Chapter 6 – Greg Urbano

Stuckey’s Skeleton: Monuments to Velocity and Obsolescence

The photo of an abandoned Stuckey’s along I-76 in Colorado captures the decline of mid-century roadside travel due to economic shifts and infrastructure changes. With documentary clarity, it emphasizes architectural decay and cultural history, inviting viewers to reflect on both nostalgia and contemporary relevance while preserving a forgotten era of American mobility.

Abandoned roadside building with a former gas canopy and boarded storefront, covered in graffiti and surrounded by cracked pavement and weeds under a blue sky. — The abandoned remains of a former Stuckey’s at the Sedgwick exit along I-76 in northeastern Colorado.

In this documentation of a former Stuckey’s roadside station along Interstate 76 near Sedgwick, Colorado, the photographer captures a distinctly American form of ruin—one born not of catastrophe but of bypass, economic shift, and the relentless evolution of travel infrastructure. The image, positioned within Chapter 6 of his Top 100 Journey, reflects a thematic concern with both literal and metaphorical roads ahead, while simultaneously acknowledging what has been left behind.

The composition employs a wide-angle perspective that emphasizes the structure’s geometric severity against an expansive Colorado sky. The canopy’s angular red-and-white striping draws the eye leftward, while the weathered building facade—bearing faded lettering and graffiti-marked columns—anchors the right side of the frame. Between these elements lies cracked asphalt overtaken by scrub grass, a visual testimony to years of abandonment. The photographer positions himself at a slight distance, allowing the full scope of dereliction to register without sensationalizing the decay.

What distinguishes this work from mere urban exploration photography is its restraint. Rather than fetishizing abandonment or deploying dramatic processing techniques, the photographer presents the scene with documentary clarity. The natural light—diffused through wispy clouds—provides even illumination that reveals texture in the deteriorating surfaces without casting the scene into melodrama. A discarded pink couch in the lower right corner serves as an unexpected punctuation mark, a surreal domestic intrusion into commercial space that hints at the site’s reappropriation by transient visitors.

The Stuckey’s chain represents a specific era of American mobility—mid-century road travel when interstate commerce moved at human speeds and roadside stops functioned as destinations rather than mere interruptions. The photographer’s selection of this subject speaks to an interest in cultural archaeology, in preserving evidence of infrastructures that once defined travel experience but now exist as skeletal reminders of obsolete commercial models.

Within the context of Chapter 6’s “ongoing exploration,” this photograph demonstrates an expansion of the photographer’s subject matter beyond controlled studio environments and collaborative performances. Here, he engages with the built environment as found object, approaching landscape and architecture with the same compositional rigor previously applied to portraiture and experimental lighting. The decision to include this image alongside more technically innovative work suggests an artistic practice concerned with breadth as much as depth—a willingness to move between modes of image-making as the subject demands.

The personal dimension—referenced in the accompanying text through memories of hot dogs and pecan log rolls—remains deliberately absent from the photograph itself. This restraint allows the image to function on multiple levels: as architectural document, as cultural commentary, as landscape study. The photographer trusts the visual evidence to carry meaning without editorial intervention, letting viewers project their own relationships to such spaces.

As part of the Top 100 selection, this photograph confirms that the journey ahead need not always involve technical innovation or conceptual complexity. Sometimes it requires simply bearing witness to what time and economics have rendered irrelevant, preserving in two dimensions what three-dimensional space will not sustain much longer. The road ahead, this image suggests, is also paved with remnants of roads already traveled.

Light Paint Glass Vase: Minimalism and the Democratization of Photographic Practice

A minimalist black-and-white photograph of a glass vase showcases how simple materials can produce sophisticated visual art. Created for a structured challenge, the work emphasizes classical minimalist principles, focusing on light, form, and composition. It highlights the idea that accessible techniques can achieve impactful results through exploration and experimentation.

Black-and-white photograph of a single glass vase standing on a dark fabric surface, illuminated against a black background with subtle light-painted highlights. — A minimalist black-and-white study of a glass vase, photographed using light painting on a dark tabletop and background.

