Author Archives: Noah
Underneath Freeway Overpass
Here’s another image I shot the other day when I was in Toledo. I had wanted to shoot this new freeway overpass over the Maumee River on I-280 since they begin construction on it several years ago, since I really like clean lines of the new bridges architecture.
Factory with Three Smoke Stacks
I shot this image of a factory while I was in Toledo, Ohio last week. I was really drawn to how the sweet light rendered the smoke stacks, water tower, buildings, and power lines as highly graphic elements against the gradated sky. In some ways, this image reminds me a lot of the many photographers from the 1920’s and 1930’s who photographed industry in a highly romanticized way to showcase the power of industrial progress.
Arrow and Lines on Wet Pavement
When I saw this scene a few weeks ago, I was immediately drawn to the extreme texture and monochromatic color palette created by the early evening sweet light. I really like the mood that quality of light reflecting off the wet pavement creates in this image, as well as graphic interaction between the arrow, puddle, and parking lot lines.
Pool Enclosure
Here’s an image a shot a few years ago with my 4×5 while I was in Florida. I’ve always really liked the mood of this photograph, since I took it right after a rainstorm. I originally included it in the same open conceptual series as my Emergency sign image which I posted a few of weeks ago, but as I mentioned then, I was never entirely happy with that series. But looking back, I do actually like the associative interaction between this image and the emergency sign though. Perhaps I should work them into a new conceptual series…
McIndustry
For quite a while now, I’ve been noticing McDonald’s restaurants located in very close proximity to power plants, landfills, and other forms of industry that generally would be considered an unsightly backdrop for an eating establishment. I’ve thought about doing a series on this rather unusual and ironic phenomenon for a while now, but now that I’ve got a good start, I’m actually going to begin working on the series. This particular photograph was taken from inside of the McDonald’s in Trenton, Michigan. I find it to be a rather unsettling image, which I greatly enjoy personally. I can only hope that I’m able to capture other images with a similar feeling.
Gravel Pile, Power Lines, and a Excavator
Here’s another brand new image I shot the same day as the previous post by the new construction that’s taking place on the Marathon refinery in Detroit. Apparently I was particularly drawn to using power lines as a compositional element in the top of the frame that day, although it’s not really surprising considering that they are such an ever present element in urban/industrial areas.
Abandoned House and Power Lines in Delray
I just shot image a couple of days ago, so it’s brand new. I took this photograph in Delray, a residential section of Detroit surrounded by heavy industry, which is know as one of the most polluted area’s of the city. I discovered Delray after a few years back while I was looking around the industrial section of Detroit, and I’ve always found it a very surreal place.
Trailers in Dirt Parking Lot
Here’s a new image I shot in Detroit the other day. I was drawn to the high key lighting of the scene, since it feels rather different than the lighting conditions you usually find in Michigan, or at least different than the lighting conditions that I tend to shoot. I also like how the tracks in the dirt lead you into the frame as the trailers serve to frame the shot on both sides while obscuring what is behind them, thus creating just a little bit of visual mystery.
A Rather Sad Looking Blue Popsicle in the Process of Melting
Here’s an editorial image I did a couple years back of a rather sad looking blue popsicle in the process of melting. The vintage linoleum floor looks like it’s enjoying itself though.
Deer Still Life
Here’s something a bit different too… I shot earlier this year while I was messing around with an old Polaroid Land camera I borrowed from a colleague. As we all know by now, Polaroid is no longer making film, so decided to try shooting with one of Fuji’s instant films which are newly available in the US market since the demise of Polaroid. I shot this with Fuji FC 100P instant medium format peel apart film. Regarding the unusual subject matter… someone told me they’d like to see what it would be like for me to shoot a still life. This was my answer.
Cranbrook New Studio Building
Here’s a something a little out of the ordinary for me… I shot this rather abstracted architectural detail as part of an editorial spread on the New Studio Building at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Cranbrook is known for having some of the best contemporary architecture in Michigan, and they aren’t known for always giving photographers permission, so I’m glad I got the opportunity.
The Last of The Polaroid Road
Here are the last 10 images from my The Polaroid Road series. I’d been posting 10 Polaroids at a time from the 50 image series for the last few weeks, so if you’d like so see the rest of the series look back further on my blog.
Detroit Institute of Arts Main Hall
Since I started this blog a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been posting older work that I haven’t shown before, but now I’ve finally posted my first brand new image. I shot this last week in the main hall at the Detroit Institute of Arts. An interior designer that I’ve sold a considerable amount of work to in the past, is interested in commissioning some architectural interiors of neoclassical buildings, in a similar vein as Thomas Struth’s Museum Photographs for a large home he’s decorating, so this is my answer to his request. If I get the commission, I’ll probably visit other art museums to capture more images in a similar style.
