Orange Skies and Sharp Angles Part of Mineola Photographer’s World

Playing on colors and focusing on intense angles is often times not a strength for most photographers and graphic designers.

Not for photographer and certified photographic consultant Steve Zimic, whose work is being at the .

After beginning work as an engineer, a “strange turn of events” led Zimic to working in camera retail at Garden City-based .

Peaking his interest in photography, the Mineola resident began to desire the constructive criticism and constant feedback of not only photography experts but also local photography enthusiasts.

Almost 20 years ago, Zimic joined the Nature Photographers Club, an online photography club where users comment and discuss photographs. The move was the catalyst that led Zimic to meet the now deceased Galen Rowell, whom Zimic said “changed his outlook on the use of density filters.”

Introducing Zimic to the world of advanced photography, Rowell showed Zimic the process of filter customization and, coupled with an eye for angling, led him to create – and selectively control – light exposures.

“That really expanded the range of my photography and so in 1996, I got into digital photography,” Zimic said. “I began by having my transparencies scanned and then working them in Photoshop.”

Zimic made the jump to digital in 2002 with an Olympus C3000, relatively small by some of today’s megapixel standards.

“I’m still amazed at the prints I’ve made from that 3.2 megapixel camera,” he said.

Taking inspiration from what would otherwise be ordinary Long Island sites, Zimic creates visions even untrained eyes can understand.

With the list of viewers of his latest exhibit at the Mineola Library growing each day, people continue to comment on the intense angling and intense color imagery.

 Several of Zimic’s pieces like “Ecuadorian Boy” and “Kathmandu Traveler (Nepal)” translate the simple humanism through the eyes and expressions of members of foreign cultures.

Focusing on nature, Zimic manipulates incidental colors to take the users’ eye around the photo, not focusing on one area in general, but the entire piece for what it is.

“Touring in Model A” showcases startlingly white leaves of otherwise ordinary trees. The leaves, described as “fluffy” as fresh snow, stand in direct contrast to the black Model A automobile parked outside a shack. All of this lazily sits against a disturbing orange sky, which might make viewers think not only of a silent, effortless nightfall, but also of Armageddon.

“Gazebo” on the other hand combines sharp angles with startling color, as Zimic balances the beautiful, stained glass ceiling of a local gazebo with the aforementioned orange sky. Taking the shot from a low angle, the illusion is created that the user is looking upwards at the top of the gazebo and is balanced against the sharp contrast of fluffy, white clouds. 

Currently Zimic finds his latest challenges in shooting infrared images, though he still shoots in color. Balancing his time with photography and bike riding, Zimic uses his travels to continue to inspire his creative outlook on the world.

“I just hope people enjoy viewing my images as much as I enjoyed creating them,” Zimic said.