A New Neighbor

Just a mile or so east of Venice beach, you’ll find a rapidly changing community that is starting to attract some very fun creative’s.  After walking many mornings to my local coffee shop, past the homemade soaps place, along Venice Blvd, I would always pass an empty store front with the hope that something fun would fill the gap.  Before long Earl’s Gourmet Grub filled the space and the community received exactly what I had hoped for.   Not only do they offer amazing sandwiches and spectacular hard to find goodies, the architecture is absolutely captivating.  Seriously, just try walking by and not looking in.  In a community that is full of new crepes restaurants and an amazing farmers market, Earl’s Gourmet Grub is helping to make my neighborhood grow.  The amount of creative liberty that I found in my new local spot was a perfect balance next to the tattoo parlor and custom bike shop, radical and energetic.  Designed by Freeland Buck Architects, Earl’s is receiving alls sorts of attention and I’m extremely excited to see grow.  Btw, the same owners started another new business down the way, recording studio/art gallery.  I love living here!

We Are Where We Live

Our homes tend to reflect something about our personality.  Have you ever taken a moment to look around your home and ask yourself “What does this say about me?”  Not just the pictures on the walls but those little things that communicate our habits, our emotions, and bring us happiness on a daily basis.  I have to say that it is a very unique perspective seeing a home through the eyes of a photographer.  We are welcomed into someone’s sanctuary and in a way have the responsibility to tell a visual story about a person.  If done correctly, the connection between the designer, the home, and the homeowner should be communicated in every shot.  This is how I see photographing homes.  The more I know about the homeowner, the better. It is for that reason that I always try to spend the time to get to know whose space I am photographing. As for this home, I could tell you several things about the homeowner from the beginning. First, she’s truly one of a kind and I mean that quite literally.  She’s highly vibrant in every facet of her life, has a strong and well-rounded love for many types cultures, and the single most important thing to her is welcoming her friends and loved ones into her home to stay for the weekend.  What a nice side of people to see, eh?

Movie Studio Fun

Imagine working on a project where you literally have every single thing you could ask for at your fingertips, the project is super unique and exciting, and you receive an overwhelming amount of support from everyone around. Now imagine yourself in a hallway with a series of doors. Open stage door 10 and you might find yourself inside of West Beverly High.  Open stage door 15 and you’ll be on the set of CSI Miami.  Maybe door 19 will take you to the rooms where they make fake body parts.  Then there was the “movie set” stages that I can’t talk about until it’s released.  Working with Farm Advertising to update the studios portfolio, I think this may have been one of the most exciting shoots of my life.  We didn’t work, we played, and the studios rolled out the red carpet.  Need a model, “Here’s three.” Want to go up 50 ft, “Choose a boom lift.”  Don’t like that wall there, “It’s gone!”  Ha ha, this was such a blast!  Three days photographing behind the scenes, filming going on all around us, watching the Hollywood magic in action, talk about a kid in a candy store!  I may have been even a bit gitty.

FORM Magazine, February 2010

Angeleno Magazine, March 2010

Featured in Interior Design Design Wire

http://www.interiordesign.net/article/CA6719907.html?nid=2068

Serene Scene

As the sun rises and the chill in the air slowly turns away, dappled light begins run through the trees and spreads across the landscape.  Somewhere (outdoor speakers) a violin begins to play and is soon followed by an entire orchestra, setting the mood through campus.  Behind me fountains start to flow as the walkways soon fill with laughter, smiles, and suntans.  Eagles, seriously, bald eagles (possibly hawks) soar through the winds above and I can see islands in the distance.  EVERY direction looks like heaven and this Malibu, hill top, ocean front setting somewhat supports that.  Lush, lively, and completely serene, this university campus is a very unique result of a very strong design.  This place should be on tv.

BTW, architect David Leckie of HOK Architects cleaned the back of every single seat in the auditorium.  I’ve never seen such a thing.  He’s superman.

In Boom Lift Above “New York Street” Set

A Tranquil Monday?

If I may, please imagine coming back from your New Years weekend. Leaving the joy and vacation time behind you, it’s time to hold to those resolutions and get back to work in that stuffy office of yours.  Back to deadlines, goal setting, and co workers.  Then, lunch comes around, your co worker grabs the last cookie in the office lunch room, you start to loose it, and you reach for the door to get a breath of fresh air.  Well, if you happen to be working at The Point building in Burbank, CA, you would be stepping out into this park designed by Katherine Spitz Associates.  Serving as an extension of the office environment, this tranquil park brings a peaceful contrast to an otherwise stressful day of doing business.  Wish I had a park like this off my office.  Some day Katie!

