Blog

Last Week In Photography - 2020 - Swimming In A Sea Of Turmoil

It’s almost impossible to summarize this past year in any words that adequately describe the pain and uncertainty we’ve been subjected to.

Moment by moment we have been battered by another loss.

The loss of innocent belief that our way of life would keep on the path we thought we had set was a huge body blow that knocked many of us to the ground. The discovery of the depth of hate and anger lurking just beneath the surface manifesting in the loss of lives and disbelief of finding out how little we could rely on the institutions we set up to protect us and the flame of unrest setting friend and family against one another were cuts that went deep and bled hard!

At the same time the good surfaced as well.

I see daily posts on social media offering free food and clothing to those in need. Neighbors have stepped up to assist when made aware of desperation has set in due to Covid infection or financial collapse. While some families have been torn apart others have formed.

Yeast disappeared from the shelves as home baking underwent a resurgence and food sharing was, again, a way to serve and connect. Those who have sewing skills have filled a need with custom designed masks and returnables are regularly donated in bags at the doorsteps to help those whose income has dropped .. or stopped.

On a personal/professional level I’ve been out of work since mid November with a back injury incurred during a photo shoot and getting beaten up at my physical therapy sessions. I hope to be back working soon…. I love what I do.

So.. a new year is coming in a few days and I wish you all, my country, those who have supported me, those who have commented on my work and particularly those who have suffered loss.. a very happy, safe and healthy 2021.

Clicking on the composites of photos from 2020 below will enlarge them full size:

Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Sister and Brother Modeling Sessions

The sessions in this post are from a series of sister and brother (in that order chronologically) sessions for prospective modeling portfolios.

Each of them came into the studio a few times to allow for different backgrounds and looks. Genetics proved to hold true as there are a lot of physical similarities in the way they photographed.

One of the composites show the wider studio view and the finished version.

Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.



Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Make-Good For A Lost Graduation Celebration And A Chilly Family Session

I’ve photographed this young woman before as a senior session then Covid hit and her graduation at the University of Michigan Stadium was cancelled.

Wearing her prom dress she posed in front of the stadium gates to document her success.

It was a fun shoot as the drivers passing by applauded, yelled encouragement and honked their horns in a wonderfully shared moment.

Also, on a very cold late autumn/early winter evening I photographed this family whom I’ve known for over three decades. The setting was the Ypsilanti Freight House. It was masks and coats on then a very hurried herding cats moment then back to the coats and masks while everyone made believe they were warm.

Clicking on the header photo as well as the photos and composites below will enlarge them full size.

Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Continuing To Make Use Of Good Weather

We enjoyed a long stretch of good weather and it was great to be out in the sun and photograph some senior and family sessions. We shared the local parks with lots of late October-early November strollers.

Mixed with a few studio senior sessions it made for a very enjoyable late fall season!

Here is a collection of photographs taken in studio and Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor settings.

Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.



Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - There's Still Good Weather! Busy In and Out Of The Studio

I’ve been grateful for our extended fall weather. We’ve been blessed with great seasonal color and warm sunny days so I’ve been busy photographing at local parks.

Also my studio time has been picking up as the need for head shots is increasing.

In this time of pandemic there are so many people in dire situations and I am very aware and very grateful to be busy and healthy.

Here is a selection of family and studio sessions.

Stay well and stay safe!

Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size

Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Watching Kids Grow and A Cold Day At The Beach
DSC_4915 (1280x854).jpg

I was privileged to have been invited to share the births of both of my friends’ children and just had them both into the studio for a “Yikes.. look at how they’ve grown” session. There are a couple of composites in this post showing them then and now.

Also I’ve included a series of a young woman surfer I photographed on a chilly day in Saugatuck this past September 13th. I don’t get to play with photography as much as I’d like, being busy working for hire so this was a welcome break from my normal days.

Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.



Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Studio And Location Sessions

Still under pandemic restrictions in and out of the studio I photographed a one year old and did some senior photos.

It’s difficult to communicate when half your face is obscured… interesting how it’s all in the eyes.

