April 2009 Photograph of the Month: Restraint

Restraint

All images in my “Photograph of the Month” series are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. You can click on the image to open in a new window or download; please, share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.

This months image is titled “Restraint.”  It is a powerful image that I have been holding in reserve for a special occassion, and I feel that officially announcing the launch of my blog is the right time to release it.

I shot this image of the Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay in Redding, CA in 2005. I was in town to shoot a job and took some time to look around. I was surprised to find such a remarkable structure in Redding and have since become of the opinion that this is one of the world’s great bridges.  I was impressed by the strength and power of the structure as I walked across the bridge for the first time and could feel the energy contained within the design and the incredible forces that were restrained with such grace and style.

The bridge was designed by Santiago Calatrava with the intent to be spectacular but also to have no impact on the salmon that spawn in the Sacramento river which it spans; he succeeded brilliantly. I understand why he is one of the world’s premier bridge designers and know the world is better for his efforts here and around the globe.

I hope you enjoy the photograph as much as I do.

High Dynamic Range Imaging and Real World Photography

My primary specialty is photographing architecture and  interior design and, in my opinion, High Dynamic Range Imaging photography is the greatest thing since sliced bread. As I said in a previous post,

“Using this technique I can capture a wealth of subtle details, colors and textures that allow me to communicate my perception of a space with greater finesse and artistry than ever before.”

As I gain experience with the techniques involved in creating HDR photographs, I am discovering that I have a level of control over my images that I never before imagined.

Most HDR photographs I have seen on the net have been wonderful, creative surrealistic images that are, on the most part, stunning. But, surrealism is not what I am after nor is it something my clients can use in their presentations or design competitions. I work to create photorealistic images and everything I do is geared towards achieving that goal while still expressing my own creativity and showcasing my clients’ talents.

And several times I have been asked why I don’t make everything look perfectly exposed, with the interior and the exterior illumination identically balanced, the shadows either nonexistent or nearly so. The answer to this is that would make the images overall appearance lifeless, uninspired and boring.  The final result would be an image that looked “photoshopped” and would not elicit a positive reaction from the viewer.

High Dynamic Range Imaging has been in use for many centuries.  Painters have always employed the techniques of contrast compression and local contrast enhancement without restriction. As you can see in this painting of “The Rocky Mountains, Lander’s Peak”  or “Storm in the Rocky Mountains” by Albert Bierstadt, not every part of an image needs to be evenly illuminated. High dynamic range imaging has been dramatically employed to communicate atmosphere, character and mood. Using these works as examples, we can see that creating dramatic effect, be that one of mystery and intrigue or a zen-like peace, is achieved in visual media by localized control of the color and intensity of the lighting of a scene.

So, even though HDRI photography is somewhat new, we have a wealth of historical reference upon which to draw. And I believe it is our responsibility as creative professionals to avoid catering to the lowest common denominator instead we should draw upon our artistic heritage and manipulate the images in whatever manner is required to elicit the desired emotional response from the viewer.

March 2009 Photograph of the Month: Love Me Puppy

Love Me Puppy

All images in my “Photograph of the Month” series are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. You can right-click the image to open in a new window or download; please, share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.

This Photograph of the Month is titled “Love Me Puppy”. I have been working with the SF/SPCA for a couple of years and this is one of a series of images commissioned SF/SPCA to be used in directional signs at the new Leanne B. Roberts Animal Care Center. It is a real pleasure photographing the puppies, kittens, cats and dogs for the SPCA. The day we shot this we had several different animals to work with. This little guy was so cute and cooperative we got several world class images; I think this is the one of him that really pulls at your heart strings.

Photograph of the Month: Along the road to Avalon

An HDRI photograph of the Sunol Regional Wilderness Area in the SF Bay Area

Please find this month’s screen saver attached to this e-mail. It is sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. Please share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.

This month’s photograph is titled “Along the road to Avalon”. My wife and I love exploring the many recreational opportunities available in the SF Bay Area, and recently we discovered the Sunol Regional Wilderness Area which is part of the East Bay Regional Park District. It is a wonderful place to hike and spend the day with spectacular views that reminded us of a landscape in a fairy-tale. I hope you enjoy this month’s photograph as much as I enjoyed creating it.

I used a technique called High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI) to craft this romantic image that sparks the imagination and instills a sense of wonder in the viewer. When combined with my refined talent to work with light and my well-honed compositional skills, the HDRI technique allows me to communicate the character and experience of the structures and spaces I photograph with greater finesse and fidelity than ever before.

You can see samples of HDRI photographs I have created for different clients by following this link to my High Dynamic Range Imaging Portfolio.

High Dynamic Range Imaging is an exciting innovation that gives me a degree of control over the contrast and luminance of my images that was previously impossible. I look forward to exploring and further perfecting the application of HDRI photography to give my clients’ presentations even greater impact by bringing a new vitality to your visual communications.

Photograph of the Month: Fireworks!

A dramatically lit close-up image of a Gerbera Daisy

All images in my “Photograph of the Month” series are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. Please share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.