Urban Photography Interviews Lawrence Anderson

Read the whole story here! http://www.urban-photography-art.com/architecture-photography-anderson.html

Mountains of Glass

Searching for views that communicate a design intent can often be quite consuming.  Sometimes, the quickest way to find a great shot is to slow down, breathe, and simply listen.  Occasionally, there are times that encourage this slow down.  While photographing the new Shadow Hills High School in Indio, CA designed by Ruhnau Ruhnau Clarke, I came across one of those times.  With 115 degree heat, a zero wind factor, and sweat streaming through my eyes, I was constantly stopping to clear my vision.  This inevitable slow down gave me time to better appreciate the landscape of the project and led me to finding this shot.  Three rooftops up, atop the school gymnasium, I noticed a relationship between the skylights and the mountain range that I couldn’t pass up.  While this was not one of the planned shots, this view spoke loud and clear to me, be it through stinging eyes full of sweat and tears.  Here are some other perspectives from this very large, hot, high school shoot.

Orange County Business Journal 11/08

Cover of Environmental Design + Construction 10/08

Good Design

Ever go into a building and you hear that little voice?  The one that says “This is only going to get better.”  That’s the feeling I had when I arrived at 1320 North Detroit Ave. designed by Predock_Frane Architects.  This space was an exciting experience.  From what I can remember, I was intrigued by the front facade, but as soon as I hit the courtyard, I just took off!  I could practically taste the shots.  I opened my eyes just a little wider and climbed up and down the steel staircases floating above the bamboo garden.  With the vision of a dusk shot from the street already gathered, and about 10 angles in the courtyard that hit me instantly, I moved on to the interiors.  With natural light flowing through and connecting every space, open walls, and skylights looking down on me, I wasn’t disappointed.  Well done Predock_Frane!

Toy Bus

How many of you had a toy bus when you were a kid?  I did.  I had an entire set!  Somehow, seeing this huge blue machine balancing in mid air, reminded me of my toy bus.  For this shot, with my eye leading me through and around the room searching for that connection, I also had watch for work holes below me and entering buses……..behind me I think.  I have to say though, I think the most fun part was standing underneath the bus.  I think I lifted it a little.  So, do you see it?  Do you see a toy bus?  I hope so!!!

Heat Rises

If there’s one person you can’t complain to about heat, its a fire fighter. Even when shooting the new Fire Fighter Training Facility in Visalia, CA, in 115 degree weather, with natural fires starting up all around town, (HAHAHAHA) well, we jumped in two feet first. Turnouts on and 250+ degree rooms waiting, this was one hell of an interior shoot! The walls were all rigged with propane and the experience of the space helps fire fighters work through the anxiety of a real fire situation. In many ways, this building can help save lives. Hopefully, my images will accurately show the value of this type of training facility and assist in obtaining funding to build more of them. More cities with burning buildings that is.

Dwell On It

LOHA hired me to shoot their new project Formosa 1140 in West Hollywood sunny California.  When I shoot very unique projects of this type, I’m constantly reminded of the architect’s relationship with their designs.  On this shoot, Lorcan O’Herlihy told me early on, “The trick behind photographing this building is to get the ambient lighting just right so that the colors stand out from each other.”  Boy was he right, and once I realized this, I knew how to capture this project.  The dusk shot from the street isn’t featured in the online Dwell, but I’ve included it here.  Thanks for the tip Lorcan!

Lose The Door, I Want More

Today, Brad Galles (Farm Advertising) and I decided to take a sexy red helicopter all over the downtown L.A. skyline to get the right shot.  The client had initially suggested a view from the ATT building, but where’s the rush in that?  I rented a gyro from Samy’s Camera and a Nikon D3X for it’s high ISO capability.  The gyro helped stabilize the camera, but we really didn’t need it as the flight wasn’t very bumpy. When I asked the pilot how close we could get to anything, he always answered “How close do you want?” The entire time we were up in the air, only a little seat belt held me in.  No harness, no cable, just this little rinky-dink belt.  HAHA, I loved it!  Here’s the url for the pilot.  http://www.celebheli.com/

My Favorite People

Firefighters are simply my favorite people, period. They’re real modern day heroes? In my experience of working with firefighters while photographing their stations, I am fortunate to see another side to them that transcends anything I have experienced. While most people think of firefighters as heros, giving-of-them selves, and willing to sacrifice their lives to save another.  I’ll tell you, it is their character that is the firefighter’s true essence.  The character that our U.S. firefighters possess is simply astounding.  

Champagne and Cigarettes

While shooting the EVO Building in downtown Los Angeles, I found a perspective that seemed very strong. The only problem was it was floors up, in a commercial parking lot, basically mid air, lingering liability all the way.  Since there was a short lead time for our shoot, the property manager was already irritated with the short notice, and we had to convince another contractor on site to loan us his scissor lift, this was an interesting challenge.  I had to convince a parking lot attendant to allow us to place a scissor lift in his space and get the shots within ten minutes of our introduction.  With a respectful approach, an humble attitude, a couple packs of cigarettes, and a bottle of champagne we were able to proceed with our shoot.  Phew…….I love short notice.

Fire! Fire!

