Latest Posts -

A Petrified City in the Mountains of Utah?

Several years ago Keith and I were in Utah doing some landscape photography when we suddenly one day stumbled upon a most unusual configuration of mountainous rocks. It almost seemed to have been, at one time, a flourishing city now turned to stone.  Over the next few days I will be posting some of the […]

Back from Christmas in New York

Just back from a wonderful family visit to “The City”. Rockefeller Plaza, The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center, Fifth Avenue windows, E.A.T. and Gattopardo. All very beautiful but the event that moved me the most was a trip down to Ground Zero. A very emotional and somber experience. Still under construction, but these few photos will […]

The Haunting Story Behind this Picture:

I needed a beautiful sunrise-over-water photo for a center spread in the Greek Element book, Water. So i went up north to Lake Superior and stayed at the cabin of a friend whose husband had recently passed away. The first few mornings were foggy and raining but did give me the opportunity to scout locations […]

At Last! The Moonflower!

After 2 years of trying, I finally have a shot of a Moonflower that I am proud to show. What with the wind and the tangly nature of this night blooming beauty, it has not been an easy do. This is a sneak preview. The next time you see it it will be printed in […]

A Picture of Speed?

This is my favorite photo from a series shot on the Bonneville Salt Flats Raceway in western Utah. The flash of early morning light through the single pair of tire tracks that zoom into the distance seems to me the essence of speed. The title, “The Ghost of Sir Malcolm Campbell”, seems appropriate since he […]

Close up: Night Blooming Hosta

Closeup detail of a Midnight Garden platinum print, a Night-Blooming Hosta.

First showing of The Midnight Garden at Verve Gallery, Santa Fe.

The Midnight Garden, a collection of flowers that bloom after the sun goes down, will have their first show at the Verve Gallery in Santa Fe opening in May and continuing through the first two weeks of June 2014. Many of these flowers bloom after dark as they seek to attract a certain moth or […]

First bud on Moonflower!

Weeds are Beautiful

Poor weeds! Unloved and trashed. But take a “closer-up” look at the humble weed. The structure and the geometry, the beauty and design of the lowly weed will surprise and amaze you. This short video will give the idea and you can judge for yourself. [S3_embed_video file=’Weeds.mp4′]

Moonflower Update

The vine is behaving itself and should be producing flowers in about a month. No buds as of yet.

Take a Trip to Morocco

Time for a break and a bus ride around Morroco to give you an idea of where Sam and Sylvia Kaplan have been for the last four years. [S3_embed_video file=’Morroco.MP4′]

Video from Verve

Verve Gallery produced this video a few months back. It has appeared on FaceBook and, I believe, on Vimeo. I wanted to add it to the blog for archival reasons. FaceBook posts seem to sink out of sight after a short time. It gives a good picture of how I work and how I work […]

Two Cy DeCosse Images in the Evelyn H. Lauder Cancer Clinic Photography Collection in New York

I’ve just returned from New York and a tour of the collection by the curator, Alice Momm. Ms Momm graciously showed where each of the images she selected from my work were located in the clinic. The “White Lotus” was hung next to the front reception area over a check-in desk and “Iceland Water” facing […]

Chiaroscuro Lighting Setup

Here’s the simple one light arrangement that was used to shoot the previous post demonstrating dark-light-dark-light, dimension-creating effect. Note the u-shape background made from lightweight bendable cardboard.

ChiaroScuro (Light&Dark)

Chiaroscuro is the classic painter’s formula to show three dimensional form on a two dimensional surface. It is the essence of photography. Here is a self portrait lit in the classic “dark-light-dark-light” formula. This photo was shot with a single light source. If anyone is interested in the lighting setup, I will post another photo […]