I’ve come to love doing these types of commercial portraits. By doing a composite such as my portrait of Stephanie in the Paramount Theatre below, I can create an environmental portrait that allows a great deal of artistic license in my treatment of the ‘environment’. Meanwhile, since the talent is actually photographed against plain background in a studio environment, it requires a great deal less time commitment on the talent than actually shooting in the chosen environment. It’s a win win.
I love this cabin. I had the good fortune of photographing it for a Real Estate Photography client.
The owner had the cabin meticulously disassembled from it’s original location and reconstructed here to create a home that was as period authentic as possible. The cabin’s interior is every bit as charming as the exterior. The owner even had a nearby blacksmith re-create all the hardware including the door hinges and locks. The only way you would know it was not constructed in the 1800′s is that it has all the comforts of this century, including indoor plumbing, electric lights, and air conditioning.
It was great having the opportunity to create some beautiful photographs so the Realtor can properly show of this amazing cabin and the 700 acre ranch that surrounds it to prospective clients.
Zurich is such a beautiful town. Although I made this photograph last month, I can’t see this scene without being reminded of a visit I made several years ago.
I was staying very near here when I went out for an early Sunday morning walk. The city appeared deserted. In fact, the only other person I saw was an older gentleman fishing from the bridge. While the scene was indeed beautiful & quiet and peaceful, it created a real sense of loneliness. There I was in this wonderful place, but I was alone & missing my wife.
Just as I approached the bridge, the church bells started ringing & echoing throughout alleyways of the old town. It immediately brought back a lyric from a wonderful song by Kris Kristofferson;
“Sunday Morning Coming Down”
“…Then I headed down the street,
And somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringing,
And it echoed through the canyon
Like the disappearing dreams of yesterday… ”
The title of this post is just a subset of the type of photography I do. I shortened the title because if I accurately described all the various photographic specialties I am contracted to shoot it would be ridiculously long. I would have to include “Fine Art Photographer” and “Stock Photography” and “Pet & People Portrait Photographer” and “Family & Infant Photographer” just to start. (See why I didn’t list it all in the title.) As a professional photographer in Austin Texas I end up doing all types of photography. Although I really love doing portraits, most of my work would fall under the title “Commercial Photographer”. All of this provides me with a tremendous amount of variety in my day to day work. I have to admit, I enjoy it all. On any given week I may be photographing architectural interiors for a builder or architect, a singer for a CD cover or a skyline for a magazine, or on the not so commercial side a portrait of someones best friend. Regardless, it’s always fun and challenging. Today’s photo is a triad of images I did recently for a local builder to document one of their projects. They did a spectacular job doing a total remodel of an older home. Since this particular photo is about my architectural photography I shortened the post title to describe this particular commission. Please take a look at some more of my Architectural Photography here or here and let me know what you think.
I’ve been doing some work this week at Sea-Tac. Every day on my walk to the airport I’ve walked past these giant granite boulders at the the entrance to the arrival hall. I wanted to attempt to capture the feeling you get as you approach the terminal. To me it’s like you are approaching a gigantic Mothership which is very apropos since Sea-Tac is a major transit point for many ship passengers departing on ships from the port of Seattle.
I recently did some additional photography for the Paramount Theatre in Austin Texas. I love this place! This is actually an HDR panorama to try and capture as much of the theatre a possible from the front center stage position. It was shot as multiple images with my 14mm lens and then stitched together. Normally, I would have been able to get the whole room with the 14-24 lens by just backing up a bit. However, the theatre had a large projection screen in place for a summer film series which forced me to the front of the stage. Creating the image this way caused a bit more of a ‘fisheye’ effect which I believe works well for this grand historical theatre.
You can see my other photographs of the Austin Paramount Theater here.
It’s been way too long since I’ve been here. It’s good to be back!
Today’s photo is from a gig I did in the metropolis of Waring Texas. A few weeks ago I was contracted to videotape an event at the Waring General Store and really had no idea what to expect. After spending a few hours at the store having fun, eating great food and listening to live Texas music, I have to say; if you ever find yourself in the neighborhood on a Wednesday night, stop by the Waring General Store for Steak Night. Waring TX is really just a crossroads in the Texas Hill country between Welfare & Comfort Texas (come to think of it, I’ve spent a lot of time somewhere between welfare & comfort). Every Wednesday night Don Strange of Texas hosts a feast complete with lots of great food, live music and an atmosphere that can’t be beat.
The Frost bank building in Austin Texas looks pretty tall until you view it from the top of the new Austonian. A resident of the Austonian that recently acquired one of my Austin art images was kind enough to allow me into his home to see my art displayed in these amazing surroundings. While I was visiting he also arranged a tour for me to scout locations for a future Austin skyline image. Now I’m just waiting for the scaffolding to be removed from the Capitol building so I can shoot a series of new Austin skyline photographs that show off the views afforded the fortunate residents of this amazing space.
The new Austin skyline is finally getting to a point where a photograph doesn’t appear to obviously be a “work in progress”. I love this particular view of Austin. The arch at the Long Center for the Performing Arts frames the city perfectly. There is nothing like enjoying a great performance there and then stepping out on the patio during intermission and enjoying the view.
Since panoramas tend to be rather small on my blog I am also including a cropped portion of the photo.
Here is a crop of the image showing the new “Austonian”.
This was going to be a wildflower shot. I was driving home to Austin from Ft. Worth & thought I’d take the opportunity to photograph some of the amazing wildflower displays that this very wet spring has created. While driving down Interstate 35 I saw the exit for Maypearl Texas. (Maypearl is a little town about half way between Grandview on Interstate 35W and Waxahachie on Interstate 35E.) The town holds a special meaning for me because it’s the home of my maternal ancestral roots. As a child I would spend time every summer with my grandmother in the home my grandfather built. It’s a beautiful drive between Grandview & Maypearl & I felt hopeful i would see some great Bluebonnet displays. No such luck. The drive was beautiful (it’s always great to get off the main roads) but no super floral displays. I decided to shift gears & photograph some of the old buildings. Some were boarded up and quite sad, but the old Maypearl Garage has been reborn as a feed & pretty much anything else you might ever need store. I’m glad they did not cover up the old ‘ghost sign’. If you look closely, you can see where a previous owner covered up the old Maypearl Garage sign with a banner. Tacky. Now all it needs is a hound dog & a couple of old guys playing checkers on the porch.
