Troy, New York Photographs

Troy, NY Photography — Documentary Prints & Editorial Licensing

Why Troy Still Feels Like Home

Troy, NY is an industrial city that’s been through a lot of change and it shows. I grew up about 20 minutes from Troy and spent a lot of sinful nights there with a bad Fake ID at bars that have long been shut down or turned into pawnshops. At 4am we always ended up at I love New York Pizza soaking up the booze with dollar slices while waiting for the inevitable fight to erupt on 4th St. I love is still there but they shut down at 1am. Just a few of the many changes that have taken place in the Collar City. Visiting now, 20 years later with different eyes, it’s a whole new experience. You can see why the locals have so much pride. Not just for what Troy has become, but also for the history that is written all over the architecture of it’s many historic buildings. You can feel what Troy was in it’s heyday and that almost makes you want to experience the city at that time. Sure it was rough, and still is in parts, but the Italian food alone would be worth the experience. It’s not all gone though. There are still long running institutions like Bella Napoli, DeFazio’s Pizza, and the iconic Famous Lunch Hot Dogs. It’s even got good beer now - Brown’s Brewing Company is well worth the stop for any connoisseur. I never bothered to look deeply at Troy back in the day, but it’s become a favorite place to photograph every time I return home to visit family and friends. The city has a lot of character that deserves to be documented.

Photographing the History and Architecture of Troy, New York

Troy’s nickname, the “Collar City,” comes from its industrial past - but what stands out today is the mix of preservation and grit. The Central Troy Historic District is lined with 19th-century rowhouses, St. Patrick’s Church rises in Gothic stone, and the Sycaway Water Tower still watches from the hillside. From the hill at RPI, you can see the entire city stacked against the Hudson, with the Green Island Bridge tying it all together. These are the scenes that made their way into my prints - quiet, weathered, and timeless.

Fine Art Prints: Sizes, Editions, and Pricing

Every photograph of Troy in this collection is available as a fine art print, made on museum-grade archival paper. Open edition prints start around $50 for smaller sizes (8×10"), while large limited edition prints are signed, numbered, and produced at sizes up to 65". Each piece is crafted to last a lifetime and can be framed to fit your space. Whether it’s for a living room, office, or gallery wall, these prints bring a piece of Troy’s story into your everyday environment.

Licensing Troy Photographs for Editorial & Commercial Use

For businesses, publishers, or art directors looking to license Troy imagery, these photographs are available for editorial and commercial licensing. From historic architecture to atmospheric black-and-white cityscapes, the images can work for magazines, marketing campaigns, and creative projects. Licensing terms are flexible depending on your needs—just reach out directly to start the conversation.

Troy has always been a mix of nostalgia and resilience for me. These photographs hold on to that character, offering more than just a view—they carry the texture of a city that built its name on hard work and history. Contact me directly if you’d like to discuss licensing or to purchase a photography print of Troy, NY for your home, office, or commercial space - rob@robhammerphotography.com

See My Albany, New York Photography Prints →

The Green Island Bridge over the Hudson River in Troy, New York

Historic architecture in Troy, New York

St. Patrick’s Church - Troy, NY

Rodino’s Tuxedo Shop - Troy, NY

Sycaway Water Tower

Church spires in Troy, NY

Famous Lunch Hot Dogs - Troy, NY

Soda for sale at Famous Lunch in Troy, NY

World Famous Hot Dogs since 1932

Train bridge on the Hudson River in Upstate New York

Uncle Sam Lanes

Overlooking the city of Troy from the Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy Basketball

Homes in the city of Troy, NY

Architecture of an old church in Troy, NY

Barbershop - Troy, NY

Used book store in Troy, NY

Livingston Avenue Bridge

Troy, NY

Capture the Spirit of the American West with Fine Art Prints of Old Corrals on Historic Cattle Ranches

Timeless Beauty of Old Corrals: Fine Art Photography Prints

Ian Tyson said best with the now famous line “I like old corrals and sagebrush…”

The American West is a land rich with tradition, rugged landscapes, and stories that span generations. Among the most iconic and enduring symbols of this heritage are the old corrals on cattle ranches that have been used for decades, if not centuries, to round up and care for livestock. These weathered, rustic structures hold a deep connection to the West’s cowboy culture and the hardworking men and women who maintain the traditions of the land.

