How I became an Architectural Photographer

There’s an old saying “A man should do what he loves, or what he does best. If they are one and the same, then he truly is blessed.”

Recently I have been asked about how I got started in photography and how I came to choose architecture and interior design photography as my specialty. Here is the short version of the story.

In 1987 in Denver, CO I was in business with my father building custom upholstered and finished wood furniture to the trade. One day while cutting the back panel for an Armoire  on the table saw I almost cut the fingers off of my right hand, twice.

I realized that all the guys who had been doing this work for very long all had severe injuries to their hands, some missing several fingers, or worse. I shut down the saw and never turned it back on.

It was early April and I realized I needed to find a job, but hadn’t interviewed in years. I looked through the classified ads and saw an ad for a photographer with no experience required. I thought this would be an opportunity to refresh my interviewing skills. Much to my surprise I was hired, despite never having picked up a camera before in my life.

The job was to travel around the hinterlands of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah and New Mexico taking pictures of babies in K-mart department stores.

The job was great. I got to drive around the mountain states all summer long  spending a week in medium sized backwater towns. I got paid a decent wage and a reasonable per diem. I had a great summer and realized I loved photography but hated the job of shooting babies. I knew I had found my calling in life and set out to turn this summer job into a lifelong career.

As the seasons changed I realized that making a living driving on back mountain roads during the winter was not a good idea. So I quit, returned to Denver and found employment in a one hour photo labs, which used to be an ubiquitous  feature of every mall, large and small throughout the United States. This particular lab, Moto-Photo, had several photographic manuals for sale. These were books on how to take pictures such as, The Joy of Photography, Fashion & Portrait Photography, etc… The manual that caught my attention was “Photographing Buildings Inside and Out” by Norman McGrath. One look at the photographs Mr. McGrath created and I knew this was what I wanted to do. Before getting half way through the book I had decided I was going to be an architectural photographer and dedicated all my energy and efforts towards achieving that one goal.

I spent the next five years shooting small jobs for realtors and home builders while working in various photo labs both one hour retail labs and large commercial photo labs. I did this to build a strong foundation of experience in the background of the photographic processes and to pay the rent.

I worked as an assistant for another architectural photographer, Thorney Lieberman, for a brief time. My plan was to work with Thorney for a couple of years to gain experience and supplement my income, but one night we were both very tired and Thorney told me I was better at this than he was. I was shocked to hear this. I had a lot of respect for Thorney, he was a good shooter and I felt he knew what he was talking about when it came to photography. I decided that I should strike out on my own right away.

Finally on March 13, 1992 I struck out on my own and became a full time, professional, self employed architectural photographer and have been loving it ever since.

It is surprising that architectural photography is the one field where I can apply all of my past experience as a carpenter, electrician, machinist, upholsterer, cabinet maker and business owner. I tell people I am lucky to have found my calling in life and now you know why.

It’s been twenty-three years and each day I wake up excited and anxious to get to work. There’s nothing I would like to do more than spend every single day of my life creating beautiful images. It’s what I do, it’s what I am all about.

Miller Design Company Ad in Gentry Design

Interiors for Every Taste.

Interiors for Every Taste

A wonderful ad for Miller Design Company that I worked on with Jodi Murphy and Lea McIntosh.

It’s always a pleasure working with these two talented people. The ad looks great and communicates an effective message while maintaining a high profile for the client.

I shot this using the High Dynamic Range Imaging techniques that are proving to be so effective at communicating the atmosphere and emotional context of my clients projects.

BNI Networking and a Green Gift Idea

Last week I was invited to attend a BNI Networking breakfast in Palo Alto, CA.

There were at least forty people in attendance along with a few visitors. I was very pleased with and impressed by the degree of professionalism and camaraderie displayed by the members.  I was also very pleased to be the only architectural photographer at the meeting.

There were several presentations made by the members and each of the visitors were given the opportunity to give a brief, thirty second, presentation about our businesses. I was pleased to discover that although the time allotted was enforced they were quite willing to allow us to exceed the time to a reasonable degree.