In this austere still life, the photographer demonstrates how constraint and accessibility can yield sophisticated visual results. Created for Week 46 of a structured challenge focused on black and white minimalism, the image features a green glass vase—rendered in monochrome—isolated against absolute darkness. The work’s genesis from dollar store materials and basic light painting techniques belies its formal accomplishment, positioning it as a compelling statement within Chapter 6’s exploration of ongoing practice and future directions.

The composition adheres to classical minimalist principles: a singular subject, centered and vertical, emerges from void. The vase’s elegant silhouette—narrow at neck and base, gently swelling through its body—receives careful illumination from a handheld flashlight, creating a gradient of tones that model the form with sculptural precision. The photographer’s light painting technique reveals selective control; highlights trace the vessel’s curve while allowing shadow to claim significant portions of the surface, suggesting volume through implication rather than complete revelation.

What distinguishes this work within the photographer’s broader trajectory is its embrace of democratic materials and process. By explicitly acknowledging the humble origins of both subject and lighting instrument, he advances a philosophy that technical sophistication need not depend on expensive equipment. This approach resonates with Chapter 6’s theme of exploration—suggesting that the road ahead involves continual experimentation with accessible means rather than escalating technical complexity.

The monochromatic treatment transforms what was originally a green glass vessel into a study of pure form and tonality. This chromatic reduction focuses attention on the interplay between light and surface, on the subtle texture variations across the vase’s body, and on the relationship between object and ground. The black tablecloth and background merge into a unified void, creating the impression that the vase floats in undefined space—a strategy borrowed from commercial and fine art photography traditions alike.

The image’s participation in a weekly challenge framework—Week 46 addressing black and white minimalism—situates the photographer’s practice within contemporary photography’s social and educational structures. Unlike the isolated studio practice of previous generations, his work emerges from dialogue with prompts, themes, and presumably a community of practitioners engaging similar constraints. This context enriches the reading of Chapter 6; the road ahead is both solitary and communal, shaped by individual vision and collective participation.

Post-processing in Adobe Camera Raw represents the final transformative stage, where the captured light painting receives refinement and intentional tonal mapping. The deep blacks exhibit rich density without blocking detail entirely, while the highlights maintain luminosity without burning out—evidence of considered digital darkroom practice.

Within the Top 100 Journey, this photograph stands as testament to fundamental photographic principles: light, form, composition, and tone. Its apparent simplicity masks deliberate choices regarding placement, illumination duration and direction, and subsequent processing decisions. The vase becomes more than household object; it transforms into a vehicle for exploring how light describes volume, how darkness defines presence, and how minimal means can generate maximal visual impact.

In embracing both constraint and accessibility, the photographer charts a sustainable path forward—one where ongoing exploration need not await perfect conditions or specialized equipment, but can unfold through disciplined attention to essential elements.

Northern Hotel Lobby: Architecture as Stage in the Contemporary Photographic Journey

The photograph of the Northern Hotel lobby, taken during Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk, captures the interplay of light, architecture, and human presence. Elevating the viewer’s experience, it harmonizes historical preservation with contemporary exploration, highlighting the importance of collaborative practice in photography and the evolving narrative of space and community.

View of the Northern Hotel lobby from an upper staircase, showing patterned tile flooring, hanging lights, and two people walking across the open space below. — The Northern Hotel lobby in Fort Collins, photographed from the top of the staircase during Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk.

In this commanding architectural study, the photographer positions his lens at the apex of a staircase, transforming the Northern Hotel’s lobby into a theater of light, geometry, and human scale. Captured during Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk in Fort Collins, the image represents a significant entry in Chapter 6 of his Top 100 Journey—a section devoted to recent work and ongoing exploration. Here, the photographer’s evolving visual language finds purchase in the interplay between preserved historical space and contemporary documentary practice.

The composition demonstrates a mature understanding of spatial dynamics. Shot from an elevated vantage point, the frame encompasses the lobby’s full vertical reach, from the patterned terrazzo floor below to the arched balconies above. Two fellow photographers occupy the lower portion of the frame, their dark silhouettes providing crucial scale against the expanse of white walls and geometric flooring. This human element prevents the space from becoming merely an exercise in architectural documentation; instead, it anchors the viewer’s experience in a moment of shared discovery.