As a Western photographer, I have had the privilege of capturing the beauty and authenticity of these historic corrals, immortalizing them in fine art photography prints. The texture of aged wood, the worn fences, and the fading paint tell a story of hard work, resilience, and a lifestyle that is slowly fading from the modern landscape. Each photograph brings to life the essence of ranching life in the American West—gritty, timeless, and beautifully raw.

These color and black-and-white prints evoke the nostalgia of a past era, where the sight of a well-worn corral set against sweeping landscapes was part of daily life. Whether you are drawn to the rugged beauty of these structures or simply appreciate the rawness of Western landscapes, these prints make a stunning addition to any collection. They are more than just photographs—they are windows into the heart of the American West, preserving a piece of history for future generations.

Perfect for those who appreciate Western art, rustic decor, or historical photography, these fine art prints of old corrals will transport you to the heart of the American West. They invite the viewer to pause and reflect on the enduring legacy of ranching, while adding an element of rustic elegance to any space.

Contact me directly for editorial/commercial licensing of these old corral photographs - rob@robhammerphotography.com

Shop Fine Art Prints Here

Old wood cattle corrals in the American West

Black and white photograph of wood cattle corrals

Old cattle corrals covered in snow

Montana Cattle Ranch

Morning sun shines on the Sierra Nevada mountains and a cattle ranch outside Bridgeport, CA

Photograph of the cattle pens on the C-Punch Ranch near Lovelock, Nevada

Sunset on a cattle ranch in Arizon

Black and white photograph of wood cattle corrals in front of an iconic Western backdrop

Photograph of wood fence posts reflected in water at sunset on the Diamond A Ranch in Arizona

Wood corrals on a cattle ranch in Colorado

Photographs of cowboys on the Diamond A Ranch - Arizona

Diamond A Ranch Cowboy Photography — Arizona Prints for Western Art Lovers

Diamond A Ranch isn’t just another western setting—it’s one of the largest and most storied ranches in Arizona, spanning 750,000 acres. What I love about photographing here is that each frame can feel both specific to Diamond A and universal to cowboy culture. It’s a place where light, land, horses, and human spirit intersect. I’ve been fortunate to visit the Diamond A a few times now and am proud to call a few of the cowboys my friends. As is the cowboy way, they are always generous with their hospitality and happy to have me around, given that I don’t get in the way of course.

For years, my American West / Cowboy Culture series has focused on capturing raw truth over staged scenes. At Diamond A, that means cowboys being cowboys - riding across wind‑sculpted sage, horses rounding in dust, corrals framed by expansive skies, and intimate gestures of work: stitching, saddling, rope swinging. I try to catch the moments that feel timeless.

These photographs are available as gallery‑quality prints for collectors, interior designers, and Western art enthusiasts. And for those needing images for publication, branding, or creative projects, licensing is available. I also accept commissioned shoots—whether for ranch projects, hospitality brands, or editorial features.

If you’re drawn to Western photography, cowboy imagery, or just the feeling of wide land and quiet grit, take a look at fine art print collection and reach out directly if you like to discuss licensing options - rob@robhammerphotography.com

Photograph of two cowboys riding horses at sunrise with a beautiful western scene behind them

Black and white photograph of two cowboys roping a wild steer

Cowboys riding into open range on an Arizona cattle ranch

Photograph of.a cowboy kid with blood covered hands

Photograph of cowboys eating dinner in a bunkhouse

Cowboys on the Diamond A Ranch

Old wood cattle corrals on the Diamond A Ranch

A cowboy catching horses in late afternoon light

Photograph of a cowboy saddling his horse early in the morning on an Arizona cattle ranch

Black and white photograph of.a cowboy coming out of an old wood saddle house

Photograph of two cowboy riding their horses through tough terrain in Arizona

Black and White photograph of two cowboys in a bunkhouse

Sign for the Rose Well camp on the Diamond A Ranch - Center of the Universe

Cowboys repairing a broken gate on a cattle ranch

Pica Camp - Diamond A Ranch, Arizona

Road Trip Book

Photographing the American Road Trip

Another feature for Roadside Meditations! Very grateful and hope they keep coming! This one is over on the photography website All About Photo, which does a great job of featuring and writing about some very inspiring photography projects. Honored to have my latest photography book on the American Road Trip be a part of it.