Speaking of eyes these two, both the toddler and senior, did fine showing their personalities during all three sessions. The senior sessions were done half in studio and one week later at a great park I never knew existed.. one more place to use as background.

Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.



Stephen Silverberg Comment
Last Week In Photography - Sunset In Saugatuck VI

Those of you who have followed this blog page know I make a yearly pilgrimage to Oval Beach at Saugatuck, Michigan to visit the site where we spread my late wife’s ashes. Our anniversary was September 13th and I’m there every year.

This year’s visit was sort of a metaphor for the state of the country as well as my state of mind lately.

People browsing the shops and eating places were trying to have a good time while masked and a gathering at a waterside restaurant had a very large group celebrating in close quarters with not a mask to be found while passersby looked on and shook their heads.

Shoreline erosion is severe leaving 20 foot cliffs where there were step ups that were one to two feet high just a few years ago.

The sun struggled to be seen from behind clouds that were not in the weather predictions finally making an appearance just in time for the beach goers to get the show they’d been hoping for.

I’m glad I went as I got some sorely needed time to reflect on the year behind me… some good and some not so good but I’m still here and the waves keep breaking on the shore.

Here are some photographs taken at sunset.

Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.


Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Head Shots Needed

Lately there is an increasing need for head shot sessions. People are moving from long term employment and searching for new opportunities, applying for medical residences, undergoing personal change and running for office in local races.

Here is a small collection from the last week or so.. more to come.

Clicking on the composites will enlarge them to full size.


Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Adjusting To A New Reality

The stay at home order has been rescinded but there are still good reasons to be careful. The virus still invades every aspect of our lives and de-stressing is a major mission.

There have been parties and gatherings that have spread the infection and although my studio is now open it’s with huge changes that are designed to not add to the problem.

I’m now masked and gloved when photographing real estate listings as there are sometimes families there in close proximity to me. To lessen the awkwardness I joke that I feel like a bank robbing proctologist… funny in a sad way.

With the closing of a number of businesses there is a need for headshots as many people now find themselves in job search mode with very outdated images.

Due to the run of good weather it’s been a great chance to photograph families and headshots outside as well as in.

Here are some samples. Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.


Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Life Tries To Go On

The past few blog posts were under the shelter at home rules and now we are back out and trying to make sense of it all.

The Covid infection rate fell and now seems to be rising again as there have been large gatherings ignoring the new reality of life under pandemic.

I’m, at least for now, back to photographing people as well as real estate listings. My studio is open on a limited basis.. I wear a mask and try diligently to be mindful of physical separation to the extent it’s possible.

I’m seeing an increasing number of requests for headshots as many businesses are in a state of flux and people are updating LinkedIn profiles. Good for me, scary for the economy.

The composites here reflect studio as well as outdoor headshots plus a great family session here in Ypsilanti’s Riverside Park.

Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.

Stay well and stay safe!



Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Under Stay At Home Order Week Seven

The shelter at home order has been extended once more and I’m starting to look like that guy you don’t want to run into in a dark alley.

Like many photographers who ceased business at the beginning of this process I have now run out of studio work and have only myself to use for practice, hence the header photo.

Ypsilanti seems to be holding up well and there have been more inventive ways to burn off energy surfacing. The on line cooking videos continue, people are sharing resources and yeast is a hot commodity. One household posted Monty Python derived signs proclaiming the frontage of their home a zone of silly walks and the photos posted from their front window bear out how wonderfully funny passersby can be.

I went back to some older photos I haven’t shared in a long time..performers I’ve been able to photograph up close, sometimes from on stage.

Martha Reeves (her brother, Benny, looks cool in crowd reflecting shades), LP. a singer many of you may or may not know.. she totally rocked her downtown concert. Laith Al-Saadi, Michelle Chamuel and Joshua Davis were all contestants on The Voice in different seasons plus Theo Katzman who lived in Ann Arbor for a while and whose latest album was released early this year.

Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.

As always, stay safe!

Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Under Stay At Home Order Week Five

Which now places us here in Michigan at the beginning of week six.

I’ve stated before I’m an ex New York City guy so living in Ypsilanti is an odd experience to me even though I’ve been here since 1997. Although we’re technically a city I always think small town.

As such there are pluses and minuses, mostly balanced to the plus side. Outside my window it’s been uncharacteristically quiet, a counterpoint to the usual morning and evening auto traffic of people going and returning from work. Although there are still runners and walkers, people and dog, as well as families getting fresh air the numbers and frequency are much reduced. When we’re out at the same time there is a distance between us and a quietness to the conversations in the renewed awareness of the value in human contact.

I’m active on a number of neighborhood Facebook pages and although there are differences in geographic areas in Ypsilanti my New York brain sees us as one entity, less separate than we perceive us to be.. There’s a small town caring for our neighbors, people volunteering free food and household items, video chats and cooking classes along with the occasional squabble about our shared circumstance.

I feel we are treading water in a sea of information and disinformation, caught in a rip current carrying us out to sea and then parallel to the shore, one we can’t yet reach until the current disappears.

The decision regarding when and how to return to the daily business cycle is yet to be made….. how, who, what will or won’t be deemed essential…. all still on that as yet unreachable shore.

The photos of the woman in this blog are the last in my file from before I shut down my shooting space. From now on I’ll have to delve into some older files until things reverse… safely.

Clicking in the composites below will enlarge them full size for viewing.

Stay well and stay safe.





Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Under Stay At Home Order Week Four

There are no verified facts of the origin of the phrase “May you live in interesting times” but it’s pretty well agreed upon it’s a curse and if so, we’re certainly there now.

The neighborhood Facebook pages are filled with posts aimed at connecting us. A neighbor has been posting a series of video kitchen how-to recipes using ingredients most commonly found and ofttimes buried in the back of the cupboard. People are sharing photos of family/pets/backyard wildlife.

Unfortunately there are also a number of sadly hateful trolling posts aimed at feeding the worst part of us.

I’m not buying into it.

I’m an ex-New York City guy who accumulated my home here when my late wife dragged me kicking and screaming into this city, Ypsilanti Michigan for those of you not in this area. Living in a smaller city has its ups and downs but the best of it is the feeling of a tight community and that’s our best and most treasured weapon against the threat of this pandemic.

Early in February I took the first vacation in over 7 years and visited my two daughters in Florida just before we became aware of the spread and danger of Covid-19. I photographed my .. I guess step-granddaughter is the term at the beach in Cape Canaveral, then took some photos of my daughter’s grandmother on her biological dad’s side for her 92nd birthday. Then on to the Tampa area to see the other of my daughters and spend time with her.

The lead blog photo is of the Tampa daughter and the composites below are from that trip including a couple of me she took on a non typical chilly and blustery day near Tampa.

Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size:

Stay safe

Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Under Stay At Home Order Week Three

At this point in the process of trying to stem the spread of Covid-19, the virus that has changed our national landscape as much as Pearl Harbor or 9/11, we are finding out a lot about our character as a nation and as individuals.

As many of us have taken the warnings seriously and are sheltering at home some just don’t believe. One woman who posted how much of a hoax it was in a widely shared rant is now dead from the same thing she characterized as a plot. A bus driver who, in an also widely shared post complaining of the thoughtlessness of a passenger who repeatedly coughed in his bus with no attempt to cover up subsequently tested positive and soon after that died.

I’ve never gotten political in these blog posts so here are some observations from my own isolation.

Toilet paper disappeared from store shelves as did all hand sanitizers and isopropyl alcohol. Medical staff nationwide begged for protective gear while masks were unavailable from all online sources. Hair trimming cutters are also disappearing as people are now cutting their own hair.. thus, by the way, spawning some hilarious photos being shared….. be brave, it’ll grow back.

