A guest blogger - enjoy his stunning photos

December 9, 2009

A guest blogger - enjoy his stunning photos

Neil Golub is the Operations Manager for the Martha Stewart Radio Channel on SiriusXM and has been with MSLO since August of 2006.
Last week, when I was at the Sirius/XM studio doing my radio show Ask Martha, I managed to have a look at some beautiful photos that Neil took on his recent vacation, visiting some of our national treasures in the western part of the country.
I thought they were amazing and wanted to share them with everyone. Please join me in welcoming guest blogger Neil Golub! I look forward to seeing more of his work.

Neil in his own words:

I was exposed to Classic movies at an early age by my father and one day I went to see
a double feature at the famed Ziegfeld Theater in NYC.....this was around 1989

I went to see Stagecoach with John Wayne (1939) and Fort Apache with
Henry Fonda (1948)

Both movies were directed by John Ford....Ford used Monument Valley, Utah as his
backdrop for many of his Westerns.....after seeing those movies...I promised myself that I would go there in person one day.

Even though these movies were shot in Black and White....I found them visually stunning.

I got into photography because of my dad...
I remember playing in the street...seeing him walking down the block in his suit with his newspaper under his arm, running into the house to change clothes and grab his
camera. I would grab my little Kodak camera that used 110 film and he used a Konica 35mm.

We would jump into the car to chase the sunset.....we fought Brooklyn
traffic to get to the Verrazano Bridge just in time to get the perfect shot.
Sometimes we didn't make it in time!

We also took trips to Bear Mountain State Park in Upstate NY, to take pictures of the fall foliage.
I also fondly remember setting up a darkroom in our garage...that
garage was dark and cold.....perfect for a makeshift darkroom...

As I grew up, I would take photos of my travels and at concerts....

My father died while I was in college and when I came home...I picked up his camera equipment and starting taking pictures....taking more serious pictures....trying to get better
I definitely felt a connection to him while I was taking pictures....and I still do. It was a part of my healing process after he died.
As the years progressed, I started realizing that I had some talent for it and was often complimented on my photos by friends and family.
Being part of MSLO means that you are exposed to a lot of talented people and I have showed some of my recent photos to various people around the company.
I was encouraged to post my photos on Flickr. At first I was sort of reluctant to do so because photography, for me, was always a personal and sometimes private endeavor...
Since posting on Flickr, I have had an amazing amount of positive feedback and it has exposed my work to all kinds of people and organizations.
Sadly, I'm starting to move towards going all digital...might be putting my 1979 Nikon FE on the shelf.
I have always been a purist when it came to taking pictures....Film was the way to go....but with all the new advances in digital cameras and software...its hard to hold onto the old ways!
I am extremely proud of the photos that I am sharing with you today! These photos are from my recent trip to Utah and Arizona (Monument Valley, The Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, and Arches National Park)
Hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them.