A few weeks ago I built a BRO story around a spectacular image of the Liberty building Liberties. The picture was taken by talented Buffalo photographer, Joe Cascio. His web site is filled with intriguing pictures, many focusing on Buffalo as a subject. To me, finding this web site was like finding a nugget of gold on the street. Before knowing that I wanted to be an architect I had thought, perhaps I was going to be a photographer. Through photography you can control what people see in an object or place thereby allowing them see your vision. In a way the photographer uses the images to see things differently as well. My interest in photography turned out to be another aspect of my path to a career in architecture. It allowed me to capture what my mind was already seeing subconsciously. To this day, much of my design process involves creating photographic vignettes of the future building within my mind.
Exploring the city through Joe's images gave me several ideas for new stories. I was particularly attracted to the images included here. This wonderful aerial image depicts a broad West Side vista from Delaware Avenue, that sweeps west across the city to Canada. Seeing this gave me a whole new perspective on the city's urban composition. It is amazing to think that almost everything in that view was constructed within a 30-year period of time. The second image, also and aerial, provides a contrast of scales. It gives us a rare view, looking down onto the highly detailed City Hall peek played against a textured backdrop of dense city neighborhoods. I could go on and on about Joe's various images, but I thought it would be more interesting to hear his story. Joe obliged and sent the following:
My interest in the city, born and raised here, my mom's father photographed the area when he came here from Sicily in the mid teens, so I always had cameras and tons of pictures around. His magic closet under the stairs had all the goods in it and as kids that's where we always gravitated toward. It's always awesome to make an image and then find one of his old glass plates taken from the same spot. it's a great resource.
How I see a shot, many times it's ultra planned out and others just out of the corner of my eye I might catch something. I keep a little notebook that I can reference that says if this is like that, I should be here or there shooting. I use a wide range of lenses, super wide to super telephoto. Back in 1995 I started shooting some crazy panoramic images, stitching multiple images together long before anyone else was doing it and have perfected that, mostly without the aid of CS3 and all the auto software that's out there now. Some of those images may use up to 36 or more images to composite one final image.
My younger brother is a pilot and when he started flying it really turned me on to shooting aerials and even though I don't get a chance to fly with him any more, I have a couple of guys who I do fly with. I enjoy hanging out the open door of a helicopter far more than shooting from a small cramped airplane. The world is a whole lot different at 1,500 feet. I also take advantage of the relationships I have made over the years and put myself into positions that most people would never think of, this allows me to show things to people a bit differently than they are used to seeing things. Roofs of buildings are favorites for me. I've spent years documenting decay and growth and showing the quality of life we truly have here with the architecture and beauty of the area. From publishing projects like the Doors of Buffalo to the NHL Winter Classic poster, Mark Corsi (from Poster Art) and I get to produce some fun projects. It's cool to put something out there and have people take to it.
My family is all here as is my wife Tina's, and although I've had many chances to leave, I feel like I am the eternal optimist and if my photography can help others see that, then it's all good. I just got finished working on a new hard cover coffee table book with the city and was very excited with the project. While I'm not the only photographer in the book, I think I may have the most images and cool placements. Sometime in the next year I hope to publish my own pictorial book of the area in a way no one has done before and look forward to that.
See more of Joe' s images here.
These photos are fantastic!
Keep up the oustanding work Joe.