Welcome to this issue of PHOTOLounge Customer Spotlight. This month features R. Bradley Maule as he shares his photos and some words about how photography plays a role in his life.

1. What role do pictures play in your life or work?

They play a huge role. Photography is not just something that I do every single day, but it's something that helps me to learn my surroundings. I've been shooting long enough that I tend to see things within a frame, and that often helps me understand what I like and don't like.

2. What do you take pictures of?

Mostly city scenes, and mostly here in Philadelphia. I've learned so much about the city's neighborhoods and architecture just by shooting shooting shooting.

3. What inspires you to take pictures?

An early start and a good cup of coffee, baby. After that it doesn't matter where I am, I'll probably have my camera with me.

 

 

4. Describe your camera and what is involved in printing your images?

I currently use the Canon 350D Rebel XT but may upgrade soon. I've got four lenses for it, my favorites being the 70-200mm L series and the 11-18mm wide angle. As for printing, I do all post-processing myself in the digital darkroom, Photoshop.

5. Do you share and exhibit your printed work?

I've done a few shows at cafes and restaurants. I was recently the featured artist at Conspiracy Showroom in Northern Liberties, and I'm tentatively scheduled to be on the walls of Ten Stone (21st & South) this spring for a neighborhood retrospective.

6. How does the PhotoLounge help you present your vision?

Immensely, that's how; I wouldn't be able to do what I do or to have grown as a photographer as I have without PhotoLounge. The print quality speaks for itself, as any regular customer here would tell you.

7. Tell us about the pictures you shared

(From top to bottom)

I'm a fan of both our city's murals and Keith Haring, so naturally his mural at 22nd & Ellsworth is a favorite of mine. As I was approaching the mural to take this picture, I noticed the tattered flag on a house across the street, and while I was sizing up the picture, a woman in a colorful jacket entered the frame. I've printed this one in the large format a couple times.

My girlfriend and I were walking in Fairmount Park when we saw this hawk from maybe 40 yards away. I walked closer to get a better picture, hoping it wouldn't fly off. It didn't, and when I got really close, I could see why -- it was in the middle of devouring a squirrel which it wasn't about to let go of. A lot of people might think this picture is too graphic or over the top, but I love it; it's totally natural, and the blood around its beak lends to its power.

I got lucky with this shot. This former warehouse was about a week from the wrecking ball when I took this picture, and in its last days it was a haven for graffiti writers. I was listening to a lot of Pink Floyd at the time, and the framing here reminds me of one of their album covers.

I had to include a picture of the skyline. This one has so much color, an array of architecture styles, and Comcast Center's construction, which has been far and away the subject I've most frequently photographed over the past two years.

This one was taken AT Comcast Center during its construction, from the 33rd floor looking straight down the corner with a wide (11mm) angle.