entertainment – Greg Urbano

Briggsdale Scale and Silos: Monuments of Rural Persistence

The photograph of the Briggsdale Scale and Silos in eastern Colorado captures the beauty of agricultural remnants under a vast prairie sky. The artist portrays abandonment as transformation rather than decay, highlighting layered complexities and themes of economic change. This work reflects both personal exploration and broader cultural narratives in rural America.

Rural grain elevator complex with white scale house buildings and metal silos under a blue sky in eastern Colorado. — The Briggsdale scale and silos stand along a roadside in rural eastern Colorado.

In this commanding photograph from Chapter 6 of Greg Urbano’s Top 100 Journey, the photographer turns his lens toward the structural remnants of agricultural infrastructure in eastern Colorado. The Briggsdale Scale and Silos stand as weathered sentinels against an expansive prairie sky, their utilitarian forms elevated to subjects of aesthetic contemplation through careful compositional framing and an acute sensitivity to light.

The image presents a study in contrasts—temporal, textural, and tonal. The white-painted grain elevator rises prominently in the frame’s left third, its verticality punctuated by narrow window openings that read as dark voids against the painted surface. Adjacent structures spread horizontally across the composition, their corrugated metal siding bearing the patina of decades exposed to the elements. A modern Chief grain bin introduces a cylindrical geometry, while the skeletal remains of what appears to be an auger system arc across the upper right quadrant, its yellow and red paint providing the only vivid chromatic notes in an otherwise muted palette.

What distinguishes this work within the photographer’s ongoing exploration is its treatment of abandonment not as decay but as transformation. The structures retain their monumental presence even as nature begins its slow reclamation—weeds push through concrete, grass encroaches on gravel pathways, and rust blooms across metal surfaces. The dramatic cloud formation sweeping across the cobalt sky suggests movement and change, while the buildings themselves remain rooted, immovable despite their gradual obsolescence.

The photographer’s technical execution reveals a sophisticated understanding of documentary traditions. Shot in brilliant midday light that might challenge less experienced practitioners, he harnesses the harsh illumination to articulate every surface detail—the vertical seams of the elevator, the weathering patterns on wood siding, the dimensional quality of the corrugated metal. The deep blue sky provides crucial tonal separation, preventing the white structures from dissolving into atmospheric haze while simultaneously emphasizing the vastness of the landscape context.

Within Chapter 6’s framework of “The Road Ahead,” this photograph functions as both retrospective and prospective statement. It acknowledges the photographer’s established interest in vernacular architecture and rural landscapes while suggesting new territories of investigation. The composition’s layered complexity—multiple structures occupying different spatial planes, the interplay of geometric forms, the dialogue between human-made and natural elements—indicates an artist pushing beyond straightforward documentation toward more nuanced visual poetry.

The work also engages broader themes of economic transition and cultural memory embedded in the American rural landscape. These agricultural structures, once vital nodes in the grain production and distribution network, now stand largely dormant, their continued presence a testament to both past prosperity and present uncertainty. The photographer neither romanticizes nor condemns this state of affairs; instead, he presents the scene with clear-eyed attention, allowing viewers to project their own narratives onto these architectural forms.

As part of his long-term Top 100 Journey project, this image demonstrates the photographer’s commitment to sustained engagement with place and subject matter. His repeated travels through eastern Colorado have yielded not mere repetition but deepening insight, as evidenced by this photograph’s confident handling of complex visual elements. It represents the work of an artist whose ongoing exploration continues to reveal new dimensions within familiar territory, finding monumentality in structures others might overlook and poetry in the persistent presence of the seemingly obsolete.

Morgan Silver Dollars: Texture, Time, and Monochromatic Study

The photographed still life of overlapping late nineteenth-century Morgan silver dollars showcases a detailed exploration of numismatic design through macro photography. The monochromatic treatment emphasizes surface textures and historical nuances while controlled lighting enhances the sculptural qualities. This work merges traditional still life methodologies with contemporary techniques, documenting valuable artifacts within a modern context.

A close-up still life of overlapping Morgan silver dollar coins from the late nineteenth century.

This monochromatic study of late nineteenth-century Morgan Silver Dollars represents the photographer’s deliberate expansion into controlled still life work, demonstrating how historical objects can serve as compelling subjects for formal exploration. The composition arranges multiple coins in overlapping layers, creating a topographical landscape of circular forms that invites close examination of surface detail, wear patterns, and the inherent sculptural qualities of numismatic design.

