Photography
I love shooting moody still life images. Onions provided an interesting subject. Warm tones, textured skin, circles and spheres are design elements I can work with. Afterwards, I made some delicious onion soup. I used Thomas Keller’s recipe in the Bouchon cookbook. Awesome! As always, I’m interested in your comments.
Long ago, I was inspired by Eric Meola. In the Black Book or Showcase, his pages always stood out. I can recall entire spreads of images that were just red and blue. He has continued shooting, using color in amazing ways. The red and blue together vibrate because it’s difficult for your eyes to focus on both at the same time. Hardly art, the lift truck does get a little zing from the blue background. Lighting helps too. Being from Detroit can have an effect on things besides cars. As always I am interested in your thoughts.
They look kinda like gears, but I’m not really sure what they are. They do look like Detroit! My job is not to use them, it’s to make them look good. Loads of texture from the rust. The color of the rust also compliments the color of the gears. Ordinarily, rust is the enemy, but in this case it provides contrast in texture. As ever, I am interested in your thoughts and comments.
As I said before, I mostly shoot products and things. When I had the opportunity to shoot the Renaissance Center security officers, I jumped it. Location Photography requires thinking on your feet, and going with the flow. Working around the things that you cannot change, and working with the things that you can. I had phenomenal cooperation from everyone on the shoot day. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.
Shooting beautiful, shiny automotive parts is a perk of working and living in metro Detroit. Sure the area has it’s problems, a cyclical economy, the city is bankrupt... Still, if you like cars it’s the place to be. This wheel is formed in three parts to create a strong, light and attractive racing wheel, and it’s made right here in metro Detroit. As always, I am interested in you comments.
I like nothing more than the challenge of making an automotive part look like an art object. To reveal the intrinsic beauty in the little connector that connects three tubes. It’s not important what it does - well, it is to my clients. I think the beauty is too. Happy New Year!
Self driving cars? In a few years, maybe ten. But now, there are self driving lift trucks! Bristling with redundant safeguards, these trucks will take a load of pallets and drop them in a specific spot in a warehouse, then return. In giant warehouses, it’s a pretty good trick! I got to shoot it in the studio. As ever, I am interested in your thoughts.
I recently was shooting artwork of Dennis Wojtkiewicz and I was inspired to try something similar. His paintings are frankly better than what I have done here (and worth a look), but it was a lot of fun and these aren’t that bad. There is an additional photo on the Studio blog. As always I am interested in your thoughts.
Shooting industrial product photography is often challenging. In this case the goal was to create an exploded view of all the parts our client makes for this 8 speed transmission. Working from Jim Tocco’s layout we shot all of the parts with the proper perspective, angle and lighting, then assembled them later in Photoshop. As always I am interested in your comments.
Unexpected things are a constant when shooting on location. Some of those things are good, or great, but, there are also the unwelcome surprises too. The trick is to roll with the moment. Accept the positive, and roll the not so positive things over to the positive side. As it happens, this shoot went quite smoothly. I am always interested in your thoughts.
We’re coming into the wedding season. I don’t shoot weddings, but I do shoot rings. My friend Richard makes jewelry in his Birmingham, MI shop. He’s advertising engagement rings and needed some photos. The challenge with stones is multifaceted. (sorry) When you look at them in a shop, you move it around and it sparkles as the light bounces around inside the stone. Little points of light winking in and out of existence. When you shoot it however, you only get one angle! It’s possible to light it so it sparkles, but sparkle is a relative thing. Nothing is winking in and out of existence. As always I’d be interested in and comments.
I don’t photograph people often, but I enjoy it when I do. There are lots more balls to keep in the air. When shooting product, you can methodically move forward till you have what you want. With people, everything is always changing – especially with groups. It’s much easier with good models, so I try to have a casting session to see what they are like in front of a camera. As alway, I am interested in your thoughts.
Sometimes, all that is required is a simple honest portrayal of a product - one light well placed, simple background and a clean product. Actually, I often say that cleaning the product is responsible for 50% or more of your success shooting products. Of course, while not complex, it is not as simple as it looks. As always,I am interested in your thoughts.
My job is to find out what my clients want to say, and then figure out how to say it best. It’s shocking to me how many (direct) clients don’t understand this. When you write a paper, an email, a blog post, a book or anything really, it’s important to know what you are trying to say before you start. A thesis statement or an outline, even if it’s just in your head, is imperative if your writing is to be clear. Photography is no different! It’s just a visual language. PPG wanted a photograph to illustrate (say) that their new pigment is better. Which side do you prefer? As always, I am interested in your thoughts.
There are few things I like better than shooting product in the studio. From cars to vodka, it’s just a gas. Every product has it’s challenges. This lift truck has mat black next to shiny red paint and black interior trim. Fortunately, the shiny red can be turned into a plus. With a blue background, it really pops. We did tons of shots this day, so there was not time to make everything perfect. Retouching is always necessary, it just a question of how much and where you spend your time. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.
There are details of every day life that must escape our attention. Who wants their head to explode? Plumbing is one of those things, it just works, hopefully. Let alone plumbing parts photography. I had the opportunity to work with a talented designer on a recent shoot. Shaping hoses to make pleasing contours. Controlling reflections to illustrate the part. Loads of fun. Really! Let me know what you think.
It may look like this was shot in a gritty, dimly lit industrial warehouse, but in fact, it was shot in the relative comfort of our studio. I found a floor to shoot at a factory nearby, and stripped that in under the lift truck. I love that photography can portray an alternate reality. In fact, that’s the core of our business, to make things look better than they actually do. In this case, few industrial warehouses with this lift truck would be quite so gritty. These are high-end lift trucks and more likely to be found in a modern commercial warehouse that is clean and well lit. I like the tough gritty feel though, as it does communicate that it’s a durable, well built machine. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.
It takes a lot of parts to make a car and some of them are pretty small. The smallest of the parts above - seals for electrical connectors - is about a 1/2 long. Water and air add up to corrosion and failure, and these little guys keep it out. Photographing small products can be difficult because the parts are often displayed larger than they are in reality. For products that were never meant for display in the first place, making them this big exposes ALL of their flaws. It’s fun to photograph cars, but it’s fun to shoot the tiny little car parts that make them too. As always, I'm interested in your thoughts.
Most automotive parts are destined never to be visible. You can only see a battery if you pop the hood. While many things have changed dramatically in the construction of cars, most batteries are still acid and lead, same as they were 60 years ago. A123 Systems is making a lithium car battery for cars that use a “start-stop system” – mostly in cars overseas. We needed to show that this is not an ordinary battery, and showing the inside seems to do the trick. As always, let me know what you think.
While it may be true that you cannot live on bread alone, Zingermans' bread
comes pretty close. I did not have to go to Ann Arbor to buy it, my local grocery store carries it. It is the best bread I've ever had, so it seemed a good subject for this still life. I thoroughly enjoy shooting rich low-key pictures. The fig jam is a nice extra element. As always let me know that you think.