When I am in Pittsburgh, I like to visit the Alcoa Building downtown. I love it, at the same time as I don’t. I am drawn to its originality, design and history. But photography-wise, it is a nightmare for me. None of my photos have ever come out to properly reflect the history of successful American industry, the people that contributed to it, and the creativity of the skyscraper design. Instead, my photos just give a dull and lifeless view of endless rows of monotonic small, framed windows in a sterile geometry on a gray building. Very boring. But must it be? This time I have tried to blow life into the building by adding some human elements in post-processing, cropping hard, pushing the contrasts and working with tonality as I converted my picture into Black and White. (See the original photo at the end of the honorable mentions.)

The Metal Lamp image was taken in January 2026. The bare bulb burned brightly and the shadows were interesting, especially because there are two tabs creating a nice shadow. I improved the contrast and decreased the “whiteness” inside the bulb. Taken hand-held.

This image was taken in Arizona. There are about 200 of these types of cacti in the State. The formation of an arm branch does not occur until the cactus is 50 to 100 years old—depending on dryness. The growing tip (apical meristem) grows into a round structure with a conical top. The cristate formation involves a widened meristem while the perpendicular growth is ribbon-like. There are various layers in the plant and they vary in susceptibility to mutation. Whether the abnormal growth is a somatic mutation or a response to environmental insults (freezing, lightening, infection) is unknown. When the gamete layer is involved, there may be abnormal flower buds. The patterns formed by this altered growth are striking, but even more abstract after focusing more closely. It took several tries to obtain the right crop. Using the oil painting filter gave that aged cactus a face lift. You can turn your image into a smart object or you can just save the tiff with an identifying name. I applied the filter once, then again, and then again and was satisfied with the results. Converting to monochrome enhanced the abstractness. Switch from Luster paper to Pearl gave the image more snap and depth. A black matte drops the viewer into the image.