to depart from the rust, mold and decay of the abandoned places I've been photographing this Fall and return to our Arizona trip in October. This post reflects my first morning in the Copper State. Every now and then a photographer is blessed with an amazing sunrise or sunset. I had an [...]
More photographs from Pennhurst, the "Shame of Pennsylvania" Pennhurst Deteriorated Exterior by Richard Lewis 2015 Pennhurst Asylum by Richard Lewis 2015 Pennhurst Wheelchair by Richard Lewis 2015 Pennhurst Day Room Couch by Richard Lewis 2015 Rags and Deterioration by Richard Lewis 2015 Pennhurst Medication Dispensary by Richard Lewis 2015 [...]
Old and Abandoned Trains on A New Jersey Trail Old Train Car 1 by Richard Lewis 2015 Old Baggage Car 1 by Richard Lewis 2015 Overgrown Train Car by Richard Lewis 2015 The bicycle is as big a part of my life as my camera and hiking boots, but when one rides a bike, it is good [...]
Photographing the Past While Remembering Mine Scranton Lace Company Loom by Richard Lewis 2015 I recently attended a workshop led by one of the master photographers of abandoned places, Matthew Christopher, at the old Scranton Lace Company in Pennsylvania. The Scranton Lace Company was established in the 1890's and remained in business until 2003. It is a massive, once thriving, complex [...]
Adventures with the Lensbaby Velvet 56 Most lens manufacturers work hard to make sharper and sharper lenses. There is one company that has chosen to go in the exact opposite direction. Lensbaby started making strange lenses years ago that actually would make the majority of the image out-of-focus with only a pinpoint of sharpness. They gained a following especially among wedding and portrait [...]
Visiting an Historic Jail in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania I may be the only photographer in my area not to have photographed the historic Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In an effort to express my own photographic voice, I tend to shy away from the more popular places for photographers... and this is a very popular place. However, when my friend and amazing photographer, Pat Worley, invited [...]
Finding peace in a place known as the Pine Barrens Summer Sunrise by Richard Lewis 2015 3 Cedars in the Early Evening by Richard Lewis 2015 Life has kept me from this blog recently. The one overwhelming event was passing of my Mother-In-Law. She was 92 and in poor health so it was not unexpected. Still, it is always a [...]
Discovering the Beauty of Amelia and Big Talbot Islands Although I've never been a big fan of Florida, I am there frequently due to business commitments. Maybe it's the climate, but this state just doesn't resonate for me visually. Sometimes I wouldn't even even bring a camera to Florida. Why bring one if there is nothing interesting to photograph, right? This is contrary to my opinion [...]
We came for the waterfalls but found a lot more. Ricketts Glen State Park One of the nicest things in the Endless Mountains is Ricketts Glen State Park. Depending on what trail you take, it is possible to see up to 21 waterfalls. We hiked the 7.5 mile option to see them all. I was also there in the fall to photograph [...]
New Jersey's Pinelands Preserve It is not that the New Jersey wilderness known as the Pinelands is forgotten. It is the photographs posted here that are. I've made enough images of this place to have overlooked a few, so here they are. Morning in the Cedars by Richard Lewis 2014 Along the Mullica River by Richard Lewis 2014 Intimate Cedar [...]
Cloud Watching in the New Jersey Pine Barrens I have always been fascinated by clouds. As a kid I would stare at them and my imagination would run wild with images inspired by the cloud formations. My fascination has continued into adulthood where it never ceases to amaze me how clouds affect the quality of light, the color in the sky and ultimately the mood of [...]
Thoughts on the Old and Abandoned Landscape An Old Truck With Complementary Colors by Richard Lewis 2015 Left in the Desert by Richard Lewis 2015 Old cars and trucks rusting in fields are common place in the American landscape. Some photographers find an eerie sort of beauty in them, myself included. Photographing old and abandoned things is relatively new [...]