Alta Mesa Memorial Lunchroom - High Dynamic Range Image

On Tuesday June 1st I shot a job for Shirley Lo and Loretta Spence. I delivered first draft proofs on Wednesday June 3rd via internet, by Monday the 7th we had gone through six generations of proofs until Shirley and Loretta declared the color of the images and the retouching to be “perfect.” And I delivered their images via electronic download.

This is amazing because now we can complete a job in the amount of time it took to get first run proofs when shooting 4×5 film.

At one point Patrice told me that she was a little disappointed with digital photography. I asked why and she showed me a few shots that another photographer shot where the color was not great.

Since I had my computer with me-as usual-I asked if I could see what I could do with them. It only took me a couple of minutes of “playing” with the color & contrast to make major improvements to the images. After was done Patrice was so impressed she ran a print off and immediately replaced the existing copy on her display shelf.

I pointed out to her that this was easy for me because I have been working with digital images on a daily basis since 1996. After fourteen years, I’ve developed some appreciable skills with digital photographs.

Many photographers want to do all of their work in the camera and leave it at that. My background of working in photo labs back in the eighties and early nineties taught me that taking a picture with the camera is just the beginning of the photographic process and that there is no photograph that cannot be improved in the darkroom, or on the computer.

Some photographers have objected to this, feeling that their creative opportunities and professional responsibilities pretty much come to an end once the shutter clicks. I like to point out that Ansel Adams, a well known and highly respected photographer wrote three books on photography “The Camera”, “The negative” and “The Print.”

As you can see according to one of the most well known and respected photographers of the twentieth century taking the picture is only part of the creative .

High Dynamic Range Image of Residential Kitchen

The high dynamic range imaging allows me to create images of spaces as humans perceive them, with rich colors and a wealth of detail in both highlight and shadows that capture the delicate interplay of color and texture. This technique allows me to go beyond showing the furnishings and accouterments to communicating the mood and emotion of a space with unparalleled fidelity to the designer’s vision.

As I say in my seminar on photography for interior designers high dynamic range imaging will soon become the standard for interior design photography. I recognized it’s utility and value the first time I had the opportunity to work with it, this is why I have worked to master the technique. and now my clients can benefit by having photographs of their designs that contain a life and sparkle that was never before possible.

You can view more high dynamic range images of interior design in my portfolio galleries.

ASID CA Peninsula Continuity Board Meeting

(Board members above, from left to right, first row: Carol Spence Carr, Marie Chan, Jane Higo. Second row: Debbie Snider, Jeanette Loretz, Divya Vijayanandakumar. Not shown but in attendance: Anna Sarkissian and Dean Birinyi)

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with the current board of the ASID CA Peninsula chapter at the continuity meeting at AS Design in Los Gatos. This was the beginning of the hand off from the leadership of Marie Chan to that of Carol Spence Carr.

I’m looking forward to working with the chapter and hope I am ready for the challenges I will be assigned as my duties. The upcoming board, on which I sit as the Industry Partner Director is meeting on Monday.

High Dynamic Range Image of the Tech Museum in San Jose, CA

I also had the opportunity to speak with Meera Chawla regarding the 2010 ASID CA Peninsula Design Awards Gala. I will be photographing the event and look forward to having the opportunity to help tell the story of the event.

Private Residence, San Mateo

I am surprised when my clients respond with astonishment when I help with the styling for my photographs. I move furniture and plants, help hang artwork and clear off desks, tables and counters. I offer suggestions about where to place the flowers, and how they should be arranged to best compliment the photographs composition and suggest changes to the arrangement of furnishings and which art to use where. This is the collaborative aspect of interior design photography and I love doing it.

But what really causes the strongest response is when I help put the homeowners things back where they were, help with re-packing the boxes of plates, vases and flowers, and carry things out to the car at the end of the day.

Because I am using high dynamic range imaging and no longer have twelve lights to position, adjust and control I have more time to work with my clients to style the spaces and make the photographs we create the best they can be, but I have always done these things. For an interior design photographer this is what collaboration is. If your photographer isn’t doing it, you should be working with me.