The technical approach centers on macro photography, executed with a Meike 85mm f/2.8 lens paired with his Sony A7ii system. This focal length and aperture combination allows for selective focus that emphasizes the central Morgan Dollar while surrounding coins recede into varying degrees of sharpness. The viewer’s eye naturally gravitates to the prominently featured coin displaying Liberty’s profile, her flowing hair rendered in remarkable relief detail. The inscription “E PLURIBUS UNUM” curves along the upper edge, each letter capturing light differently based on the coin’s worn topography—evidence of decades in circulation.

His conversion to black and white through Nik Silver Efex Pro proves particularly astute for this subject matter. The monochromatic treatment unifies the silver surfaces while accentuating tonal variations that reveal the coins’ individual histories. Scratches, patina, and areas of polish loss become visual information rather than mere damage. The grayscale palette also reinforces the historical nature of these artifacts, creating an aesthetic continuity between the coins’ era of origin and the contemporary photograph documenting them.

The lighting strategy deserves attention for its subtlety. Diffuse illumination reveals the bas-relief portraits and decorative elements without creating harsh specular highlights that might obscure detail or introduce unwanted contrast. Shadows between stacked coins provide dimensional information, suggesting weight and materiality. The photographer has avoided the common pitfall of overworking metallic surfaces, instead allowing the silver to speak through its natural reflective properties and acquired character.

Within Chapter 5’s framework examining still life photography from classic to experimental approaches, this work anchors itself firmly in traditional methodology. The arrangement recalls centuries of vanitas imagery where objects of commerce and temporal value serve as subjects for formal study. Yet the execution benefits from modern digital capture capabilities—the macro lens resolving minute surface textures that would challenge film-based systems, and post-processing software offering precise tonal control.

The choice to work with borrowed objects introduces an interesting collaborative element to his expanding still life practice. These coins carry not only their original historical context but also the contemporary narrative of a colleague’s collection—objects held, preserved, and valued by someone within his immediate circle. This transforms the exercise from pure technical study into a form of visual preservation, documenting specific artifacts at a particular moment in their continuing existence.

As an entry point into product and still life photography practiced within the domestic studio environment, this image succeeds in demonstrating foundational skills: controlled lighting, thoughtful composition, appropriate lens selection, and sensitive post-processing. The Morgan Dollars provide subject matter rich enough to reward close attention while remaining accessible—a practical choice for developing technical proficiency that yields aesthetically resolved results worthy of inclusion in his curated collection.

The Zipper: Temporal Geometry in Motion

Greg Urbano’s photograph of the Zipper ride at a Florida carnival uniquely transforms the concept of landscape photography. By capturing swirling light trails during twilight, it emphasizes the intersection of cultural and physical landscapes. The image reveals the dynamic nature of our experiences, illustrating how ephemeral entertainment shapes collective identity in Florida.

Long exposure photograph of the Zipper carnival ride at night, creating circular light trails in vivid colors with people standing below. — Long exposure night view of the Zipper ride creating swirling light trails at a carnival.

Within Chapter 2 of Greg Urbano’s Top 100 Journey, this carnival ride photograph stands as a compelling exploration of how Florida’s cultural landscape extends beyond its natural and architectural features into the realm of ephemeral entertainment. The image captures the Zipper in full rotation during twilight hours, transforming a traveling carnival attraction into a blazing mandala of light and motion that challenges traditional notions of what constitutes a “landscape.”

The photographer’s technical execution is precise and purposeful. Working with a Nikon D610 at 18mm, he has employed a six-second exposure at f/22 and ISO 100 to record not the ride itself, but rather the luminous trace of its movement through space. This approach fundamentally alters the subject’s visual character—what would typically appear as a stationary mechanical structure becomes instead a dynamic sculptural form composed entirely of light trails. The concentric circles of orange, red, and yellow fire outward from a brilliant white core, creating a hypnotic pattern that suggests both solar imagery and abstract expressionist painting.

The compositional framework demonstrates sophisticated spatial awareness. The ride occupies the central position, its circular motion perfectly framed against a deepening blue sky where storm clouds gather at the horizon. Silhouetted figures stand before the ticket booth in the immediate foreground, their stillness providing human scale and anchoring the viewer’s perspective. These stationary forms create a deliberate counterpoint to the violent spinning above them, emphasizing through contrast the temporal nature of the photographer’s chosen exposure duration.

Environmental context enriches the reading of this work. The characteristic Florida palm trees visible at right, the flat terrain, and the quality of the twilight atmosphere all ground the image firmly within the state’s visual vocabulary. Additional carnival rides glow at the periphery—including what appears to be a carousel and swing ride—establishing this as a comprehensive documentation of Florida’s traveling fair culture, a seasonal tradition that punctuates small-town life across the state.

