©"Images of Interest" 

Webbers Photography

The Family of Webber Photographers

These "Images of Interest", Wall Art Black & White Film Photography Prints and Art Deco greeting cards, are produced in my darkroom from family negatives dating back to the 1930's. They're the results of a tradition started by my Grandfather and, from that, my Dad taught me the film to print process which I still enjoy very much to this day.

My Grandfather, my Dad, and his brother, my Uncle Joe were all design engineers. However, their passion was photography. Dad and Uncle Joe captured the steam locomotives of their day. Grandfather did still life and landscape images. Dad also created unique "Nite Sites" images during his tenure at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Some of the images are in the permanent collection of the Queens Museum in New York City. The Museum building is the only remaining structure from the 1939 event. 

Well, a few summers have passed since my starter days in photography but I'm still behind my medium format camera, loaded with Black & White Film waiting to be processed and printed.

The pride of hand-crafting photographs is what continues to draw me to the darkroom. It's my purpose as an artist to produce the finest images in keeping with the family tradition of Black & White Film Photography Prints and Art Deco greeting cards.

Why not become part of our family and acquire the Black & White image of your choice? Simply click the "Buy Now" button and make a timeless investment. 

©"Images of Interest"
 Art Deco Cards and Wall Art Prints
All images posted, except Art Deco Engines, are available as Cards and Prints

Order Details for Cards and Prints

Superb, hand-crafted 5x7 photos mounted on cream-colored heavy card stock. Cards are blank inside and deckle cut to match the images. Includes matching deckle cut envelopes. Ideal for all occasions.

$19.95 per set of 3 - 5x7 cards, your choice
When ordering greeting cards, the quantity is (1) per set

Click "Buy Now", type any card titles, price, quantity (# of sets), and include your personal info

Pricing is number of 3 card sets, $19.95 x ?

Wall Art Prints are 11x14 Photographs in 16x20 Conservation mats

$75 each for Wall Art Prints, your choice
Same as above but titles/quantities as you wish; price is $75 each x ?

 All Greeting Cards and Prints include FREE shipping and no watermarks

NEW - Folded Note Cards - 4 x 5.5 set of 3 - $12.95 + $2.00 s/h
"Long Look" currently available; new motorcycle images will be added
Allow 7 business days delivery

 Dealer inquiries welcome - email hnkwbr@gmail.com

Horizontal and Vertical Card Samples - 5 x 7
Each card has an original print fixed on the front deckle cut to match the card stock
The inside is blank so the card may be used for any desired event or occasion

New - Folded Note Cards

4 x 5.5 set of 3 for $12.95 + $2.00 s/h

"Long Look" currently available; new images will be added 
These cards are ideal for all occasions since the inside is blank and suitable for anything special

 Front

 Inside

Back

 "Nite Sites" Album

All original negatives created by my Dad on September 11, 1940

1939 New York Worlds Fair plus Art Deco Engines
To order, see "Order Details" post dated 1/28/18

-IMAGES-

Silhouettes

 United States Pavilion and Fountain with Reflecting Pool

This image was captured in front of the United States Federal Building designed by architect Howard L. Chaney.

 Trademarks

Trylon and Perisphere: Henry Dreyfuss, designer; Harrison& Fouilhoux, architects. George Washington statue by James Earle Fraser and John Quincy Ward.

This iconic image captures the centerpieces of the Fair with its 700-foot-tall Trylon and 200-foot-diameter hollow Perisphere, designed by pioneering designer Henry Dreyfuss and built by architects Harrison & Fouilhoux. (Harrison was later the lead architect for the United Nations Headquarters.) The Perisphere housed Democracity, a diorama of a Utopian “city of tomorrow”. In keeping with the Fair’s theme, this view shows the back of a nearly sixty-foot statue of George Washington as he faces the future.

White Water

The 1939 New York World's Fair  Fountain  

Two silhouetted visitors sit and stand along the left wall of this water-lit fountain. One of many at the Fair, my Dad was intrigued by this one and took his time to compose the image .

Big Yellow

1939 New York World's Fair  Kodak Pavilion  

This image was created from the side of the pavilion that my Dad felt would give him the representation of the entire building. Semicircular in form, with an irregular wedge-shaped wing that extended to the east and south, the Eastman Kodak Exhibit, on Lincoln square, emphasized the scientific advances within the photographic industry. These advances made possible today's photography and its tremendous influences on modern life. 