One of the members, Mary Albitz of Jigsaw Java in Redwood City, CA gave us a presentation about a “green” jigsaw puzzle she offers for sale in her store. This particular puzzle was a 500 piece puzzle that hd wildflowr seeds embedded in the pieces. I thought this was a wonderful idea because so many times I have seen people, myslf included do a puzzle once or maybe twice and then the box simply gathers dust on the shelf or takes up space in the closet. This puzzle offers a wonderful and intersting alternative.

Here is what Mary had to say about it…

The green puzzles are called Green Pieces™ and are made by TDC Games.They are Earth Friendly 500 piece Jigsaw Puzzles. When finished, hang the puzzle on your wall or plant the pieces in soil to grow wildflowers. These puzzles have been backed with paper that is recycled, renewable and also imbued with the seeds of many wildflower species. Soak the pieces overnight in water and plant them in the soil or pot. Water them daily until they bloom to reduce your carbon footprint.

There are 4 different puzzles: a panda, a tiger, an eagle with American flag, and an underwater scene. Each picture is a photomosaic, meaning lots of little pictures make up the overall picture. Each puzzle comes with a trivia fact about the little pictures and how they relate to the big picture. For example on the Tiger puzzle, the thousands of vehicles used to create this image are only a fraction the number of animal species that are about to become extinct because of vehicle emissions. The panda puzzle is made up of more than 2000 logging operations which is more than the total number of Pandas left in the world due to deforestation of their natural habitat. The underwater scene is made up of over three thousand oil wells that if they were pumped directly into the sea for three hours, it would be the same amount that is spilled into the oceans each year. And the Eagle with American flag puzzle was created with over 3000 aluminum cans which is the same amount discarded in just the United States every single second.

When I saw the puzzle and heard Mary’s presentation I knew this was something that my clients and readers would be interested in. Take a look at Mary’s web site, or drop by her brick & mortar store; I’m sure you’ll find lots of interesting and innovative green gifts for your friends, family and clients.

Thanks,
Dean

Ad for Viscusi Elson Interior Design in Gentry Design Magazine

Viscusi Elson Interior Design, Post Party Analysis

I have been working with Viscusi Elson Interior Design on their advertisements over the past year. It’s a lot of fun and I get the opportunity to combine my talents and skills for photographing architecture and interiors with my talents for photographing people. My story telling abilities are proving to be quite valuable as well.

This ad is titled “Post Party Analysis” and it appeared on the back cover of Gentry Design in October of 2009. The scene was photographed at the home of Noel Cross of Noel Cross Architects. We had to capture this image at just the right instant to communicate the idea of a couple discussing the party after returning home late at night. I think it worked out quite well.

ASID CA Peninsula Tours Rosewood Sandhill in Menlo Park, CA

Rosewood Sandhill, Menlo Park, CA

Friday afternoon ASID CA Peninsula toured the Rosewood Sandhill Resort in Menlo Park. This is a five star hotel and it shows in every way, from the gardens as you approach to the registration lobby to the pool and day spa everything about the hotel, staff and grounds speaks of quality.

I was most impressed with the approaches to critical hotel features such as the registration lobby, weight room and conference facilities. The dramatic framing of the transitional spaces was really quite impressive. The rooms, bar, pool and spa themselves, of course were spectacular but these transitional spaces had been given a degree of attention equal to that of the major spaces that is unusual in most hospitality projects I have experienced. I guess that’s one aspect of a five star hotel that helps them stand out.

I was on hand photographing the event and have snapshots of the spaces, the tour  and the Q&A afterward for you to enjoy in my portfolio galleries.

West Valley College Interior Design Club Career Day

West Valley College Interior Design Club Career Day

Last Friday was career day for the Interior Design Club at West Valley College in Saratoga, CA. I photographed the event and afterward got group shots of the Student Board, the vendors and one special group shot of the ASID Industry Partner vendors who had taken the time to go out to the college and present their wares and answer the students questions.

It was interesting to get to meet the next generation of designers. I was impressed with the level of professionalism displayed by the students. I have worked with a few designers who attended West Valley College and they have all impressed me with their creativity and professionalism, now I know where they got it. I look forward to having the opportunity to work with some of these student in a few years once they get out into the marketplace and establish themselves.