This months photograph is titled “Fireworks!” When creating this image I was reminded of the blazing glory of fireworks in the night sky and felt the childhood memories of warm summer nights it brought to mind to would be a delightful associations to share with you.

Photograph of the Month: Busy Bee

A honey bee searching for nectar in a spearmint blossom

Two years ago I began sending out these screen savers to my clients on a monthly basis, these are my “Photograph of the Month.” They are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. I suggest my clients share them with their family and friends, with my compliments.

It is a marketing device, and an effective one because my name, phone number and website address are on each and every one of the images. My website traffic usually spikes for a few days after I send them out. It allows me to maintain a high level of visibility with my clients even when we aren’t working on a job much like the calendars of years passed.

Giving people a pretty picture for their screen saver is a nice thing to do. I enjoy doing it because it brightens the day for people who might otherwise not have the chance to get away from the computer. And sometimes shooting these images is the only way I can get away from the office.

I knew I wanted to include these photographs here on my blog and may use this as my distribution vehicle rather than clogging up people “in” boxes and to discover how many of the people on my mailing list are no longer interested in receiving them. But, I knew I had to limit how many I post here prior to official roll-out of the blog because I want new images on the blog, rather than old ones. So i picked five or the most recent images that received the highest praise.

All images in my “Photograph of the Month” series are sized and formatted as a screen saver or computer desktop wallpaper. Please share it with your family and friends, with my compliments.

Last year we planted spearmint in a bare and desiccated patch of dirt in our back yard. We were delighted to find that it not only survived the brutal conditions being on the south side of the house, exposed to direct sunlight all day long as well as the and heat light reflected from the house, but thrived. We were also delighted to find that the local bees seemed to adore the spearmint nectar.

One day I sat down in the sun with my close-up lens determined to get a great shot of a bee. It was very hot and uncomfortable. There were times I was unable to see due to the perspiration stream into my eyes, but I kept at it and after an hour or two I had gotten the hang of focusing on the bees by rocking my head back and forth rather than attempting to adjust the focus of the camera. I am very pleased with the results of the effort. I never realized how furry bees really were until now.

On Posting Comments

I have been advised to allow comments to be posted without prior registration for two reasons: registered posting is annoying for the person posting and it will complicate my life and consume vast amounts of time for me to have to authorize each registrant.

So, with great trepidation I am going to allow unregistered users to comment, until I am given reason to change this policy.

I trust my clients, colleagues and associates to conduct themselves in a professional manner, it’s the odd surfer than stumbles upon the blog I am worried about. I can always delete offensive posts after the fact. And I will do so at the drop of a hat, after all this is my place of business.

Server Maintenance: Gallery File Structure Changes

I am reorganizing my server this morning and will be moving files that a few clients may still be accessing to new directories. The files will still be there, just in a different place. If a file or gallery has suddenly disappeared please send me the url you use to access it, just cut & paste from the address bar of your browser to the email. I will update the link to conform with the new directory structure and send you a new one.

This reorganization will integrate my web server with my Content Management System. Now my server will look like the filing cabinet it’s intended to be rather than the kitchen junk drawer that it currently resembles. And it should be much easier for me and my future staff to navigate, update and maintain.

Thanks for your patience.

HDRI Photography

High Dynamic Range Image (HDRI) Photography is a relatively new technique I have been working to master over the past few months. Using this technique I can capture a wealth of subtle details, colors and textures that allow me to communicate my perception of a space with greater finesse and artistry than ever before.

I began experimenting with the technique in December of 2008. I was very impressed and immediately realized that by using HDRI photography I would regain some of the multiple exposure capabilities I had when shooting film with the 4×5 that were lost when I made the transition to digital photography because to the best of my knowledge current digital cameras can’t do multiple exposures in the manner I need out in the field.

I have been compensating for this limitation by manually compositing images. This a very laborious process that requires a lot of patience, skill and computing power, but now there is software that takes some of the drudgery out of the process and lets me focus on the creative aspects.

HDRI photography is a new tool added to my box. And I look forward to using it to help my clients by doing a better job of communicating the artistry and creativity of their designs than ever before possible.

You can see a comparison of conventional and HDRI photography as it relates to the real world challenges we face when photographing architecture and interior design by following this link.

I feel the day is wasted if I have not learned at least one new thing.

A few weeks ago Lea at Cherry Bomb Design (link on the right) suggested that I start a blog for business communications, increasing my web presence and marketing. I was reluctant to do so even though I knew she had some very good reasons for suggesting it because it is just one more duty to be added to my already complex schedule. Last week one of my clients, Miller Design Company, started their own blog. I knew that now was the time for me to take action.

So here it is. My blog. I will be posting interesting and relevant information and images here regularly, I hope you will find them to be interesting and relevant also. For now I will simply post these links and call it a night because I have been working all day to set up the blog and figure out all of the little technical tricks.

Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.

How to Do a Good Professional Blog

How to start a professional blog: 10 tips for new bloggers

And possibly the most important of the group because we learn more from mistakes than we do from success… 9 Ways to Screw Up Your Professional Blog