The main features of the Exhibit were the Great Hall of Color where the world's most spectacular show of color photography was projected on a panorama of enormous screens. Next the Hall of Light showcased the practice and results of amateur, professional and commercial photography. Lastly, the Tennessee Eastman Corporation's display consisted of their cellulose acetate products of Tenite plastic rayon fabric. The next great part of the overall exhibit was the Photo-Garden where you could take souvenir pictures in strikingly unusual settings. Competent instructors were in attendance to render advice on posing, lighting, and a wide range of picture-taking techniques.

Eerie Orb

September 11, 1940. My Dad created this image after closing time at the New York Worlds Fair. It depicts the 18 story high Perisphere, the massive sundial, Greek statues, and a reflecting pool.

Dad was a volunteer for the two year span of the Fair. He had access to a number of exhibits and he took his time to capture what appealed to him. I'm forever thankful that he gladly gave me his negative collection long before his death in August 2001.

Theme City

1939 World's Fair  Theme City

This image shows the reverse side of of the Trylon and Perisphere that are highlighted in the image shown in "Nite Sites" labeled Trademarks. The four illuminated 65 foot pylons represented the four elements in the Plaza of Light section of the Fair. 

Starbursts

1939 New York World's Fair  Nightly Fireworks  

Fireworks displays were a weather-permitting nightly feature of the Fair. Using his tripod, my Dad took a long-time exposure with his lens cap protecting the film between the several bursts it took to complete this image. The structures in the background, from left to right, are the pavilions of Florida, Firestone Tire, and Westinghouse which provide a unique background.

Night Rider

The Cyclone Roller Coaster, located in the Amusement Zone, was 70 feet high and 3,000 feet long. A thrill to ride any time of day. The Zone covered 280 acres filled with attractions of all kinds including the Parachute Jump which is now defunct at Coney Island.

Jello Mold

One of many show fountains that were placed within the fair grounds.

A close-up shot of the Jell-O shaped fountain seen, perhaps, in the Theme Center area. There were additional fountains throughout the Fair, this being one of them. This same fountain, if photographed during the day, would not yield the striking effect as a night image.

I chose “Jell-O Mold” for obvious reasons. Ever since my Dad shared the negative with me years ago, this title seemed most appropriate. Unlike a named exhibit, this unique “structure” reminded me of a unique dessert design which I've always enjoyed.

 Glass House

On the Avenue of Pioneers, a tower of plate glass and brick illuminated the night and surmounted the Glass Center. In the Great Rotunda, where decorated panels depicted the history of industry, the main exhibit also featured a furnance containing molten glass which was continually manned by a crew of skilled glass blowers. It was in this pavilion of the Fair that four corporation had their exhibits: Corning Glass Works; The Owens-Illionis Glass Company; The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company; and Owens Corning Fiberglass. 

Moon Shot

This building was a great blue stainless hemisphere turned inside out. The framing trusses were on the outside and at night were outlined by glowing blue lights. 

On the first floor were animated dioramas on steel making described by experienced salesmen. A graph made of steel parts showed the increasing use of iron and steel over the last 100 years and an unusual mural made of blue and polished thin steel sheets illuminated the wide uses of steel. In the Hall of Research, actual laboratory demonstrations pointed out the important part research plays in the process of modern steel manufacturing.

On the second floor a series of dioramas showed the houses made of steel girding and sheeting to which new rooms could have been added at will; a hydrophonic farm (where everything from irrigation to reaping was controlled by radio) ; lastly a city of the future where all traffic would run smoothly when regulated by central grouping.

Freedom

                         Replica of Independence Hall                          

My Dad chose this vantage point to create this image for obvious reasons. The absence of patrons and the stillness of the reflecting pool both lend to enhancing a striking night portrait. Again, a tripod mounted camera, a stopped down lens aperture, a long uninhibited exposure, and proper processing produced a high quality negative that has survived more than 70 years.

Tower of Light

The Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing pavilion was horseshoe-shaped with an imposing 120 foot "Tower of Light"that contained a waterfall and was flanked on either side by huge glass-enclosed structures - the Hall of Electrical Power and the Hall of Electric Living. Part of the pavilion's draw was a robot named Elektro and a time capsule scheduled for opening in the year 6939.

