This building is unmistakeably famous. Its tall silhouette, towering almost all other skyscrapers in New York City, is justifiably the pride of Manhattan. Residents and tourists alike cannot help but marvel at its imposing architecture and design. It is a breathtaking landmark and an achievement that defines the cosmopolitan nature of New York’s vibrant and energetic city life. Only a handful other skycrapers from different congested urban centers across the world can equal the its fame and reputation. When people on the street level invariably looks up, and when they see it, they are almost always surprised. A tourist attraction it has become, the idea that it serves a real purpose can easily be lost among onlookers. It is not there simply as a decorative element in the skyline, but  a multi-storied place where people actually work and live. It has a very real real estate and economic function. And only through the years, in a celebratory gesture, that its stolid presence has been heaped with other corollary purposes and agenda. It has served as a compass in the sky. Whenever people on level ground lose their way among the labyrinth of streets, its needlepoint can serve as a navigational guide. Whenever the momentary panic of amnesia hits, its familiar shape can serve as an instant reminder of being in the world’s greatest city. And, when people are looking for inspiration, its height will make them reach for the stars again. Crowding around it are hundreds of other buildings with imposing architectural details and maybe impressive history, but perhaps these other structures does not necessarily evoke the same kind of awe, as well as reverence, for what it has stood for, through time. The symbolisms it has accrued is universally positive, and it serves as the perfect image to represent all that is good in the world and with mankind. [Note: This image is available for licensing. To inquire about this or any other stock photo images featured in this website, please email dominiquejames@mac.com. Thank you.]

It’s just another red brick wall: very common and quite ordinary. There’s nothing special about it, not the bricks and not the masonry, except perhaps for the notable fact that the brick red wall image is distorted. Not only has the colors been saturated into deep shades of red, with dramatic touches of black edges, but it has been significantly digitally twisted. Walls are supposed to be flat. Even when photographed at an angle, we know that walls are straight. And the more straight, the better. But if walls are twisted and convoluted, it then becomes something else. If a straight wall means that we have something reliable to lean on, or to separate what is inside from what is on the outside, what does a twisted wall connote? What does it tell you about not just the wall itself, but the meaning that it can lean on, or for that matter, not lean on? A wall is any other object, familiar and forgettable. But when we come upon a wall that is twisted, we stop and perhaps marvel at how could it be and for what purpose does it serve. How often, in real life and even in pictures, do we really encounter a uniquely shaped, even if digitally altered, red brick wall? It is strange, and yet, familiar. And therefore, we cannot help but be curious. Such curiosity can lead to investigation so we will understand. We cannot stand not knowing what things mean. We no longer just accept things for the way they are, because, in a sense, nothing is really what they seem to be. This very same curiosity can therefore be transliterated into a specific, symbolic meaning that you may find to be the ideal message you want to covey. A stock photo image of a distorted, twisted wall may just be the kind of image that you need to convey the point straight away! Check out how it fits into the overall scheme of things and decide for yourself if a twisted, distorted red brick wall will carry your message. [Note: This image is available for licensing. To inquire on this image or any other stock photographs from this website, please email dominiquejames@mac.com. Thank you.]

It is a stark black-and-white photograph that is rife with deep meaning. It can take on a heavily accented economic, social, or political angle, or, it could be nothing more than a trite, yet significant, commentary. This is an image that does not flinch, and is never apologetic. It delivers your message straight from the gut. It never meanders. If you want to portray a condition in either literal and symbolic sense, one that amply describes a situation in real or imagined terms, this is the kind of picture that will drive the point. There is both movement and stillness in this unusual photograph. Capturing a moment in time, a slice of the day-to-day mundane existence, gives it a sense of eerie stillness. But because of the graphic and repeating floor-by-floor treatment of the lines, there is flow that gently rocks the photograph from one side to the other. This concept of motion and non-motion is particularly poignant when trying to communicate a sense of order to an otherwise chaotic highlights. An almost graphic image such is this is a very powerful stock photograph. For inquires on this or any other stock photographs from this website, please send email to dominiquejames@mac.com.

The photograph is simple enough, and common enough. It’s a very straightforward picture that I took of a patterned red brick wall. Nothing out of the ordinary. And yet, my photographic treatment is quite different from all the other red brick walls that you may have actually seen in real life or in pictures. The way the red brick wall has been framed in an unexpected tilt, the dynamic composition, the shallow depth of field, the ever so slightly soft-focus, the intensified color saturation, and the the vignette treatment of the four corners — all of these makes for actually a rather unique red brick wall. In other words, it is both comfortingly familiar, and at the same time, strangely new, unique and quite unexpected. How something so common can be so “new” or so “different” is the idea behind the stock photography treatment that I aim to do. While, understandably, there is no longer much that is totally new, we can at least re-invent what is familiar and turn it into something that is quite surprisingly, well, new. By itself and on its own, the red brick wall pictured is a strong graphical photographic element. But when a well-crafted message is added to it, such as in advertising campaigns or even for a good cause, the impact can be quite powerful. When creating stock photographs, I always keep in mind that there’s a message out there that can be said, and for which, my stock photography can speak for in a universal visual language that can easily be understood by all. For inquires on my stock photography, please email dominiquejames@mac.com.

The truck, yellow or not, is almost but not yet quite an urban icon. It is something that we see wherever in the city we may happen to be, but, it is also something that we don’t exactly look at and pay any attention to, unless of course, we happen to be from a service industry that uses those trucks, or maintains those trucks. In a literal sense, it denotes public service. But as generic as the yellow cabs of New York is, the “yellow” truck is a great and somewhat unique way to visualize the motorized aspect of a business or society. It’s ubiquity, and at the same time, its somewhat “invisibility,” lends it a generic and yet expressive means of powerfully conveying a number of direct and across-the-board ideas. As an unusually composed stock photo image, only partially showing the body of the truck, and then the cobbled pavement, it can take on an unexpected meaning from “moving about” to “moving on.” It can also denote “moving up” and “moving away.” This is certainly an image that is yellow-ripe with connotations. But whatever the message you attach to it, a bright, happy yellow service truck can certainly drive home the point. To inquire about this and other stock photo images, and how you can best express a message in creative and stunning visual terms, send an email to Dominique James at djphotographer@mac.com.