The photographer’s technical execution reveals deliberate choices regarding exposure and white balance. The warm incandescent glow from wall sconces contrasts with cooler ambient light filtering through windows, creating a subtle temperature gradient that enhances the lobby’s dimensionality. Pendant lights suspended from the ceiling echo this interplay, their cylindrical forms acting as vertical punctuation marks in the composition. The decorative tile borders running horizontally along the walls establish rhythm, while the radiators beneath provide industrial counterpoint to the space’s ornamental flourishes.

What distinguishes this work within the context of Chapter 6 is its relationship to process and community. Unlike the more introspective or solitary work that might characterize earlier chapters, this photograph emerges from collaborative exploration—a photowalk that brings practitioners together in shared discovery. The photographer’s decision to include his companions becomes a subtle commentary on the social dimensions of photographic practice, acknowledging that contemporary image-making often unfolds in dialogue with others.

The Northern Hotel itself, with its restored early twentieth-century details, offers fertile ground for examining how historical architecture persists in contemporary life. The stained glass transom above the entrance door, the ornamental ironwork of the balcony railings, and the carefully preserved floor pattern all speak to preservation efforts that transform commercial spaces into cultural touchstones. The photographer approaches this material not with nostalgia but with documentary clarity, allowing the space’s formal qualities to assert themselves.

In the broader trajectory of his Top 100 Journey, this image signals an openness to environmental portraiture and architectural narrative. The “ongoing exploration” referenced in Chapter 6 manifests here as a willingness to work within structured events and communal frameworks while maintaining individual vision. The photograph neither dominates its subject with excessive intervention nor withdraws into passive recording; rather, it strikes a balance between observation and interpretation.

The Northern Hotel lobby becomes, under his lens, both subject and metaphor—a preserved space that hosts contemporary seekers, a historical vessel filled with present-tense activity. This duality resonates throughout the photographer’s recent work, suggesting that the road ahead involves continued negotiation between tradition and innovation, solitude and community, documentation and artistic expression.

The Studio as Theater: Classical Portraiture in Contemporary Practice

Jessica Lynn’s studio portrait showcases a fusion of classical portraiture and contemporary technique, created during a workshop at Atelier Alchimia. The photograph illustrates the artist’s growth through collaboration, using refined lighting to enhance the subject’s regal appearance. This work embodies artistic evolution, blending tradition with innovation while emphasizing continuous learning.

Studio portrait of Jessica Lynn standing in a flowing blush-colored gown, posed in front of a dark backdrop with a studio light visible behind her. — Jessica Lynn (QueenJess Rising) photographed in a studio setting during a workshop at Atelier Alchimia in Westminster, Colorado.

This studio portrait from Chapter 6 of the photographer’s Top 100 Journey represents a deliberate engagement with the formal traditions of classical portraiture, reimagined through contemporary technical means. Created during a workshop at Atelier Alchimia in Westminster, Colorado, the image demonstrates how collaborative learning environments can yield work of considerable aesthetic merit while advancing the artist’s technical vocabulary.

The subject, Jessica Lynn, is presented in a flowing blush-toned gown with dramatic bell sleeves that cascade to the floor, creating a silhouette reminiscent of Renaissance or Pre-Raphaelite painting. An ornate collar necklace in gold and green adds a regal quality that justifies the image’s title. The photographer has positioned her in a classical contrapposto-inspired stance—weight on one leg, torso gently twisted, one hand raised in a gesture of contemplation or perhaps benediction. This pose, combined with the upward gaze and theatrical lighting, evokes both historical portraiture and contemporary fashion photography’s ongoing dialogue with art history.

The technical execution reveals careful attention to studio craft. A single key light with barn doors, visible in the frame’s right edge, provides directional illumination that sculpts the subject’s features and creates tonal gradation across the fabric’s folds. The mottled canvas backdrop transitions from warm browns to darker tones, providing depth without competing for attention. The lighting setup, developed collaboratively with studio owner Jonny Edwards, demonstrates the photographer’s increasing comfort with controlled environments—a marked evolution from earlier work in the series that frequently engaged with natural light and outdoor settings.

