hand painted, hand photographed

One question I often ask of myself is "how can I keep the integrity of a subject in a commercial environment?" In other words, how can I maintain a product's individuality while giving it a professional feel? Shooting the hand painted pieces from Metolius Ridge Tile posed this quandary. From my home town Eugene, Oregon (by coincidence) Metolius Ridge Tile hand paints individual pieces and mosaic murals on ceramic tile. You will have to decide for yourself if the pictures do the art any justice. I'm just glad to be a part of the process. These images were taken in mixed light at a home in the Hideaway Club.

See these images and more soon at: http://www.metoliusridgetile.com 

Creating Sunlight for Interiors

I recently photographed a beautiful home in which I was posed with an interesting challenge. How do you convey that there is a great big window in the room when it is not in the frame? Second, how do you add romance to a small room that is really nothing more than a bed and some end tables? the answer came from a technique I saw Joe McNally use in a Nikon video.

With a single SB-900 flash and tungsten gel on a 13' stand. I was able to mimic the golden glow of the sun through the big arched window. Adding some interest to the shot and giving the viewer that sense of romance that makes an image so inviting. I used pocket wizards to trigger the flash at full power for the effect.

Lastly, I just experienced a lighting workshop with David Tejada called Small Strobes Big Results in Orange County. It was dynamite! A great class and really cool people. I strongly recommend it to anyone pursuing this kind of photography. I can't wait to put some of these new techniques to use.

Thanks to all who were in the class.