The Polaroid Road Installment 4
Filed under Polaroid
Here’s the 4th installment of images from The Polaroid Road. Expect the final 10 images in the next few days…
Self Portrait with Ray Bans
Here’s a self portrait I did last year of me wearing Ray Ban Wayfarers, which are undoubtedly one of the most iconic and classic sunglasses designs of all time. I wanted the image to have a stylized, high fashion type look. Kind of like if Juergen Teller shot band photos.
St. Clair River
Here’s an image I shot a few winters ago of the St. Clair River in Port Huron, just before I started working on my Blue Water series. I’ve always liked the empty the mood of this image, it kind reminds me of Alec Soth’s work from Sleeping by the Mississippi, which is actually one of my inspirations for the Blue Water series. If you haven’t seen it before, check out Alec Soth’s work at alecsoth.com, it’s very good.
Matt Chung
Here’s an environmental portrait I did a couple of years ago of Matt Chung, a friend and fellow photographer at the College for Creative Studies. Matt has made extensive use of a flatbed scanner to capture extremely detailed images of ordinary surfaces, which as I noted in a previous post, is a technique I’ve also made use of for scanning packages. The portrait depicts Matt scanning a crack in the cement floor of the CCS basement, which was a project he was actually working on at the time. The way the extreme detail and the large scale of his prints transform familiar surfaces with a sense of hyperrealism is quite incredible. Matt is one of the finest photographers that has come out of CCS for quite sometime, you should check out his work at mattchung.com
The Polaroid Road Continued…
Filed under Polaroid
Here’s the third installment of images from The Polaroid Road series I started posting last week. There’s another 20 images still on their way.
Packages Series
Here are a couple of images from an ongoing series on condiment packages. I created this series using a flatbed scanner instead of camera, so that the packages surface would be presented evenly lit and in extreme detail. I started off the series by doing opposites types of condiment packages such as the sugar and artificial sweetener seen here. I’ll post more images from the series in the future.
Yamaski Atrium
Here’s an editorial architectural shot of the Yamaski building at the College for Creative Studies. Although it’s a more commercial type work then I usually post on my blog, I’ve always liked the symmetry and order of the lines within the image.
Emergency
I shot this image a few years back when I was in Florida shooting signs at night with my 4×5 camera. I included in a very open conceptual series I did back then which I wasn’t entirely happy with, but I’ve always been very fond of this image. I really like how insistent the word EMERGENCY appears in connection with the dark, mysterious background, and the arrow pointing ambiguously towards something outside of the frame. Looking at it again kind of makes me want to go shoot some more signs at night with my 4×5.
More images from the Polaroid Road
Filed under Polaroid
Here’s the second installment of images from The Polaroid Road series I started posting a few days ago. There’s another 30 images still coming.
Open Narrative
Here’s a small open narrative series I did a couple of years ago that I haven’t shown for a while. There’s something unknown the main character keeps encountering that is making him increasingly surprised, and possibly a bit disturbed. What exactly is happening open for the viewer to decide, but it’s meant to be mysterious… as well as rather amusing.
Block Building Triptych
Here’s a triptych of the backside of a block building in the River Rouge area I shot a while back with my 4×5 camera. I was in the area shooting images of a steel mill when I ran across this gritty, yet minimal structure. I was very drawn to how the sweet light raking over the surfaces really emphasized their texture.
Self Portrait with Deer
Here’s a fun self portrait I did about a year and a half ago, but I’ve never really shown before. I thought the fake wood panelling would be a nice backdrop to complement my ridiculous mustache and deer art collection.
The Polaroid Road
The Polaroid Road is a series I originally did last year as a handmade book project. The series is made up of images shot over past few years with my now defunct Polaroid 600 camera. Instead of being a document of a single road trip experience, it takes images from several different road trips across the Eastern half of the US and Canada to provide the idiosyncratic types of images that capture the idea or spirit of a road trip. Not too many people saw the original handmade book, so hopefully the images will reach a slightly wider audience on this blog. I’m also considering making a second edition book available as soon as I decide how I want to produce it. The series consists of 50 images altogether, but I’ve decided to post a few images at time periodically until there all up. I’ve posted the images in reverse sequential order starting with the first image at the bottom, so the subsequent posts will lead into each other in the correct sequence. Here are the first 10 images…
Welcome to the Noah Waldeck Blog
Filed under Thoughts
In addition to continuing to update my main website with new work periodically, I’ve started this blog to add a more interactive and regularly updated element to my online presence. I plan on trying to post at least one an image every day, whether it’s something I’ve just shot, or an older image that I haven’t shown before. I may also occasionally post thoughts or stories relating to my images or just photography in general. Please feel free to comment on any of the posts, I enjoy receiving any kind of feedback.
Thanks to Jason Keen for this portrait.