A little about me and my photography...

I'm an amateur photographer who spends his time between my day job as a Senior IT Technical Lead in the IT department of a large corporation and my interests in photographing a narrow subset of photographic topics and genres that interest me. I primarily photograph places, buildings, and items of historical significance. I'm especially drawn to Covered Bridges, Barns, Mills, Factories, Trains, and Railroading. On these pages, you will find separate sections of work featuring galleries of photos I have made through the years in each subject area.

I work with digital DSLR and mirrorless cameras as well as large and medium format film cameras and lenses. I especially like the tactile connection I can make with photographing with old and not-so-old, wooden, large-format film cameras. I have large format film cameras that range from 4x5, 5x7, 8x10, and 4x10. I can also shoot 6x17 cm panoramic film when that is the best compositional option. The closest I can come to that experience with the digital gear is when I work with perspective correction lenses, sometimes known as tilt/shift lenses. I use digital gear when I need color output or when the conditions require more dynamic control over things like ISO and the ability to hand-hold the camera. 99.9% of the time, my cameras are locked down on tripods. In 2023, I added a drone to my photography toolbox to get overhead shots, particularly for the Covered Bridges, where a side view cannot always be obtained because of fencing or other obstacles.

Havedegrace_gregg.jpg

In 2014, I did a 4x5 for 365 project, which pushed me to make many quality images over that year, all with the 4x5" large format film camera, so that I could post one image a day for 365 days.  That taught me a lot about every aspect of the craft.  I have since moved on to work mostly in a long-term project-based workflow.  I have several different long-term projects, each with its subject matter, and images produced for these projects are being created using sometimes vastly different tools, some film, some digital-based. It keeps me very busy and pushes me to seek knowledge and improve my craft.  I enjoy teaching others what I have learned when I can. 

Noticeable influences in my work include the very inspirational works of:

  • Michael A. Smith

  • Christopher Payne

  • Lois Conner

  • Tillman Crane

  • George Tice

  • John Sexton

  • Ray McSavaney

  • Wynn Bullock

  • David Plowden

  • John Bower

  • Wright Morris

In addition to this website, you can find me on:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/greggobst  (@GreggObst)
Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/greggobst

To contact me via email: Gregg.Obst@Gmail.com