I’ll have images to show after Shirley and Loretta approve the images. Clients always have first rights.

Private Residence, Los Altos Hills

And of course you will still receive the unparalleled customer service for which I have become known.

In the past it was not possible to offer a flat rate price for photographing interiors because of the complexity of the supplemental lighting required; often simply unpacking and re-packing the lights & camera would take longer than shooting the photograph.

Now that I am using High Dynamic Range Imaging we work exclusively with available light to reproduce the atmospheric effects of the space with an authenticity that simply isn’t possible when using supplemental lighting. And this means we no longer have the artificial complexity of odd shadows or stray reflections being cast by the photographers supplemental lighting.

Please take a look at my new pricing. I’ve done all I can to structure my services to make it easy, affordable and predictable because helping you is why I am here.

http://www.djbphoto.com/DJBPhoto_Pricing.html

Stasis - Wide Screen

Stasis - Narrow Screen

This months photograph is titled “Stasis”

I have been planning this image for a few months now. I had shot some preliminary test images in February but wasn’t satisfied with the results.

There are some rather significant challenges involved with shooting high speed images of water drops. The technological challenges of timing are the least complex. I was not prepared for the amount of space that was required to shoot water drops and get the smooth gradient background I envisioned. I ended up buying a 40” x 60” print developing tray , painting it black and filling it with water – and it was just barely large enough to realize my vision.

This was  one of the single most challenging images I have ever created. The image you see here is the result of four days of hard work, in a wet, dark room. I must have shot 400 images before everything finally fell into place with lighting, precise timing, angle of view, size of water drop, and the distance it traveled to get the perfect splash, the perfect reflex splash, and the perfect pressure waves. I even had to control the surface tension of the water using soap, alcohol and temperature of the water. I am very proud of the result.

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.

You can download copies of all the Photographs of the Month by following this link to my website gallery.

I’ve been trying to make this post for a few weeks now. Recently my wife sent me a link to this video on youtube. It’s called “prisencolinensinainciusol” and it’s worth your time.

This video went viral a few years ago. It is a song written by italian singer songwriter Adriano Celetano. It was written in the early seventies and it is a true Avant Gard masterpiece, made more so by the remarkable choreography and big band sound. In fact I believe this puts the song “Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict” on the album Ummagumma by Pink Floyd to shame.

Many people say the lyrics sound like american english to non english speaking italians, but when interviewed Mr. Celetano says the song was about “incommunicability” (he’s obviously comfortable with polysyllabic words) and the rational for the composition was to do something that was simply fun after working on two socially and politically motivated projects. The words are complete gibberish in any language but they are rhythmic and fit the music.

I’m sure he is quite proud that after forty years the song is still a big hit, but I doubt it would be quite as popular as it has been if not for the choreography.

The choreography that helps make this such a fantastic presentation was arranged by Raffaella Carra a diva of some repute in the Latin world. She was the first woman on Italian television to show her bellybutton and was promptly repudiated by the vatican.

Regardless take five minutes out of your day and enjoy both the song and the show. I guarantee you’ll be singing and dancing to prisencolinensinainciusol all day.

Eyes!

Wide Screen Version: High Dynamic Range Image of an old fence in heavy fog

High Dynamic Range Photogrpah of an old fence in heavy fog

This month’s photograph is titled “Ghost Fence” I hope you like it.

I found this fence in Sunnyvale Baylands Park last year while biking with my wife. I waited for the heavy fog to shoot it because the image I envisioned called for a mysterious atmosphere to convey the mood of the fence. I think it worked out quite well.

This photograph is a High Dynamic Range Image as are most photographs I have created over the past few years.

I recently discovered that my gallery software has been restricting the size of the images I posted there. It’s a very complicated piece of software and this feature got past me when I was setting it up.

I have corrected the problem and now the screen saver images will be the full 1920×1200 pixels in wide screen format and 1280×1024 pixels in square format that I intended them to be in the first place. I will be going through my archive and resizing past Photograph of the Month images to meet these specifications.

You can download the full size versions by clicking on the images you see above.

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.