My water tower series on V

The ABC network will begin airing the remake of the epic series entitled V. Four of my N.Y. water tower series prints were purchased by one of the set decoraters working on the show. The prints have been framed and will be used to decorate the apartment of one of the New York characters, so I was told.
I hope to be able to catch the premiere which airs this Tuesday, November 3rd at 8PM EST.
Some of my friends will be "water tower spotting" for me and hopefully during the course of the series (they hope to have four seasons run) I'll have some airtime :)

It actually looks to be real good and I hope to be able to watch sometimes.





Here are the four they purchased from the series.


N.Y. water towers 1


N.Y. water towers 3


N.Y. water towers 5


N.Y. water towers 14

Let's Start Something!

I was asked by Kim Crawford Wines to partner with them in a program they have started called "The Artists' Lounge"

In the spirit of supporting the arts, Kim Crawford Wines launched The Artists’ Lounge online community as a place for artists and those who appreciate the arts to share inspirations and/or artwork with each other. Members get the chance to inspire and win original artwork and a trip for two to New Zealand! All of the artwork displayed within the community will be a true living anthology, reflective of the times.

I was chosen by Kim Crawford Wines to be one of the community’s “Artists in Residence,” and will be searching for inspiration within the community to create original artwork. From now through January, myself and three other artists from different art mediums will select ideas and create new works of art. Share an idea now if you want to inspire artwork for me or the other artists!


Kim Crawford Wines views winemaking an art as it strives to capture the true aromas and flavors of New Zealand in each bottle by combining a passion for excellence with a vision for exploring new boundaries.

I’m excited about this program, and encourage you to join the community and participate in sharing artwork and/or inspiration with its members!

Artists Lounge

Self Portrait 2009

self portrait 2009

This is a self portrait I had been working on for a bit. I had scouted the location and went back a few times. The first time I attempted this I had only an on camera flash which i tried bouncing off a back wall for fill lighting. It looked ok, but I was not quite illuminated enough and too much of the interior became lit as well, taking away from the dark and moody ambiance of the area. So, I went back with a few flash heads and a light stand and came up with something I feel is close enough to what I was trying for.
So, anyway, here it is. Would love to know what you feel about it.

Some old windows

Grungy window


Window and clothes rack


Window and red fire escape

Here are some old windows I found in my archives while sorting through some images. These were taken this past summer from the Manhattan Bridge. The windows are level with the bridge at this point and are from an old building in Chinatown. I always find it interesting what people keep inside, and outside of their windows. . .
Sheila, I thought about you when I found these. :)

Fathers for Justice!

This is a place I venture through once in a while. The grafitti always changes as new people wander through here and tag about. I thought this little section was interesting and even conjures up some stories in my head about the significance of the words and the burnt car seat.

Restrooms, a bit of dark humor

Just a bit of dark humor. . . this is something I found in my archives from a few years back. Enjoy!

Once upon a time

This is a photo from my "View from within" series. While displayed at a gallery, poet/writer S.David was inspired to write his thoughts on it.


Once Upon a Time
[by S. David] [art by Gary Heller]

Tragedy after tragedy
Finally she just
Picked herself up
Packed up
Walked away
Abandoned the house
Abandoned the furniture
Abandoned her
Once upon a time
Filled with joy home
A widow burying
Her young child
Time time time
She never sold
The house just
Left it then now
Twenty years and
She can face it
Again does she
Want to

Historic Ithaca's 2009 Barn Survey photo contest

Red barn in Groton framed print

It was announced that I am the Grand Prize winner of this Barn Survey photo contest! I get to sleep in the barn for the duration of the winter,in the hay, free!! ;)
Shown above is the winning entry. It is an old barn with various additional add-on structures. I was told by the owner while I was shooting this scene that they plan on burning down this wonderful gem by the years end. hopefully, the county can intervene and help keep this preserved. It would be a shame to lose such wonderful pieces of our great agricultural history such as this.

Here is a bit of the letter informing me of my photograph entry.

"Dear Mr. Heller,

Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that one of your entries has been selected for Historic Ithaca’s 2009 Barn Photo Contest. Your photograph was selected as the Grand Prize winner, for a photograph with artistic merit that captures vital information about the barn’s use, construction, or relationship with the landscape. Your photo beautifully shows the growth over time of the barn complex. The winning photographers will be recognized at the 12th Annual New York State Conference on the Preservation of Historic Barns, on Saturday, October 24, 2009. Over 70 photographs were submitted and all of the entries will be displayed during the lunch break at the conference."

A Brooklyn Tale. . .

While venturing through the lovely and seemingly tranquil Salt Marsh Nature preserve a little while back, I had the good fortune to be presented with this lovely commentary and so of course I immdediately thought to share my good fortune with my blogging community.

And so here is the story of Fitz, brought to us on a stone tablet to be remembered and revered until the end of days. . .

Double Exposure

Prior to 2007, I was shooting with film. One of the things I liked to do when shooting film was using a technique called "Double Exposure" or sometimes called multiple exposure.
Basically, this is when you expose the same frame of film more than once. To do this, you would set the camera up so that it does not advance the film after the first exposure. Most mid-level to advanced film SLR camera bodies had this function. Most were able to be set from about 2-9 exposures.

Mostly I liked to do this technique at night when shooting scenes with the moon.
If you ever tried shooting a scene at night with the moon, you will know that the moon blows out (over exposes) looking like a small white circle with no detail. Thats because the bright moon requires much shorter exposure time than would the rest of the scene you were shooting. If you were to expose for the moon, then you would have pretty much a dark and way too underexposed photo. Also, the moon would usually be very small as you are using a wider angle to capture the rest of the scene for the image.
Double exposing would allow me to get a larger moon that was properly exposed with some or all detail intact.

First, I would compose the scene in the viewfinder making sure the moon was not in the frame but leaving space in the composition to later expose the moon into. Exposing properly for this scene, I would focus and make the first exposure. Now, while the camera is standing by waiting for the next exposure I change lens to a longer focal length, zoom into the moon and place it in the frame where I left room for it in the previous shot. focus and expose. The moon records onto the film in the area I had left open for it, but the rest of the sky being dark records nothing over the previous scene. So, the result is a well focused and exposd moon in a well focused and exposed scene. Thats it. It does take a lot of tries and experimenting to achieve a good consistency with this technique but it is much fun a rewarding.

Sure, today I can just take another photo of the moon and then digitaly composite it into my photo later (which I have never done so far since shooting digitally) but it would just not be as exciting and does not give you the same sense of accomplishment as it did doing it with film.

So, here are a few examples of images I have shot using this technique.


Moon over Brooklyn Rooftop


Moon over marina 2


Moon over marina 1


Moon over marine Parkway bridge


Moon over steel


Moon over stone, Brooklyn Bridge


Moonlit stalks


Moon over Marsh


And no one was there