Rangefinder Magazine
January 2005

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Urban Landscapes by Harvey Goldstein
A Portfolio by Scott Streble

Scott Streble’s introduction and early love for photography began when he was in the seventh grade in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Seeing photographs appear from the developer grabbed his attention, and he was hooked. He later attended RIT, assisted other photographers and ran his own studio in Los Angeles and San Francisco for almost 20 years before relocating to Minneapolis three years ago.

Scott began photographing urban landscapes while traveling and he found it a nice departure from his everyday commercial work, which is mainly photographing people. With urban landscapes, he could photograph the scenes without interacting with anybody. It was not his original intent to have this be a lifelong project; however, it became a body of work that slowly began to emerge and define itself.

His commercial assignments have allowed him to travel extensively throughout the United States and Europe, where he would photograph for his client during the day and photograph the buildings and landscapes in the evening after his assignment was completed. While some people prefer to photograph nature, Scott sees the beauty in concrete, brick and steel.

Scott’s commercial photography is almost entirely digital capture; however, his urban landscape photographs are made with a Leica M6. He says he prefers this camera because it is small, unobtrusive and easy to carry. His lenses of choice are a 21mm and a 35mm f/2.8. He also uses a 50mm f/1.0—a great lens to use at night, which is when he shoots most of his photographs. This lens also allows him to use a very shallow depth of field. Scott discovers his “subjects” while wandering through city streets looking for combinations of light and line and interesting juxtapositions. He states that he likes the visual relationship of positive and negative space.

“To me, black and white is the obvious choice for capturing these images. It best shows shape, form and texture. I feel color would add a layer of distraction. Color does have its place in other types of work, but it is best used as a design element to enhance an image.”

Scott’s urban landscape photographs run the gamut from viewing the Statue of Liberty from a ferry to shadows on a wall. They include interesting views of the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, church spires reaching high into the sky, columns in a church and iron fences and crosses in deep shadow. He has a unique way of capturing an image from an interesting vantage point. He may photograph people walking across a bridge, an interesting edifice or an old man smoking a cigarette behind a frosted window on the second story of an apartment building.

Scott has been a photographer for more than 20 years. He believes this profession is a great combination of left- and right-brain thinking, combining creative decision-making with technical skills to achieve a result. He has been successful in mixing his commercial photography with his love for urban landscapes.

Among Scott’s clients are many non-profit groups, including Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, Children’s Hospital and World Vision. His work has taken him to South and Central America, Africa, Haiti and Cuba.

To enjoy his work, go to www.scottstreble.com/.

Harvey Goldstein from Branford, Connecticut has been in the photographic industry for more than 30 years. He is a former studio owner and presently edits numerous association newsletters and magazines, as well as being a freelance writer.