What makes this image particularly relevant to “The Road Ahead: Recent Work & Ongoing Exploration” is its frank acknowledgment of artistic development through structured learning. Shot during a workshop led by Eric Brown, the photograph embodies a philosophy of continuous growth and technical refinement. Rather than presenting only work created in solitary practice, the photographer includes images born from educational contexts, recognizing that mastery often emerges through collaboration and mentorship.

The choice to work with studio lighting represents an expansion of technical range. The careful balance of exposure—maintaining detail in both the luminous fabric and the darker background—suggests growing confidence with artificial light sources. The warm color palette creates cohesion between subject, costume, and environment, while the visible studio elements (backdrop clamps, light stand) provide documentary transparency about the image’s construction.

Within the broader arc of the Top 100 Journey, this portrait signals a willingness to explore different photographic modes. Where earlier chapters emphasized environmental and location work, this studio piece demonstrates versatility and an interest in controlled aesthetic experiences. The theatrical quality—the visible apparatus of image-making—invites viewers into the creative process rather than presenting a seamless illusion.

The photograph succeeds both as a study in classical beauty and as evidence of artistic evolution. It captures a moment of learning translated into accomplished execution, showing that the road ahead need not abandon traditional craft in pursuit of innovation. Instead, it suggests that mastery comes through accumulation—building new skills atop established foundations, always remaining open to guidance, collaboration, and the timeless appeal of light falling gracefully upon fabric and form.

Suspended Between Earth and Sky: A Study in Geometric Embrace

The photograph of Jennie Parks in a sandstone crevice at the Colorado-Wyoming border conveys a powerful interplay between human form and rugged landscape. The composition showcases Parks as both an integral part of the environment and a symbol of human vulnerability, enriched by graffiti that connects ancient rock with contemporary existence.

Model Jennie Parks posed barefoot within a narrow sandstone rock crevice, surrounded by weathered stone walls with graffiti and lichen. — Jennie Parks positioned inside a sandstone crevice at the Natural Fort rock formation on the Colorado–Wyoming border.

In this striking composition from Chapter 6 of the photographer’s Top 100 Journey, the human figure becomes a graceful counterpoint to the harsh geometry of desert stone. Shot at the natural fort rock formation straddling the Colorado-Wyoming border, the image captures model Jennie Parks wedged within a narrow crevasse, her body forming a living bridge between two massive limestone walls that tower overhead.

The photographer demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of environmental portraiture here, positioning his subject not merely within the landscape but as an integral element of its architecture. Parks’s extended pose—one arm reaching upward, legs braced against opposing walls—transforms the human form into a line of tension that mirrors the vertical thrust of the surrounding stone. The patterned fabric of her dress introduces rhythmic visual complexity against the textured, graffiti-marked surfaces of the rock, creating a dialogue between organic movement and geological permanence.

Technically, the composition exploits the natural framing device of the rock formation with considerable skill. The converging walls create strong diagonal lines that draw the eye upward toward the narrow strip of overcast sky, while the low vantage point emphasizes the vertiginous scale of the formation. The photographer has worked with available light to maintain detail in both the shadowed crevasse and the brighter upper reaches, a challenging exposure balance that preserves the dimensional quality of the weathered stone surfaces.

What distinguishes this work within the context of “The Road Ahead: Recent Work & Ongoing Exploration” is its synthesis of earlier themes with new formal rigor. The image continues the photographer’s established interest in the relationship between human vulnerability and natural grandeur, yet demonstrates an evolving sophistication in how that relationship is articulated. Rather than placing the figure as a small element overwhelmed by landscape—a common approach in environmental portraiture—he positions Parks as an active participant in the space’s geometry, neither dominated by nor dominating the scene.

