Michael Lijewski: Photographer
You don't have to travel to exotic location to capture great photographs loaded with history.
In which we examine the photography of Harford County, Maryland native, Michael Lijewski and his many interests in trains, history, and nocturnal photography.
Friend and photographer, Michael Lijewski of Harford County, Maryland sticks close to home to capture great photographs. Michael has always had an interest in looking at and learning from other photographers, including Matthew Brady who gained much of his photography fame during the American Civil War.
The advent of affordable digital cameras was the impetus for Lijewski becoming an active photographer. Says Lijewski, "Back in '99 I was watching a tech show when they announced the first 1.3 megapixel digicam for under $300.00. One point three million pixels, how much more could anyone possibly need?, I thought. A day later I had my camera, which looked distressingly like an old transistor radio, and was standing next to a grade crossing at three in the morning waiting for a train."
Michael has several photographic interests, but trains were his first regular subject matter. Living on the east coast of the United States gives Lijewski a train-filled world to choose from. He has traveled all over the country in pursuit of train photographs but mainly stayed close to home in his native Maryland. One of the major challenges of train photography can be explaining to suspicious, post-911 law enforcement about why he has an interest in photographing public railyards and trains.
The other theme in the work of Lijewski is that of night photography. These photographs are lovely and deep in their mysterious monotone with selective neon colors that tend to glow against the backdrop of a dark night sky. There is a wonderful connection with this work to all film noir and the paintings of Edward Hopper. Lijewski also tends to be a nocturnal person, which lends itself to work after dark.
The prolific Lijewski also maintains two blog sites. The first, Falmanac features photographs of a historic nature near his home town of Fallston, Maryland. The second blog, QR AI features contemporary and historic photos of New Mexico, where Lijewski once resided.
Check out all of Lijewski's sites and enjoy his photographs and tongue in cheek comments. His work is thoughtful and beautifully composed with an emphasis on dramatic lighting. Better yet, bookmark the sites and check back regularly as he tends to update at least weekly if not sometimes daily.
