Photo Gallery

LIGHT UP ROSSLYN

The Photograph: A statement by the photographer Steve Uzzell (www.steveuzzell.com)

“In her new position as Executive Director of Rosslyn BID, Cecilia Cassidy tracked me down to say she wanted to have a photograph made of the success of “Light-Up Rosslyn” campaign for the new Rosslyn BID visitor center and other Rosslyn BID marketing efforts. We talked about all the uses for the image, and decided the largest use would be a 60” print in the new offices. I settled on Fuji’s 120 RDPIII 6 x 7 cm (2 1/4” by 2 3/4”) as the film stock and size of choice, being more than capable of handling that size enlargement, while providing me with lots of lens-choice flexibility plus the capability to shoot quickly, even during the coldest months of the year.

“Even though I had photographed Rosslyn many times for Arlington County, the skyline had changed a fair amount since my last shoot almost 15 years before. So I scouted the skyline from every vantage point I could legally get to: above Fletcher’s Boat House west and north of Key Bridge to the middle of Memorial Bridge almost a mile to the south, including Roosevelt Island. After a review with BID staff, we settled on the waterfront of Georgetown near the foot of Wisconsin Avenue as the vantage point which showed Rosslyn’s skyline at its best. The BID undertook the task of getting everyone in all 50 participating buildings notified of the shoot date, so any technical problems with their lights could be resolved.

“Late in the afternoon on a beautiful, crisp February 11, 2004, my assistant and I made our way to the waterfront and set up my Pentax 67II. At about sunset + 15 minutes we had the perfect balance of light values in the sky, on the buildings, and in the buildings. We shot as fast as I could for about 10 minutes. Exposure times per frame ranged from 4 seconds up to 20 seconds, to accommodate for the reciprocity of the film, and the varying brightness of all the spectacular lights across the Potomac. After processing, we reviewed final film. As has been the case my whole professional career, regardless of how many exposures taken, there is always just one that is better than all the rest! There was only one frame out of more than one hundred where all the elements were perfectly in balance: the sky, the river, the Light-Up lights, the office lights AND the continuous streak of rush-hour cars entering and exiting the city on the George Washington Parkway. JUST ONE!

“We agreed that this wonderful picture deserved a prominent setting in our office. The wall first encountered by walk-in visitors got the nod for the large-size print. And the size of the final print? 3 1/2 feet by 10 feet!

“How was the print made? I scanned the camera original on my Imacon 848, an exceptional virtual drum scanner. At 3200 ppi, the resultant file was 380 megabytes at 16 bits. My good friend Bruce Dale, superb photographer and veteran of many, many large prints, helped me with final file preparation, and after a lamination test, we set a date to do the big print on his Epson 9600. Imagine our collective surprise, when no number larger than 90.53 inches could be entered in the print dialog box! After an hour of phone calls all over the country, it was determined we would have to use a separate software RIP (Raster Image Processor) to get to 120 inches, and luckily, the offices of one of the best programs, X-Photo, by Colorburst, is located nearby in Sterling, VA. Larry Spevak and Josh Lubbers of Colorburst tutored Bruce and me on the correct use and color management of the RIP. Bruce, unfortunately, had an assignment conflict, so I ended up making the final print at Mac Business Solutions in Gaithersburg. The very capable folks at Image Impact in Rockville laminated and mounted the print on Masonite so it appears to float, and on May 3rd, we hung the 75 pound final image on the wall at Rosslyn BID!”

PARTICIPANTS in Photo Project:

1) Photographer: Steve Uzzell
After the University of Missouri Journalism School and active duty in the U.S. military, Steve Uzzell started in the photography business as assistant to the editor of National Geographic and a member of their photographic staff. In 1975, he decided to free-lance, and worked for a roster of clients who have sent him to all 50 states and 19 countries on assignment. His work has garnered international acclaim and won numerous honors, including ten awards from Communication Arts. He has also photographed two books, Maryland, and The View From Sterling Bluff.

2) Property Owners
Thirty-one property owners of 59 buildings participate in the LIGHT UP. For the portrait, maintenance crews made a special effort to replace any burnt out lights and tighten light strings so as to have a picture-perfect presentation.

3) Rosslyn BID
The BID strung lights on Rosslyn’s unifying architectural element – its skywalks – and paid for lights for the public buildings in Rosslyn which had not participated to date, including the local elementary school, fire station, and church.