Click here to read the article

Click here to order a copy of the book

Best photo book on the Great American Road Trip

Roadside Photography in America — Small Towns, Quiet Roads & Stillness

Roadside Photography Across the USA: Small Towns, Country Roads & Quiet Places

This body of roadside photography from across the United States focuses on small towns, country roads, and the overlooked spaces between destinations. Made while traveling secondary highways through places like Iowa, Utah, Nevada, Virginia, and California, these photographs slow down the idea of the American road trip and shift attention away from landmarks toward quieter moments. The work comes from a long-term project that eventually became my book, Roadside Meditations—a photographic exploration of stillness, distance, and the visual language of everyday America.

Photographing America Beyond the Interstate

Much of American road trip imagery centers on motion—crossing state lines, reaching destinations, ticking off places on a map. This work was made by doing the opposite. Instead of interstates and major routes, I spent years driving back roads, county highways, and rural connectors where towns thin out and time feels less compressed.

These roadside photographs aren’t about where you’re going. They’re about where you pause. A quiet diner at dusk. A sun-bleached sign. An empty stretch of road that doesn’t ask for attention but rewards it if you stop. This approach allows the landscape to reveal itself slowly, without narrative pressure or spectacle.

Small-Town America and the In-Between Places

The photographs in this series were made in places most travelers pass without stopping—small towns, agricultural regions, and rural outskirts where commercial life has softened or shifted over time. These in-between places are rarely presented as destinations, yet they form the connective tissue of the American landscape.

By photographing these locations without dramatization, the images lean into quiet observation. The goal isn’t nostalgia or critique, but presence. These towns and roads exist as they are—weathered, functional, sometimes fading—holding layers of American life that often go undocumented in contemporary photography.

A Slow, Observational Approach to Roadside Photography

The photographs in this post were made over many years, often while driving alone, without a fixed itinerary. Working slowly is central to the process. I look for moments when light, geometry, and stillness align—scenes that feel complete without intervention.

There are no staged elements and no attempt to “improve” what’s already there. The camera becomes a tool for noticing rather than arranging. This method allows the work to remain open-ended, inviting viewers to bring their own experiences and memories into the frame.

From Long-Term Project to Roadside Meditations

Select images from this body of work eventually became the book Roadside Meditations, a collection shaped by years of sustained attention to the American roadside. The book brings these photographs together as a single visual conversation—one that reflects on travel, stillness, and the quiet spaces that exist alongside movement.

Rather than documenting a single journey, the book and this ongoing series reflect an accumulation of time on the road. Each image stands on its own, but together they form a broader meditation on how America looks when you stop trying to get somewhere.

This post represents one thread within a larger, ongoing exploration of the American landscape. For those interested in seeing the work as a whole, Roadside Meditations gathers these photographs into a single volume focused on overlooked places, visual quiet, and the spaces we usually pass by.

View the book

View the American Road Trip photography gallery

Sunset on a country road in rural Iowa

Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System

An abstract view of dense forest in Virginia

Reflections of trees in a Virginia river

Eastern Sierra - California

Reflections of trees and foliage in a still river in Upstate New York

A car kicks up dust on a country road through harvested farmland in rural Iowa, photographed in early morning light.

The alien landscape in a remote part of Utah

Muted colors of dead plants during winter in Iowa farmland

A country road and train tracks running along a river in rural Virginia

The Des Moines, Iowa capitol building reflected in windows of a nearby office building

Train tracks going through Iowa farmland at sunset

American Photography

Photographing America - The Open Road

Road Trip Photography Prints - Americana

A new batch of American photographs from the last couple road trips around the country. This series has gotten increasingly overwhelming from an archive perspective. It’s probably the largest series to date, but also the one I’ve done the least with. And by “least”, I mean nothing. So to look at it as a whole feels like a monumental tasks to make sense of for a book or any other publication. Guess it’s time to turn things over to a professional??!!

Click here to see more of the America series.

Contact me directly to order fine art prints for your home, office, or commercial space - rob@robhammerphotography.com

Hawthorne, Nevada

Honolulu Club - Yucca, Arizona

Tuba City, Arizona

Southern Iowa

Griswold, Iowa

Big Island, Virginia

Mountain Home, Idaho

Hillsboro, Illinois

California Desert

Whiting Bros - Yucca, Arizona

Old movie theater - Hawthorne, Nevada

Lovelock Speedway - Lovelock, Nevada

Shoe shop - Texarkana

Griswold, Iowa

California Desert Road Trip

Road Trip Photography - America - Travel - California Desert

It’s interesting how certain places can grow on you that at first didn’t seem so appealing. And light seems to be one of the biggest determining factors of that in my opinion. It doesn’t have be traditionally beautiful light either. It just has to be interesting light. Or, maybe light that you understand how to work with? That knowledge is part of growing as a photographer. Most people focus so much on that “perfect” light that occurs during a sunrise or sunset, but beautiful images can be made at all times of day if you know how to work under different conditions. Even midday sun can transform a scene from completely forgettable to “I can’t wait to come back here”.

