The author’s favourite Fine Art Prints
photo special by Charlie Alice Raya
I love my photographic work, and I would like to introduce you to some of my favourite photographs which are available as Fine Art Prints in support of the easy town projects.
The photos are best viewed on a desktop computer or a tablet.
energies, 2021
location: Berlin
I like to experiment with colours, and in 2021 I did some experiments with tree bark images. A lot doesn’t work, but sometimes the colours add an energy to the original photograph that is — well, energising. For me that’s particularly true of these three images.
perfect imperfection, 2011
location: Venice
I love red bricks, and this imperfect old wall not far from the Marcus Square is simply perfect.
And it tells a lot about beauty. At least about beauty with a soul.
barks medley I
location: Berlin
A tree barks feast in twenty prints with images from 2011, 2015 and 2021
fairy land
location: Feldberger Seenlandschaft,
Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Schmaler Luzin
This photograph always makes me think of a fairy land waiting to be entered. And like all fairy lands it has its own perspective.
I took this photo standing on the platform of pedal boat on a beautiful autumn day in 2015.
At the moment this photograph is on offer in a 60 x 90 cm edition. But I think I will add an XXL edition at some point.
no title, 2011
location: Fischland Darß, between Prerow and Ahrenshoop, Baltic Sea.
Some images are so powerful that you can’t add anything with a title.
thriving, 2011/22
In 2022 I rediscovered some forgotten light dance images and with them I discovered a story. Thriving is a single piece of the light dance story. The full story is presented on the Hub website and might get a limited edition print.
These images were taken with fairy lights and long exposure times while I got drunk on Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.
photo special: A light dance story, presented on the Hub website
breathe, 2011
It is strange how a photo can be beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
This photo was taken on the island Usedom in Seebad Ahlbeck, Baltic Sea.
The bark
location: Seebad Ahlbeck, Usedom, Baltic Sea
For years I thought that this was the first tree bark photo I ever took. And I treasured it. I still use it as background on my phone, and it was one of the first photographs I ordered as Fine Art Print.
Only it wasn’t my first tree bark photo as I discovered when reviewed my complete photographic work in 2021. Not even close.
That’s memory for you.
The first tree bark photo I discovered was actually quite boring from a half dead tree.
But one thing is still true about this photograph, it was the one that motivated me to keep discovering more jagged landscapes on trees, and to treasure each new discovery.
thin lines, 2021
location: Berlin
I love this image, this combination of thin lines and deeper cuts.
It could be the half-revealed face of a thoughtful person, maybe someone with closed eyes. There is a quiet beauty in it.
lines, 2021
location: Berlin
There is a certain fascination in finding faces on trees, or at least the hint of a face. I wonder what that is about.
This special tree has a stern elegance to it that I like a lot.
lovers, 2016/21
location: Welcombe Mouth
You will have noticed my love for tree barks, but I also love rocks.
I discovered this beauty at Welcombe Mouth in Devon while travelling along the coast path in South-West England.
The kiss has some beautiful and meditative.
wall dissolved in twelve acts, act 1, 2011/21
location: Venice
A wall transformed into a roaring wave. If this isn’t magic, what is?
The original photograph was taken in Venice and shows a wall mirrored in one of the canals. In 2021 I took a closer look at these images, and tweaking the tone curves, this is what the image revealed.
I like to think of these colour experiments as dissolving and rethinking walls.
morning trees, 2011
location: near Zarowmühl
Mecklenburg Vorpommern
It was a quiet morning in the middle of a forest. The light was perfect, the trees were perfect, and I moved the camera while taking the shots.
I call these images nature moved.
bizarre, 2012
location: Seebad Ahlbeck, Usedom, Baltic Sea
It’s such a strange photo, taken in a strange year. It always makes me thoughtful, without giving my thoughts any direction.
colours, 2011/21
location: Venice
Fittingly this is the title image for the easy town book series. A door ready to be opened.
photo series: title images, title image for the easy town books series
Walking the line, 2008/21
location: Berlin, Martin-Luther-Straße
I took these photographs between 2006-2010 from my balcony, looking down on to the Martin-Luther-Straße in Berlin-Schöneberg.
I edited some of these photos back then (using a filter and tweaking the colours), and others I rediscovered and edited in 2021.
Interestingly, these photos yield the best results when taken with a low resolution camera. The lower the resolution the less noise you have to deal with in the transformation process.
I love the whole series, and there will probably be a street life medley for the next catalogue.
Berlin ghosts, 2022
location: Berlin
This image is not yet available as print but it is one of my favourites from 2022 and part of the new photo series: Berlin ghosts.
This image was taken in October in the Volkspark Berlin-Schöneberg.
I was walking along a path bordered by trees until I passed this gap opening the view to a green space bathed in late-afternoon sunshine with a few people in the scene.
This is image is eligible for a new limited edition. For more get in touch.
Berlin mirror, 2022
location: Berlin
Berlin mirror is one of the new photo series in 2022.
Several factors make a photo like this possible: the light (blue sky, April sunlight), spring (the light fresh green), the lake in which the image is mirrored, the breeze which gently distorts the image, the position of the photographer (sufficiently elevated), the composition (the range of colours & forms, and nature with the hint of buildings).
For Berlin mirror mostly captures Berlin’s green side.
This is image is eligible for a new limited edition. For more get in touch.
Charlie Alice Raya photography
© Charlie Alice Raya 2022, all rights reserved
last updated: 21 November 2022