Black & White Spider Awards Results

The Black and White Spider Awards were held this last weekend.  They're the most important international awards honoring excellence in black and white photography. The live event shines a spotlight on the best professional and amateur photographers worldwide and honors the finest images with the highest achievements in black and white photography.  I was pleased to discover that my image Arch of Santa Catalina won one of six honorable mention awards in the non-professional category of Architecture.

The Arch of Santa Catalina is in Antigua, Guatemala

The live online ceremony webcast Saturday, October 19, 2013 was attended by photography fans in 75 countries who logged on to see the climax of the industry's most important event for black and white photography.

The awards international Jury included captains of the industry from the Tate in London, Heffel Fine Art, FoMu Fotomuseum, FTM Advisory, Camera Work, Art Stage Singapore, Aeroplastics Contemporary, Galerie Baudoin Lebon in Paris, to Fratelli Alinari in Florence who honored Spider Fellows with 246 coveted title awards and 938 nominees in 14 categories.

Congratulations to all the winners.  They can be found at www.thespiderawards.com/gala8th/

You can view my website at:  www.tombellart.com.

More Venetian Carnival Masks

I've had time to look at a few more of the photos I took in Europe this summer.  I thought I'd share a few more of the Venetian Carnival masks I had the opportunity to photograph while in Venice.

You can view my website at:  www.tombellart.com.

Ponte Vecchio, a great bridge to photograph

 The Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy is often on the list of the world's greatest bridges.  Crossing the Arno River, it's much as it was in Medieval times. There are jewelry shops and curio dealers all along the bridge.  Make you own photograph if you're ever in Florence!

You can visit my website at:  www.tombellart.com.

IPhone Cases Are Now Available at tombellart.com

Fine art images from my website are now available for your iPhone 4/4s and iPhone 5 cases.

You can view  my website at:  www.tombellart.com.

The Art is in the Details

Many photographers visit Pisa, Italy and focus on the obvious:  the Leaning Tower and other historic monuments.

Those who look closely will find the 12th Century bronze door panels on the Cathedral of Pisa by architect and sculptor Bonanno da Pisa.  There are 24 panels on the door that trace the lives of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

This bronze door panel depicts the Nativity. 

You can view my website at:  www.tombellart.com.

Illinois Girl Saves Historic Italian Landmark

At the end of June, my family and I traveled to Pisa, Italy.

This obvious photograph is the forced perspective view of  my daughter holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa (She should be given a medal by the Italian government for ensuring that this historic landmark didn't bite the dust).

Cristina, uprights a 500 year-old wrong in Pisa, Italy.

She corrected the lean so that the tower now stands straight for the first time in 500 years.  You can view my website at:  www.tombellart.com.

You can view my website at:  www.tombellart.com.

Shooting Photos in the Rain

I like to shoot photographs in the rain.   Dark clouds provide contrast.  Wet streets reflect light.  In fact, a cloudy, rainy day can provide the perfect conditions for photographs that might otherwise be mundane.

The Gothic cathedral in León, Spain wasn't nearly as interesting for photography before a short, but intense rainstorm added reflections to the scene.

Here's the same cathedral in color.

This is the scene in León, looking away from the cathedral entrance.  I was lucky enough to capture a rainbow, along with the glassy pavement shortly after the rain stopped.

Umbrellas, clouds and reflections add to this nighttime street shot.

While the rain had subsided several hours earlier, the streets still shone with a glossiness that made this photograph stand out.

While it hadn't yet rained in Castrillo de los Polvazares, Spain, the low, dark clouds provided contrast for a dramatic photograph.  I wish I had been able to photograph the stone streets during or after a rainstorm.

You can view my website at:  www.tombellart.com.