At the same time we came together and thousands of people sewed and donated home made protective gear, donated food and tips to keep children and families occupied. Facebook and Nextdoor are the new neighborhood gathering places and yeast flew off the shelves and became unavailable indicating a vast resurgence of home bakers keeping safe by staying out of the stores and retreating to the safety of their kitchens. People are trading recipes and leaving food in front of their homes for people less fortunate than they are.

As for photographers, we’ve stopped working and are doing self and our own family portraits if living in the same home. Real estate photography is still not allowed meaning yes, I’m frozen in time.

Here are some photos taken at different times of a mother and daughter, both great to photograph and both, hopefully to come back to my studio when we can be in the same place at the same time.

Clicking on the composites will enlarge them full size.

Stay safe take care.


Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Under Stay At Home Order Week Two

Here we are at the beginning of the 2nd week of sheltering at home and the Facebook posts range from heartbreaking to hysterically funny.

I’ve taken the 1st week as a chance to do some long deferred home and studio maintenance. My windows are now clean inside and out, all the wood floors have been vacuumed, washed and sealed with a wood treatment and shine. My studio lighting has been re-aligned and calibrated.

Spice drawer is alphabetized…

I’m in good shape here but some are not and I’m heartened to hear of people supporting others not as fortunate.

I’m posting some photos from a session with a musician, student and hockey player. It was fun to have musical accompaniment while we worked.

Also, since I’ve mentioned the real estate listing end of my business, I’ve included a couple of composites of before/after using sky replacement software. These are a bit more dramatic than simply adding a blue sky and puffy clouds on grey days. The range of what can be done is amazing.

Clicking on the composites below will enlarge them full size

Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Under Stay At Home Order

The state of world health has come to us here in Michigan with a Stay At Home order effective as of 12:00 AM today.

I had been busy photographing portraits, head shots and families in my studio. That came to a halt a week ago when I decided it was safer for all concerned to no longer have people in and shut down all upcoming sessions.

The real estate market, even during the ramp up to the order, was booming and I was photographing one to two listings daily seven days a week since the beginning of the month.

I had been wearing gloves, only doing listing shoots where the occupants were not there and liberally using disinfectant on my hands and cameras.

Yesterday, with the announcement from the governor’s office that, too came to an abrupt halt as my realtor clients shut their offices when all transactions were noted as non essential per the order.. this is still being sorted out but the photo portion hit the brakes.. hard.

None of us know where this will end as we are at the beginning of the process.

I wish all of you well and am thankful I will be OK as I have food and a roof over my head, more than others sadly.

The photos in the composites below are from the studio and I thank the people who shared their time with me to produce these.. more to come in the next few posts.

Clicking on the composites below will enlarge them full size.


Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Diversity

The current popular definition of diversity means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.

As an ex New York City guy (if there’s such a thing as “ex” when the city’s in your blood) I miss walking the streets of Manhattan immersed in the sea of different faces, languages, food smells coming from street carts and colors of clothing.

I know this is Last Week In Photography but this larger than the normal content of my blog collection is from the past few years I’ve been in business here in Ypsilanti. I’ve been honored to have a little bit of NYC here in my studio.

Clicking on the composites below will enlarge them full size.



Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Pianos As Props

I have a good sized collection of photographs stored for use in these blog posts and while going through them spotted a group captured at different times and locations with a common theme, all used a piano as a prop or defining setting.

Here are some of them for your review….. and, for you musicians out there, you’ll be glad to know all these were done to the tune of the piano being actually played during the sessions.

Clicking on the header and the composites below will enlarge them full size.

Stephen SilverbergComment
Last Week In Photography - Headshots, A Sister-Brother Real Estate Team And A New Master's Degree

Clients have been preparing for the new year!

I’ve been photographing head shots for business and social media usage, a sister and brother real estate team and a young woman who came back into the studio after a previous session to celebrate a shiny new Master’s degree.

My schedule slowed over the holidays giving me time to make some lighting changes and update my website. Now my dater is filling and I’ll keep sharing here on the blog page.

Clicking on the composites below will enlarge them full size.



Stephen SilverbergComment