What makes this photograph particularly significant within the Landscapes & Cityscapes chapter is its conceptual expansion of both terms. The photographer argues implicitly that Florida’s landscape includes not only its physical geography but also its temporal and cultural topography—the fairs, festivals, and itinerant amusements that transform ordinary municipal parks into spaces of collective experience. This is landscape photography that acknowledges human activity not as intrusion but as essential component.

The technical choices support this interpretation. The narrow aperture has rendered the background rides and architectural elements with acceptable sharpness while creating prominent starbursts on individual light points—a decorative effect that paradoxically enhances rather than diminishes the image’s documentary authenticity. The relatively brief six-second exposure has captured sufficient motion to abstract the Zipper into pure pattern while maintaining enough detail in the stationary elements to preserve spatial legibility.

In positioning this work alongside more conventional Florida landscapes within his broader project, the photographer demonstrates an inclusive vision of place-making. Here, the spectacular is found not in natural grandeur or architectural monumentality, but in the democratic pleasure of a county fair at dusk—a quintessentially American scene rendered with technical sophistication and genuine respect for its subject matter.

The Gulf Pier: A Foundation in Light and Structure

Greg Urbano’s “Landscapes in HDR” captures the Gulf Fishing Pier at Fort de Soto Park, reflecting his artistic development in photography. Utilizing a Nikon D7100, he balances composition with HDR techniques, achieving naturalistic vibrancy without over-processing. The image embodies a pivotal moment in skill mastery, exploring the connection between environment and human creation.

HDR landscape photograph of the Gulf Fishing Pier at Fort De Soto Park in Pinellas County, Florida, extending over calm water under a bright sky, taken with a Nikon D7100 at 14mm. — A 2013 HDR landscape photograph of the Gulf Fishing Pier at Fort De Soto Park in Pinellas County, Florida.

In the early stages of any photographer’s journey, there exists a pivotal moment when technical curiosity converges with artistic vision. Greg Urbano’s “Landscapes in HDR” from 2013 captures precisely this convergence—a photograph that speaks to the fundamentals of seeing while revealing the seeds of a maturing artistic voice.

The Gulf Fishing Pier at Fort de Soto Park presents itself as an exercise in classical composition, yet the image transcends mere documentation. Shot with a Nikon D7100 at 14mm, the photographer embraced the distortion inherent in ultra-wide-angle photography, using it not as a limitation but as a tool for emphasis. The pier’s concrete pathway stretches toward the horizon with geometric insistence, its weathered surface textured with salt stains and age—details that anchor the ethereal quality of the surrounding environment.

What distinguishes this work within the context of Chapter 1—Beginnings is the deliberate exploration of HDR processing, a technique that dominated landscape photography in the early 2010s. Rather than falling into the trap of over-processing that plagued much HDR work of this era, Urbano demonstrates restraint. The luminous gradations in the sky—from deep azure to wispy white—retain a naturalistic quality while revealing detail across an impressive tonal range. The turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico maintain their vibrancy without crossing into hypersaturation, suggesting an eye already sensitive to the boundaries between enhancement and artifice.

The technical choices reveal a photographer building his fundamental vocabulary. The aperture of ƒ/8.0 ensures critical sharpness from the foreground concrete to the distant structures, while the fast shutter speed of 1/400s freezes the subtle motion of the scene—likely the flutter of distant flags or the movement of the few figures visible along the pier. At ISO 100, the image maintains clarity in its textures, from the horizontal railings that create rhythmic lines to the architectural shelters that punctuate the composition’s middle ground.

What makes this photograph significant in understanding Urbano’s artistic evolution is not its perfection but its purposefulness. The nearly symmetrical composition, the careful attention to the leading lines, the consideration of how architectural elements frame the natural environment—these are the building blocks upon which more complex visual narratives are constructed. The weekly visits to this location mentioned in his notes speak to something essential in photographic development: the practice of returning, of seeing the same subject under different conditions, of learning through repetition.

The landscape itself offers something eternal—the meeting point of human construction and natural expanse. The pier extends confidently into the Gulf, a gesture of connection between land and water, between the photographer’s position and the infinite horizon. In capturing this scene, Urbano was not merely documenting a favorite location but engaging with fundamental questions about how we frame our relationship to place and space.

Within the broader context of “Beginnings,” this image exemplifies the necessary stage of mastering craft before transcending it. The imperfect attempts referenced in the chapter description are not failures but essential experiments. Here, we witness a photographer learning to see in high dynamic range, to compose with geometric precision, and to capture the luminous quality of coastal light—all foundational skills that would inform the more sophisticated work to come.

This is where journeys begin: in the clarity of intention, the discipline of practice, and the recognition that every master was once a student of light.