You can view all the images from the event by following this link to my portfolio galleries.

High Dynamic Range Imaging Slide Show

I have been working with High Dynamic Range Imaging for many years, recently some software has become available that makes using the techniques much easier. Throughout the past year I have been using the techniques on all of my clients projects and many of these images have either been published or used in winning design competition entries.

I have finally found the time to assemble a flash based slide show of some of the more interesting High Dynamic Range Imaging photographs I have created for my clients over the years. You can view this new slide show by following this link.

ASID CA Peninsula October Newsflash

A couple of weeks ago we had an ASID chapter event at Sun Marble titled “Brave New Marketing” I was on hand to learn new marketing tricks and techniques and to shoot pictures for the ASID CA Peninsula Newsflash. And here they are, and after twenty-three years in the business I still get a thrill whenever I see my images in print.

I’m still quite new to the chapter so I don’t know everyone yet but the folks I do know are our guest speaker Deborah Shea, our past chapter president Paula McChesney with a very happy man, another of the attendees, Carol Gillam and Mary Lou Manlove, our current chapter president Marie Chan and another member. Then we have various vendors, and Doreen Yun of Windows & Beyond, two more vendors and the Sun Marble Team. In time I hope to get to know everyone personally and by name.

It was a fun night and we all got to learn a few things about marketing in the economic environment we are experiencing. You can learn more about the event by following this link.

ASID CA Peninsula Newsflash "Photography for Interior Designers"

And in this issue of the Newsflash we also have the official annoouncement of the CEU I will be giving on Novemebr 12th titled “Photography for Interior Designers”. This CEU provides .2 credits and will help the interior designer have greater control over their photographs by explaining many compositional techniques and will also help when they are doing their own photographs. I’ll be posting more about this next week. I hope you’ll have time to attend.

Dean

Updated Home Page to Include Recent Publications

Recently there was a flurry of publications of my client’s projects.

Marie Chan, of Inter-Space Design was featured on the cover of Bay Area Spaces Magazine in September of 2009. The editor chose a residential bathroom that I had shot a few months ago using the High Dynamic Range Imaging technique that is proving to be such an effective tool for captureing the character and subtle emotional qualities of the spaces I shoot.

And then Bob Miller, of Miller Design Company was featured both on the cover of Bay Area Spaces Magazine in October of 2009 and as a feature story in the magazine’s “On the Town” Section.

I am very happy to see my clients on the cover of the magazine and feel great satisfaction and professional pride knowing they are getting the recognition they deserve. I’m glad I could play some small part in helping them attain this achievement.

I have added sample slides of these two magazine covers to the slide show featured on my home page. The slide show was originally intended to only feature projects that have won design awards, but editorial publication – especially on the cover – is itself quite an achievement.

Please, take a moment to review the show, it’s only seven images, and let me know what you think. You may also review these and other projects I have photographed for my client in my portfolio, which includes photographs of architecture and interior design projects from throughout my twenty-three year career as a professional architectural photographer by following this link.

Photograph of the Month “Twilight Time”

"Twilight Time" - A High Dynamic Range Image of Sunset at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve

The title of this months photograph is “Twilight Time”

I shot this image at the Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  I had read of  Borel Hill, the highest point on the Peninsula, several months ago in the San Francisco Chronicle. On a clear day you can see all the way out to sea, but I had scouted the location hoping to find a good vantage point for a sunset shot with a blanket of fog filling the valleys below.

This image was taken just about a half hour after sunset and is a very long exposure but fortunately on this night the air was almost still with only the slightest breeze to disturb the most delicate branches of the bushes and blades of grass. I knew that it would be difficult to capture the delicate balance between light and dark and the rich colors that are critical to communicating the feeling of peace and quiet solitude of the scene, but the High Dynamic Range Imaging technique I have been working with proved to be just the right tool for the job.

I hope you like the image and that it brings a small measure of peace and quiet to your busy day.

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.

Dean