gabriel biderman ~ fine art photography

On this night 127 years ago, 14 tons of fireworks, more than 10 thousand pieces, were set off from the Brooklyn Bridge in an outstanding display of pyrotechnics that lasted an hour.  Hundreds of thousands of spectators gathered along the shores of Manhattan and Brooklyn to witness the biggest celebration the cities had ever experienced.

It was the first bridge to cross the strong and swift East River.  And for a time it was known as “The Eighth Wonder of the World” as it towered far above any other building in New York.  It cost just one cent to walk along the Great Bridge’s Promenade and later that year had two streetcars that would carry almost 10 million people across in their first year of service.

The Brooklyn Bridge was officially opened on May 24th 1883.  It was deemed an official holiday known as “The People’s Day” and the president of the United States,  Chester A. Arthur, was one of the first to walk across with the Governor of NY and soon to be next president, Grover Cleveland.
They walked over on, still to this day, the only elevated promenade on a bridge.
150,300 people crossed that first day the New York Brooklyn Bridge was open to the public.

If you have never walked over the Brooklyn Bridge, you are missing one of the most amazing views and feelings a human can have.  I am lucky to bike over this Great Bridge on a weekly basis.  It is like being on the top of the world.  You can see the Statue of Liberty to the left and the Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges to your right.  The cityscapes surround you and the cars whiz by without notice below.  You have an unobstructed view of the world, except for the cables which safely envelope you as well as hold the 6,620 tons of weight that is suspended over the East River.

Below is a direct quote by David McCullough, who wrote The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge, from Ken Burns America Collection – Brooklyn Bridge:

I feel that the bridge makes one feel better about being alive.
I think it makes you glad that you are part of the human community.
That you are part of a species that could create such a structure.

We are builders and we when see something that we built well, our hats are off!
We stand there and say, “Isn’t it marvelous?”
But isn’t it marvelous that it was built by people, people like you and I.
People like we would like to be, at least.
And brave, courage, the tenacity of those people, the confidence.

All of those are… they sound like platitudes
But they are truths, they are simple truths.
But some truths need repeating generation after generation after generation.
And the Brooklyn Bridge continues to repeat truths that we need to remember.

I highly recommend taking a stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge sometime soon…

Dismal weather dispels photographers, but for those who aren’t afraid of get a little wet, dramatic images can be captured.
Did I say a little wet?
I was pelted with hail when I landed in Buffalo.
Then it rained, rained, and rained.
But the idea of shooting Horseshoe Falls, the Canadian Side of Niagara Falls did not deter me and the unofficial “Mayor” of Buffalo, Wayne Geist.
So around 11pm, after we were done working our gig on Grand Island, we drove 5 miles, crossing the border, and headed over to the Horseshoe.
With the wind blowing the rain and mist from the falls everywhere, we probably set a record for the fewest amount of tourists (4) since the 17th century.
I worked quickly doing several test shots to work out composition and exposure, and when the wind finally decided to not blow the mist right towards us I quickly set up a minute and a half exposure.
We were standing right at the edge of the Horseshoe Falls, the sound of the water crashing over 170 below was deafening.  I love the pinkish sky and that you can see our reflection in the mist.

Wayne’s picture below more accurately shows the weather conditions.  I’m using a flashlight, practicing lightening up the rocks in the dark foreground of the falls while protecting my camera under my coat.  I really missed my Kata Rain Cover which would have done a much better job protecting my camera and lens from the Niagara Elements!
All in all we spent 20 wet minutes at Niagara Falls which of course was fun to explain to border police as we returned back into the States!

Hosted by
Charleston Center for Photography

Limited Availability!!!

Date: June 12-13 2010 (Sat & Sun)

Instructor: Gabriel Biderman

Where: Charleston Center for Photography, Charleston, South Carolina

Cost: $500

Join Night Photographer Gabriel Biderman as we reinvent how we capture the “essence of Historic Charleston and the Lowlands.”

In this 2 day/night workshop we will look beyond the fleeting moments of time and explore images that can be created when you expose for seconds, minutes, and even hours with your camera. Gabriel Biderman is a self-taught photographer who has been specializing in the fine art of the long exposure with everything from pinhole to the latest digital cameras.

He will go into detail on how to meter and process your long exposures using either film or digital capture. This hands on workshop will include lecture time, studio shooting, and night photography.
Light painting, star trails, and how to create ghosts during the day and night will also be featured in this weekend workshop.

We will also explore mixing the twilight and city lights of historic Charleston as well as utilizing longer exposures in the lowlands of South Carolina.

Please click here for additional information & to sign up for the workshop.

When I was first getting into photography I was told that the easiest way to improve your images was to shoot during the magic hours, usually one hour before sunrise and one hour after sunset. For some crazy reason I chose the early morning hours to shoot. I was immediately impressed by the soft quality of light in which to work with but early mornings are really not my forte. I’m more of a late night guy and soon afterward a body of work began to emerge from this nocturnal shooting.
The magic hour of civil twilight, or the blue hour, has neither full daylight or complete darkness. It is one of my favorite times, whether I have a camera or not. The quality of light is amazing as the cobalt blue sky can quickly change to deeper shades of blue until complete darkeness.
How long this civil twilight lasts all depends on your longitude and what time of year it is. Twilight can last 15-20 minutes near the equator or several hours when you get closer to the poles. When I was in Alaska in the summertime, I remember twilight lasting until 2am.

In Brooklyn the civil twilight has been about 45 minutes lately. Luckily the other day I exited the subway just in time for a true magic hour moment.
The top image reminds me of something Brassai might have shot during his nocturnal adventures in Paris during the 1930s.
When I imported the images into Lightroom, my preferred program to process digital files, I converted the above image to black and white to create more of a dramatic look.  However I missed the twilight blue sky, so I started toning selenium and mixing the blues back.
I really like the end result. I’ve included another version of “Twilight Stop” that was not converted to black and white.
Which do you prefer?

For more info on the making the most of the magic hour check out Tim Cooper’s new DVD Magic Light – The Landscaper Photographer’s Guide.