What is the message in this picture? There seems to be not just one but several messages that are happening all at the same time. Depending on who’s looking, there are many different ways to interpret this photograph. And that is where the beauty of stock photography lies — it is open to all sorts of interpretation. It’s up to you to supply to words to match the image, and the message will become apparent in the photo image. Is this photograph about the marvels of the modern world that is in the sweep of the magnificent skyline of skyscrapers? Is this photograph about the forlorn stance of mother nature as reflected in the brooding sky, choppy sea, and the silhouette of two, stand-offish leafless trees? Is this photograph about the smallness of the group of unidentified people relegated to the darkened, unimportant and almost unnoticeable position on the lower left side? However you interpret this stock photograph, it gives you a meaningful perspective to a specific message you want to successfully and purposefully communicate.

With razor-sharp focus on modern photography and digital imaging, these blogs contain valuable and meaningful information that targets specific audiences. Previously, all information were dumped on a single location. It was apparent, however, that he and his audience has outgrown it. “I was looking at a more organized way of presenting and sharing information and photographs on the net,” Dominique James said. “Breaking up the presentation into separate blogs was the logical and right thing to do.”

While these new blogs are distinct and separate, prominent links can be found in the homepage of all the new blogs. These links organically and strategically joins all the blogs. Visitors can quickly and easily move from one blog to another. This means that while online guests can focus on specific areas of interest, it is also a breeze to foray into, around, and out of each of the blogs.

These are the new weblogs:

• Dominique James, The Photographer – This is the official website of professional photographer Dominique James featuring diverse, creative and cutting-edge commissioned works that span portraiture, fashion, product, food, interior, architectural, landscape, travel and adventure digital imaging for a variety of advertising, commercial, corporate, entertainment, editorial and multimedia projects.
• Perfect Photo Pixels – This is a website that focuses on all things photography such as practical hints and tips, techniques and styles, equipment and gears, software and hardware, trade and industry news, and, groundbreaking developments and events for the benefit of photographers from hobbyists and enthusiasts to the semi-professionals and the professionals. This website serves information, knowledge and opinion about photography.
• Dominique James Stock Photography – As a showcase of Dominique James’ stock photography, the images here serve as a rich and potent visual device that not only expressly communicates ideas and emotions but also well-considered commentaries about the world we live in today. From wide angle shots to macro images, this is an exclusive look at our modern civilization as singularly seen through the eyes of professional photographer Dominique James.
• Dominique James Fine Art Photography – Constructing a new and exciting visual vocabulary that connects with the viewers in a different plane and at a different level, professional photographer Dominique James presents a series of intriguing fine art photographic images in this website. The non-literal fine art photographic images are personal and private explorations and visual expressions of feelings and thoughts.
• Dominique James: The Inside Stories – This is Dominique James’ intimate look into the fantastically singular but multi-dimensional world of photography. He digs deep and wide, and he explores photography in profusely unexpected ways. For the first time, Dominique James openly and candidly shares with you his innermost thoughts, views and feelings about the craft and art of photography.
• Dominique James: One Red Man – Personal rants, raves and musings on anything and everything that is “categorically” not about photography. Is there a better way for him to exorcise himself of bothersome demons than by candidly and publicly blogging (meaning, confessing) about it? He has favorite topics of course, but he casts a very wide net. Expect a surprising motley of subjects to be tackled here. Although Dominique James is aware that this blog can easily and quickly turn into something that is awfully self-indulgent, hang around because from out of the whole thing, some topics might just be of interest to you. In such cases, enjoy these precious common threads of interests.

Other than these new blogs, Dominique James maintains his presence at other sites on the net which includes The Playground, Inside Aperture, and Aperture Professional Users Network (AUPN). Likewise, he maintains an online gallery at Flickr and a mobile blog at Tumblr. And as a long-time fan of Apple, he is the vice chairman of the thriving online community, PhilMUG, together with its sister site, PodCentral.

In line with the introduction of these new blogs, the previous popular online presence of Dominique James at Blogspot, which he religiously maintained for four years, have been retired.

Dominique James is one of today’s finest professional photographers now based in the United States. His professional working experience spans more than 15 years. He is a Nikon Pro Photographer, an Epson Pro Photographer, and an Apple Certified Trainer for Aperture. Worldwide, he regularly conducts popular photography and modeling workshops, lectures and seminars.

Send Dominique James an email at dominiquejames@mac.com for inquiries, bookings, feedback and comments.

Singapore is one of my absolute favorite places in the world. It is a small island-state in Southeast Asia. It was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. Since its independence, it has become one of the world’s most prosperous countries and is known for having the world’s busiest port. It is also fairly crowded, with over four million people. Combining the skyscrapers and subways of a modern, affluent city with a medley of Chinese, Indian and Malay influences and a tropical climate, with vibrant nightlife scene, good shopping and tasty food, this Garden City makes a great stopover or springboard into the region. The center of the city, consisting roughly of Orchard, the Riverside and a chunk of Chinatown, is known in acronym-loving Singapore as the CBD, which means, Central Business District. This stock photo image is part of my extensive, diverse and growing set of professional high resolution digital images. I add to this collection every time I go to Singapore. This was originally published as a 2-page spread in iMag Photography Magazine’s travel photo “shoot-out” essay.