University of Colorado Library for H+L Architecture

I recently photographed the Norlin Library at the University of Colorado in Boulder for H+L Architecture.  The university had hired H+L to do an interior redesign of the library and add some additional space. 

Overall it was a pretty typical shoot showing the overall space.  We used people in many of the shots to give a feel for the space being used.  H+L always comes with multiple people to help in coordinating the shots and to stand in as models in the photos.  It is always fun working with them because it is good to see everyone again and to catch up. 

The biggest challenge I had was lighting and color balance in the first shot you see below.  We had multiple lighting sources, which always makes things challenging.  We had the overhead flourescents, skylights, my strobes, and some overhead tungsten lighting.  It made for quite the mix of colors and as you can see the green was especially prevalent.  We also had challenges with placing lights and filling an entirely different room with light, which you can see in the top left of the photo.  Below I have my first test shot of the space and then the final photo.  After that are some of the other shots of the project.

Cornerstar for SEM Architects

We photographed a new retail development southeast of Denver, Cornerstar, for SEM Architects.  It had some great anchor businesses that photographed well and some very well done architecture that sets it apart from other retail locations. 

We went out to the project a total of four times to scout and get all the necessary photos at various times of the day.  Many times we could hang out at the location from dawn until dusk and get all of the photos, but shooting for a 14-16 hour day in the summer gets pretty long.  I prefer to break it up over multiple days if we are not on a tight schedule so that we are fresh each time.  It also allows me to evaluate the pictures that we have taken previously and make sure we have covered everything from a fresh and interesting perspective.

Below is a mix of perspectives on the project.

Photographing a Middle Eastern Market

On the corner near my studio is a Middle Eastern market that I've been wanting to photograph the owner of for awhile as part of our neighborhood series.  In the summer they put out fresh produce everyday that was the perfect backdrop.  For this shoot I decided to focus on getting multiple usable shots rather than just the one that we usually get for our neighborhood series.  This allowed me to have more imagery to offer to my stock agency.  The biggest difference you will see is the lack of having a person motion blurred in the background, since the time needed to do the work would be overwhelming in multiple photos.  It was a smooth shoot and Razza, the owner, was a pleasure to work with.

It was also our first attempt at shooting an educational behind the scenes video, so look for that to come soon.  Video editing is a whole different ballgame than photo editing, so it is taking a little more work than expected this first time around.

Broadmoor Magazine Published

Back in May I did a blog entry on an architecture shoot I did for The Broadmoor, a luxury resort in Colorado Springs (you can view the previous entry here).  The photos were to be used for their in-house magazine that goes in every room.  The magazine was recently published and my photos and the accompanying story were used for the cover and an 8-page spread.  You can see the cover and the opening 2-page spread below.

Photographing Landscape Architecture for Lime Green Design

I was hired by Lime Green Design to photograph five landscape architecture projects that they wanted to feature in their portfolio. The projects consisted of a new condominium develpment in Boulder, a new Aloft Hotel in Broomfield, a roof at the Denver Public Library, a new Arapahoe District library and gardens at The Polo Club in Cherry Creek. Each project was unique and very enjoyable to photograph.

Photographing landscape architecture is quite a bit different than photographing buildings. You tend to get low on some shots and high on others. You get low to put the landscape in the foreground and show the textures. Then you get high, when possible, to show the overall plan that the designer had in mind. I definitely have to go in with a different mind set than I do when photographing a structure.

Here are the different projects with descriptions.

Lime Green designed the public areas between three buildings that make up Landmark, a new condo development in Boulder. It is a very modern complex and the clean lines of the buildings contrasted well with the Lime Green's design.

The Eloise May Library is a new library in the Arapahoe District and was a great project to photograph. Both the building and landscaping did a great job of having a contemporary Colorado feel.

The job below was a pretty impressive landscaping project. They landscaped the top of a parking garage with everything from native flowers to trees. I learned that to create the depth necessary for the trees they build up large mounds of dirt to give the roots space to grow. This project was also my most adventurous to shoot since I got some of the overall project photos from the roof of the 21 story building. There was no protection of any kind and it definitely takes your breath away when you look over the edge to take the photograph.

On the seventh floor of the Denver Public Library, Lime Green designed a "green" balcony. The balcony overlooks downtown Denver and it was one of the smallest projects I have every photographed.

Aloft Hotel is a new concept by W Hotels. It is made for today's professional on the go. The rooms are loft style and breakfast consists of energy bars and coffee. They have a nice outdoor patio that Lime Green did the landscaping around.