The inclusion of graffiti on the rock faces introduces an unexpected documentary element. These colorful marks of human passage—blue and turquoise abstractions, faded pink tags—situate the timeless geological formation within contemporary reality. Rather than diminishing the image’s aesthetic power, this urban palimpsest enriches the reading: the rock has witnessed countless human gestures, from ancient weathering to modern spray paint to this moment of choreographed grace.

As representative of ongoing exploration, the photograph reveals an artist continuing to refine his visual vocabulary while remaining open to chance encounters and improvisation. The natural fort formation itself suggests the kind of site-responsive work that characterizes mature landscape photography—locations discovered rather than constructed, where the photographer’s role becomes one of recognition and revelation rather than wholesale invention.

In the broader trajectory of the Top 100 Journey, this image marks a moment of confident synthesis. The technical command is assured, the conceptual framework clear, yet there remains an element of spontaneity in how Parks inhabits the narrow space. It is work that looks both backward to established concerns and forward to possibilities yet unrealized—precisely the balance one expects from a chapter titled “The Road Ahead.”

Refraction and Illumination: A Study in Controlled Light

In Greg Urbano’s entry from “The Road Ahead: Recent Work & Ongoing Exploration,” a single green LED illuminates a glass sphere, creating intricate light patterns. This photograph showcases the artist’s mastery of optical effects and light manipulation. It reflects an ongoing exploration of visual ideas, balancing technical skill with artistic homage.

A glass sphere sits on black acrylic, bending bright green LED lines that cross diagonally, with a clear reflection below against a dark background. — A single green LED light creates intersecting line patterns that refract through a glass sphere and reflect off black acrylic.

In this striking entry from Chapter 6 of Greg Urbano’s Top 100 Journey—titled “The Road Ahead: Recent Work & Ongoing Exploration”—the photographer demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of light manipulation and optical phenomena. Created as part of the 52 Frames community’s Week 38 challenge, which called for images using a single light source, this photograph represents both technical mastery and artistic homage.

The composition centers on a glass sphere resting atop a reflective black acrylic base, positioned against a background of projected linear light patterns. What immediately captivates the viewer is the optical complexity achieved through such seemingly simple elements. The sphere acts as a lens, refracting and inverting the striped pattern behind it, while simultaneously creating a mirror image in the glossy surface below. This doubling effect—one sphere above, one reflected beneath—establishes a visual dialogue between reality and reflection that speaks to photography’s fundamental nature as a medium of light capture.

The photographer’s choice of a Godox TL30 LED wand as his single light source proves particularly astute. Rather than relying on ambient or diffused lighting, he creates a precise, linear pattern that reads as both graphic element and scientific demonstration. The vibrant green illumination pulses across the frame in parallel lines, their luminosity gradating from deep emerald to electric cyan. Where the light passes through the sphere, it bends and concentrates, revealing the optical principles at work while creating areas of intense brilliance that punctuate the geometric order.

This image explicitly acknowledges its lineage. The photographer credits Elizabeth Klepper’s 2023 work from the same community as inspiration—a refreshingly transparent gesture that positions this photograph within a continuum of artistic exchange rather than claiming isolated innovation. Yet this is no mere reproduction. Where Klepper’s original vision provided the conceptual framework, this interpretation carries distinct choices in color temperature, scale, and tonal contrast that mark it as an independent exploration.

The technical execution reveals careful consideration of multiple variables. The exposure balances the intense luminosity of the LED source with the deep blacks of the background and base, maintaining detail across a challenging dynamic range. The focus renders the sphere’s surface with crystalline clarity, allowing viewers to perceive both its transparency and its physical substance simultaneously. The alignment of the linear patterns—maintaining their parallel consistency both in direct view and through the sphere’s distortion—suggests meticulous positioning and multiple test exposures.

Within the context of Chapter 6, this photograph signals a willingness to engage with established visual ideas while pushing toward new territory. The chapter’s subtitle, “Recent Work & Ongoing Exploration,” positions the photographer at a transitional moment, actively investigating techniques and concepts that may inform future directions. This image embodies that investigative spirit—it is simultaneously a study, an exercise, and a finished work worthy of exhibition.

