Muscle Car Photography

I had the opportunity to photograph a 66 Mustang recently. I love red cars! You could tell that this is Barry’s (the owner's) baby. He called it a “driving car, not a show car”, and he drives it all over! It was a blast to photograph. This is the first of a few shots. Let me know what you think.

Gourds

It’s a classically autumn vegetable. Cultivated for centuries, they have been used for food, kitchen tools, toys, musical instruments and decoration. They have fascinating shapes and colors that make interesting subject matter for photography. I’m sticking with the simple approach again, a single light source and a white background. I feel that it allows the nature of the gourd to be revealed. As always, comments are welcome.

Industrial Still Life Photography

Modern industrial products often start as forged parts. Heated to red hot, then pressed into shape by huge machines, these automotive components are likely in the car you drive. This intermediate stage can be challenging to photograph. A little spray paint and a some additional retouching help make the surface more uniform. Dramatic lighting and an interesting background help further still. As always I’m interested in your thoughts.

Industrial on White

It works for vegetables, why not industrial parts? A simple graphic shape on a white background lets the object express itself. Lots of time spent prepping, photographing and retouching the part reveals the beauty inherent in the object that serves some other useful purpose. The beauty that surrounds us unnoticed is uncovered. I love the quote attributed to Albert Einstein:

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

As always, I am interested in your thoughts.

Root Vegetables

Root Vegetables have that gnarled, misshapen, twisted look that I find intriguing. I added glamor to these beets with water, giving them a little shine. It contrasts with the messy root hair and debris on the stems. Photographically, a single light and a simple white background let the beets be the star.

Health Care Photography

I had the opportunity to work with an excellent art director on a project for a local medical equipment manufacturer. This is one of several photographs we made that day in my studio. Collaboration was theme of the day, as we worked together to making photographs that would enhance the design of the brochure. As always, please let me know what you think.

Collaboration

I enjoy working alone. When you finish, you have a sense of accomplishment; you know the photograph is yours. Fortunately, I also enjoy collaborating with clients. Working with a designer or art director to create images that work for the client, and solving the visual problems to communicate their story can be enjoyable and gratifying. Collaboration is at the core of commercial photography. It’s my job to make real the image that lives in my client’s head. This is one of several photos we captured for a medical technologies firm. Working with a wonderful art director and writer/account person, it was a terrific day.

Still Life Product Photography

There is product photography, and then there is product photography. What I mean is, you can photograph a product on white which will represent the product and the buyer can glean information from it to better understand what’s being purchased. There are lots of good reasons to do this, and it can be very attractive too. On the other hand, you can put the product in an environment so that it conveys an emotional message as well. A tubing cutter is perhaps not the product you would think of as an emotional buy, but, who doesn't like nice tools? The shiny black one sure does look better! As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.

More Vegetables on White

Wax beans provide an interesting subject. The simple curving shape, and nice yellow color make for a less dramatic image than the Garlic Scapes. Still, there is a quiet, subtle beauty to the yellow beans. The organic shapes and calming horizontal lines. Odd numbers seem to work better too. Please let me know what you think.

Small Product Photography

I took a CPR class a few years ago, the EMTs doing the class emphasized how important breathing is to being alive. So not breathing dust, pollen or particulate is likewise important too. These masks are the simplest form of defense. Of course making an interesting photo is my job, a background with some texture helps. As always, I'm interested in your thoughts.

Product Photography - Simple!

If things work like they should, most of us don’t install stoves or clothes dryers very often. If it’s a gas appliance, it’s going to involve connecting up the gas. My problem to solve is how to make a gas connector look interesting in a photograph. Graphic arrangement on an interesting background, camera angle, dramatic lighting all work together. Simple! Fortunately, on this project I had the good fortune to work with a terrific art director. As always, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

Carrots right out of the Ground

I like reality, in advertising photography there is an ideal of perfection. I like perfection too, but sometimes, the gritty reality of things is far more interesting. Perfect, straight, and clean carrots might be preferred for some situations, but I like the dirty twisted ones. We got these from our CSA, and they tasted great once they were cleaned up. Please let me know what you think! 

Industrial Space Helmet

No, not really, just industrial hazardous environment protection. Still, it’s kinda cool looking. I enjoy trying to make ordinary things interesting. Photographing pea pods or industrial products, it’s a blast. Please let me know what you think!

Plumbing Products Photography

Who could love stop valves? Well, I guess plumbers, or photographers. I do; because I love to photograph shiny things. A big part of shooting any product is getting it clean and prepped. It’s much easier and faster for stop valves than for tires, but it’s crucial for any product photography. Everyone is in a hurry these days, but sometimes it’s necessary to slow down and do it right. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.

Vegetables on White

It turns out that lots of vegetables are really beautiful. Garlic scapes are right up there. Graceful curves are the best visual part. They’re pretty good when eaten too. I had a hard time deciding my favorite, so I picked three. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.

Simple Vegetable Photography

Radicchio, is another one of those really attractive vegetables. I thought a very simple treatment with the dark background would complement the simple beauty of the radicchio. For me, photography it is the ability to reveal the essence of an object, or person. Sometimes, that means high production value and complicated lighting.  Other times it means one light in a very simple background. As always I'm interested in your comments and thoughts.

Green Storm Trooper?

Or is it Boba Fett? It kind of looks like it could be a space helmet of some kind. It’s not, of course. It’s protective gear you wear when working in a dangerous environment. Still, who doesn’t want to be an astronaut? My job is to make it look as cool as possible. I am always interested it your thoughts and comments.

Pea Pod Photographer

My 5th grade teacher liked to call me Pea-Pod. He had pet names for other kids too, like Meatball and Hotdog. Now, my daughter calls me Pizza. (Long story) I guess I just inspire food names. Personally, I like the visual organic forms of raw food. Less really is more in this case. As always, I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts and comments.

Larger than life

One of the difficulties of photographing very small parts is that often times the finished photographs are displayed larger than life-size. The products were never engineered to be photographically displayed, much less, up close and personal. Occasionally, I’ll give parts to a jeweler friend of mine for him to clean up with his specialized tools. But the answer in most cases is to retouch; removing visual defects and flaws in the product during post-production. Depending on the product and the size it's eventually displayed, the retouching can be tedious work, but well worth it. For this client, the individual products were photographed in a way that enabled me to assemble them in Photoshop to create an exploded view with visual impact.

Industrial Group Shots

I’ve never been a fan of large group product shots. Often, product managers are in the decision tree and want their products to look particularly good. The truth is, all a group shots with ten or more products can say is, we have a bunch of products. Or we can make a bunch of different products. Optimal view and lighting of individual parts is almost always sacrificed for overall composition and lighting needsIn this case, it was limited to 11 parts. All drive train parts, in the early stages of production. This is part of a series of photographs that also includes wheel ends, engine, and transmission parts. We shot from a very high angle with a wide angle lens to provide a more interesting and unusual perspective. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.