Nite Lab

Industrial designer Walter Dorwin Teague was a member of the Board of Design and played a prominent role in designing many of the exhibits including those for E.I. DuPont. Ford Motor Company, Eastman Kodak, and the National Cash Register. For DuPont's "World of Chemistry", Teague's design included a spectacular 105 foot, test tube-shaped tower which was meant to simulate bubbling chemicals when lit at night. Among DuPont's many innovative displays, arguably the most important was the debut of nylon; knitting machines at the Fair produced nylon pantyhose with which female models played a tug-of-war to demonstrate the fiber's unique strength and amazing flexibility. 

White Lightning

GE's copper-paneled structure was designed by the preeminent architectural firm Voorhees, Walker, Smith and Foley known for Art Deco landmarks such as 1 Wall Street and 32 Avenue of the Americas. A huge stainless steel lightning bolt distinguished the pavilion which contained a 10-million-volt lightning display; a complete television studio; a model electric appliance store; and an x-ray exhibit where visitors could view an assortment of mummy skeletons.

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Art Deco Engines

A number of engines built in the 1930's and 40's were streamlined in keeping with the Art Deco influence. Some were rather radical, others quite subtle. Steam locomotives and other engines were manufactured by "form follows function"; streamlining gave them more of a public appeal. A few are remembered here.

To order, see "Order Details" post dated 1/28/18

NOTE: All Art Deco Engines available only as greeting cards at this time; others to be posted

-IMAGES-

 NYC 5451

Number 5451 was among a group of Hudson-type locomotives that The New York Central Railroad used for express passenger service in the 1930's. This engine and several others were streamlined, according to a Henry Dreyfuss design, for the NYC's 20th Century Limited which provided high speed rail service from New York City to Chicago. Any one who was any one rode "The Century" at one time or another back in the day!

PRR S-1

The Pennsylvania Railroad wanted to make a statement about steam locomotive design and construction in the 1930's so they created the one and only S-1 designed by Raymond Loewy. It was the largest engine ever built measuring more than 140 foot in length long with thousands of horse power and the ability to run at high speeds all day long. Unfortunately, it was scrapped not long after the Fair due to its size (could only operate on certain lines) and its heavy duty maintenance requirements. 

PRR 3768

With the 3768, the Pennsylvania Railroad created a competitor to the NYC's 20th Century Limited in terms of styling. Their Broadway Limited provided the same first class service from New York City to Chicago. However, the PRR investment in Art Deco streamling was no where near as expansive of what the NYC achieved but was well received nonetheless. 

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Overhang

Why infrared film? 

The use of infrared film has always fascinated me since I first "discovered" it back in the 1980's. It can be quite unpredictable to work with because it's effected by heat, humidity and whatever exposure you choose as any other film. Nonetheless, when I get it right, I truly enjoy the results. Kind of like a box of Cracker Jacks; you never know exactly what you'll get. Then again, that's what keeps me coming back for more. 

At one time, there were several IR films from which to choose among which were Kodak HIE (perhaps most popular) and Konica 750. To my knowledge, neither are still in production. HIE was only available in 35 mm format while 750 was produced both in 35 mm and medium format. "Overhang" was created using my 35 mm Minolta SRT 201 camera loaded with HIE and exposed at "whatever", I honestly don't recall. A minimum of 3 frames would generally yield a printable negative. The results are stunning; deep blacks and brilliant whites. Borders on Twilight Zone if you will. The 2 unique characteristics of IR films are blue skies turned into rich blacks and green foliage that prints as bright white. I love the contrast and often eerie appearance of the final photograph. All film processing and printing is done in my own darkroom which allows me even more print enhancement via enlarger contrast filters if I so choose.

Today, I use Ilford's SFX which is available in 35 mm and medium format. My personal choice is medium format because I find it easier to handle those size negatives rather than 35 mm. SFX is rated at 200 ISO by Ilford but I prefer exposures created at 100 ISO. I'd rather have a darker, stronger negative than one that's underexposed. I always carry 2 meters with me when shooting. One is in the metered Prism of my 645 and the other is a hand held Gossen. Both are reflective type units. I'll take a reading and quite often will get 2 slightly different answers. Then I'll expose for the 645, the Gossen next, and finally a exposure based on my own judgment. Might not be the most prudent procedure but out of 3 negatives I'll get the one I want to print.  

Any comments, questions, or suggestions please post as you wish. Thanks!