Click here to shop the Roadside Meditations book

Contact me directly about prints of my American road trip photography for your home, office, or commercial space - rob@robhammerphotography

American road trip photography

California desert - Mojave, CA

Mojave Desert

Windfarm in Mojave, California

California desert near Lone Pina

Mojave, CA

Road Trip Photography

A train going through the desert town of Mojave, CA

American Photographs

Photographs of Small Towns in America

A few images from the most recent cross country road trip that go along with my America series. This type of thing wasn’t the main focus of the trip, but I can never help myself . One of these days or years all the images in this series will add up to something that makes sense and it will be a book. Still working through it…

Click here to see more from this series

Big Island, Virginia

Hamburg, Pennsylvania

Danville, Illinois

Danville, Illinois

Danville, Illinois

Nebraska

Indianola, Iowa

Carthage, Missouri

Carthage, Missouri

Nebraska

Street Photography San Francisco

San Francisco Photo Gallery

From a few hours of aimless wondering around one of the worlds great cities - San Francisco. Feel so grateful to have a client up there that I shoot for on a fairly regular basis, and am always sure to make some free time to squeeze in some street photography. Would love to rent an AirBnB in the city for a couple months just to continue this series. The city has so much character and texture that I’m not sure there would be a point where I’d grow tired of photographing it. Wish I felt the same way about San Diego.

Click HERE to see images of San Francisco from the last trip.

San Francisco

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Swami's - Surfing

Swami’s Surfing - Wall Art - Photography Prints

Garry Winogrand said “everything is photographable” and nobody should argue with him. A lot of photographers get caught up in their “niche” or what ever it is their clients expect from them. That’s fine, but it’s also a very limiting. They think that showing other work with different subject matter will turn off their clients and “followers”. And that’s one of the major problems I have with the photography industry. It wants everyone to fit into a category and play by the rules of that particular category. If you’re a commercial shooter then you can’t shoot editorial. And a photographer that shows in museums/galleries can’t shoot for commercial clients because it will cause the fine art world to lose respect for their fine art work. Bullshit. Shoot whatever the fuck you want and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. Even if you play by all the rules, you still won’t win everyone over. Not even close. So photograph whatever turns you on and it will eventually attract the right people. Take a look through my website and you’ll see quite a variety of subject matter. Everything from the most famous professional athletes to obscure street scenes without any people at all. How are they all connected? They aren’t. It’s just what I enjoy shooting. Everything on my website is in some way directly connected to my life and lifestyle. What I shoot isn’t for everybody, nor do I want it to be. Either way, I show up 110% on every shoot whether that’s for a client or for images that won’t ever come off my hard drive. I love photography and making images of everything.

For the better part of the last 15 years San Diego has been my home. You would think that at some point surfing would be added to the list of regular activities, but it hasn’t, and probably won’t. In fact, I don’t have much draw to the ocean aside from its obvious beauty and calming effects. As a dedicated backcountry snowboarder though, I have a large appreciation for the sport of surfing and the obvious parallels between the culture and lifestyle of the two sports. So when it comes to photography, it doesn’t matter to me that I don’t surf. There are aspects that draw me to photograph the sport. Like the images you see below. Are these images that my clients want to see or expect from me? No. Do I plan on pursuing assignments in the surf world? Definitely not. But Swami’s is an iconic surf break and I enjoyed making these and think of them as the kind of images I like to see coming from the world of snowboarding. So there has to be a crossover.

Contact me directly to purchase Swami’s surfing prints for your home, office, or commercial space - rob@robhammerphotography.com

Swami's Surfing

Surf Van - Swami's - Encinitas, CA

Swami's - Encinitas, CA

Barbershops of America - Then and Now

Feeling really grateful for the press Barbershops of America has been getting lately. It feels good when people really connect with your personal work. Barber Evo Magazine ran an article and it was on the front page of today’s San Diego Union Tribune, which caused a number of really kind emails from people who read it. One in particular mentioned that the images reminded him of the shop he grew up in. Exactly the kind of emotional reaction I hope people will have when they look at the book.

CLICK HERE TO GRAB A COPY FOR YOURSELF OR AS A GIFT

BarberEvo Magazine

San Diego Union Tribune