The minimalist aesthetic here contrasts with the more documentary or narrative approaches found in earlier chapters of the Journey. The photographer strips away contextual information, environmental cues, and representational content, focusing instead on pure optical phenomena. Light becomes subject rather than tool. The glass sphere transforms from decorative object to scientific instrument to sculptural form.

What elevates this beyond technical demonstration is its inherent beauty—the mesmerizing quality of those radiating green lines, the perfect symmetry of sphere and reflection, the luminous energy that seems to emanate from the glass itself. It exemplifies how constraint, whether self-imposed or community-mandated, can generate creative solutions that transcend their origins.

Natural Elegance: A Portrait in Copper and Light

Abigail Marchetti, known as Copper Muse, poses at a Denver Models open shoot, showcasing the photographer’s evolving studio portraiture techniques. Utilizing natural light, he captures her striking features and authentic expression, emphasizing color harmony and psychological presence. This portrait marks a significant step in his artistic development, blending classical principles with a modern sensibility.

Studio portrait of a red-haired woman in a black dress posing against a light background with her hands framing her face. — Model Abigail Marchetti, known as Copper Muse, poses during a Denver Models open shoot at Realm Studio in Denver.

This compelling portrait of model Abigail Marchetti exemplifies the photographer’s deepening engagement with studio portraiture and his refined approach to natural light as a primary sculptural tool. Captured during a Denver Models open shoot at Realm Studio, the image represents continued exploration of collaborative creative environments while demonstrating increasingly sophisticated control of the portraitist’s essential elements: light, gesture, color harmony, and psychological presence.

The composition centers on the model’s striking features—vibrant copper-red hair cascading in loose waves, piercing blue-green eyes meeting the camera with direct but unguarded confidence, and pale skin that catches and reflects the soft window light with luminous clarity. Her pose, with one hand gracefully raised to her hair and the other touching her neck, creates natural framing that draws attention to her face while suggesting unaffected spontaneity. The black strapless garment provides bold tonal contrast against both her skin and the pale backdrop, creating visual drama without competing for attention.

What distinguishes this work is the photographer’s masterful exploitation of natural window light. Rather than relying on the multiple strobes and reflectors typical of commercial studio work, he has chosen a more classical approach that recalls portrait painting traditions. The directional quality of the illumination—soft yet defined—models the subject’s features with sculptural precision while maintaining delicate gradations across skin tones. Highlights along the hair reveal its rich, multidimensional copper coloring, transforming what could be merely descriptive documentation into chromatic study.

The technical execution demonstrates growing confidence with the Nikon Z5 system and the versatile 24-120mm lens. The focal length selection—likely in the moderate telephoto range—provides flattering perspective without distortion, while the depth of field keeps the subject sharply defined against the subtly gradated background. The exposure balances the challenge of pale skin and light background without sacrificing detail in either the model’s features or the deeper tones of her garment.

Within the framework of Chapter 6—”The Road Ahead: Recent Work & Ongoing Exploration”—this portrait signals important developments in his artistic trajectory. The open shoot environment, like the previous workshop-based work, indicates willingness to engage with structured collaborative opportunities while bringing his distinct sensibility to bear. Yet where some open shoots yield generic beauty documentation, this image transcends its circumstances through careful attention to classical portraiture principles: the quality of light, the authenticity of expression, the harmony of color and form.

The model’s direct gaze introduces a quality often absent from his landscape and architectural work—reciprocal acknowledgment between photographer and subject. This mutual recognition adds psychological dimension, transforming technical exercise into genuine encounter. The slight asymmetry in her expression—contemplative rather than performative—suggests comfort and trust within the photographic exchange.

The photograph also reveals evolving aesthetic priorities. While maintaining the tonal sensitivity and compositional rigor evident throughout his portfolio, he demonstrates here that minimalism need not preclude richness. The interplay of copper hair, pale skin, black fabric, and soft grey background creates visual complexity through chromatic relationships rather than environmental detail. This represents a distillation of his practice—finding depth in apparent simplicity, discovering complexity in restraint—now applied to the human figure with increasing assurance and grace.