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Springtime Photos In DC

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Spring is a great time of year. I’m not a big fan of winter’s short days, cold weather and gray-brown scenery, and the explosion of color and life that comes in the spring rejuvenates the soul.  Of course, it does come along with the infamous Mid-Atlantic explosion of pollen – good grief, what a season this one is turning into!

(c) 2009 Stu Estler

(c) 2009 Stu Estler

It’s spring again, and also time for a quarterly project I‘ve been doing for 23 years with one long-time client.

 

 

 

 

Sneezin’ and wheezin’ aside, it always amazes me how the landscape can go from a barren, desolate winterscape to a lush, green jungle-like blanket in just a month. In fact I just drove up along Canal Rd., coming out of DC along the Potomac, and the grass along side the road that hasn’t been cut yet is wheat-field high and has seed heads! In early May!

 

Since this particular client is a major real estate firm, and the project is a magazine featuring their high-end properties, the change is especially welcome. Everyplace looks better in a full dress of azaleas, dogwoods and greening trees.

 

Now if we could just get this week of rain to let up . . .

 

Posted in Architecture, Composition, Creativity, Landscape | No Responses »
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Cover Photo in Home & Design

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

(c) 2008 Stu Estler

(c) 2008 Stu Estler

 

 

 

(c) 2008 Stu Estler

(c) 2008 Stu Estler

The May-June issue of Home & Design magazine (www.homeanddesign.com) that just hit the newsstands features my photos on the cover and in the cover story on an amazing penthouse unit at the Watergate in Washington, DC.

 

 The unit was once owned by Elizabeth Taylor and Senator John Warner, and has sweeping views of Washington and the Potomac River. The interior has been magnificently renovated by architect Errol M. Adels.

 

It features a central gallery with limestone tile, mosaic inlays and ne0-classical cast pilasters. The living room has floor-to-ceiling windows that wrap around for a panoramic view of the city. It features birch inlays in the walls and an incredible French marble fireplace.

 

As you can imagine, I was like a kid in a candy store as I went to work photographing such a fabulous home. The delight I get in creating images that capture the essence of the space and décor and the satisfaction from mastering the challenges that can be presented is what drives me to excel. I really do get “in the zone” when I have the opportunity to play like this.

 

The apartment’s owner, Leslie Train Westreich is a warm wonderful person and a was a joy to work with. Meeting and getting to know such delightful people is as much a part of the pleasure I receive from these projects as is the fulfillment of unleashing my own creativity.

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Never Pass Up The Shot

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

OK, never is a pretty long time, and we’ve all got schedules to keep. But when you see a potential shot, and there’s any way to make it happen, take it now. Obviously street scenes and candids that include people will never be recreated exactly the same. But even subjects that aren’t going anywhere –  like landscapes, architectural shots – will never look quite the same again.

 

The combination of light, weather and all the other variables will never make it look quite the same. I too am subject to the rule of “gotta be somewhere” and have passed by scenes that were just perfect photo-ops, planning to come back at another time. No matter how many times I’ve returned, at the same time of day, with the same weather conditions, something has always been different and the shot was never quite the same.

 

Sure, there often is a shot there, but the shot – the one that caught your eye and imagination – is gone forever.

Posted in Architecture, Cameras, Candids, Composition, Creativity, Digital Photography, Landscape, Portrait, Uncategorized | No Responses »
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Share Your Creative Vision

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Alhambra Palace, Grenada, Spain Copyright 2006 Stu Estler

Alhambra Palace, Grenada, Spain Copyright 2006 Stu Estler

More than simply a tool to record an event, photography allows us to interpret our environment in a way that reflects our vision of it; even to cross that line between fantasy and reality and create a world that may not appear to exist to the eye. Moreover, the viewer has the ability to apply his or her interpretation of the photograph, further expanding our views and challenging our beliefs as to what may or may not be reality.

 

 

 

 

Ansel Adams said that “There are always two people in every picture – the photographer, and the viewer.” Richard Avedon wryly observed that “All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.” These two thoughts compliment each other and together help define why we find photographs both uneasily challenging to our beliefs, yet seductively alluring to our imagination and desires.

Ultimately the ability to create a reality of our own design may be the most appealing element of all in photography. The truth is, we all view “reality” through our own filters, our own beliefs and desires. Photography allows us to easily express our creativity to surprise, persuade and maybe just to share our reality with the rest of the world.

 

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