Okay talk about one of the most exciting shoots of my life.  This is the Riverside Emergency Operation Center designed by RRM Design Group.  The facility not only serves as a central hub for the county in times of disaster, but also as a training center to all those who save our lives every day.  My job was to communicate the experience of the design provided by my client, and to promote this facility that better prepares us in times of disaster. In addition to the operations rooms with large screens and computers, this EOC featured a full Burn House and Burn Car.  With a flick of a switch we have fire.  While this was a very valuable learning tool for the fire fighters, it also made for an exciting project for us to document.  These are real 40 ft. flames, no Photoshop required.

Disneyland!!!!!!!!

What does every child dream about?  Full and unrestricted access to Disneyland!  The New York Times called me to  photograph the new “Home of The Future” exhibit at Disneyland and with all professionalism aside, I jumped at this shoot.  I love Disneyland and I’ll always be young at heart.  To top it off, at the end of our shoot, I received free Disneyland Ice Cream!

Dad, Can I Borrow The Car?

This is the Crevier Classic Car Club in Irvine, California.  I don’t even know where to begin with all the stories that occurred on our shoot this evening, however, I can tell you that my assistant Lorie was driven around in a bright yellow Lamborghini Diablo while rearranging our props!   I asked if I could take just one care home.  They told me no.  :(

Granada Theater, Above It All

The second shot on this blog is one many see by simply purchasing a ticket to a performance at the Granada Theater in Santa Barbara, CA. What many do not see is in the first shot, the grid that sits above the stage, and supports everything hoisted above each performance. By strapping a line to five of the steel rods, one can suspend 1 ton of weight. Hopping around with my union escort between gaps that I could have easily fallen through, I felt privliged to take part in this shoot.  Seven floors up, 6-12 inch gaps every step, this was a special site to see and the engineering involved in this space was………awesome. I loved taking this shot!

All Tongue

On a recent shoot to Portland, OR, I visited my old college friend Chris Lang.  After she picked me up from the airport, we went back to her home and prepared to go out for dinner that evening.  While waiting for her to get ready for dinner, her cat decided to introduce himself.  It was at that point that I discovered his rare condition, his tongue was apparently longer than he could fit into his mouth, resulting in this look which to this day can not keep me from laughing.  I just think it’s the funniest thing ever!  I can’t get over it!  I just find it so funny!

Who Visits The Library???

So, who goes to the library now a days you ask?  While shooting this project, my assistant and I observed a local prostitute soliciting in the area.  She was picked up by a “John” on his BMX bicycle. While composing my shot, we listened as the “John”  attempted to talk her down in price and fought with her over payment up front.  The couple circled in front of us a few times, her riding on his handle bars, until eventually the transaction ended due to the John’s unwillingness to produce payment up front. Despite additional harassment from the local townspeople for our presence in the area, we achieved our shot, and got out of there in a hurry.  Good times!

Lucy Likes Travel Shoots

I couldn’t imagine my life without my dog Lucy.  Thank you Sarah for making this clear to me.  Lucy is part of my every day.  She makes me take take time away from my computer screen and as you can see in these shots, even accompanies us on travel shoots.  For some reason, as an artist, it even seems acceptable to bring her to formal business meetings if you can believe that, I can’t.  In the first shot here you might think I tucked her in.  Nope. We came back from dinner while on a shoot in Napa and found her cuddled under the blankets and nestled in her pillow.  Her technique is to crawl under the covers at one point, then emerge near the pillow, ready nestle in for the long haul.  The second shot is of her and my fiancee riding along in my work van, happy as can be to be included in our shoot.  She even looks fulfilled in this shot, happy not to been left at home or with the dog sitter.  We love her so much.

Call A Fire Man

This firestation serves as the prototype for all the Port of Long Beach fire stations that are to be built in the years to come.  When scouting the project, I felt an overwhelming sense of support from the fire chief that oversees all fire stations in the district.  So, why not ask him for assistance in taking a pivital shot that could better show the context of the station.  With a single request, the chief was able to arrange a ladder truck to take my assistant and I hi above the station in order to get the shot we needed.  Oh, and lets not forget, we got to go up in the ladder of a fire engine ladder truck!!!!!!!!!!!!  I LOVE MY JOB.

View From Tower Bridge

High above London, this is the view from Tower Bridge, also known as the London Bridge. During our downtime from our shoots, we often spend time seeing sites such as this one. On the bottom right of the frame is where the Crown Jewels are stored.  Pretty amazing for me to experience such a wealth of history. I’m truly grateful.  The panoramic was fun to make.  This image was comprised of several shots stitched together, taken from my point and shoot pocket camera. 

Man’s Best Friend

This week I photographed Habitat 825 in West Hollywood, CA.  One of my favorite things about West Hollywood is the street life, most specifically all the walkers and runners often taking along their doggy companions.  Usually these couples are willing to stand in for our shots and today was no exception.  Given the location of this project, I thought incorporating mans best friend was the way to go.  I ended up photographing about 16 dogs that were simply out on their daily walks, happy to take part. I was happy to make some new doggy friends and we all had a great day.

We Adopted A Doggy

Sarah and I adopted a dog today.  She’s straight out of South Central!  The South Central Animal Shelter that is.  Apparently her previous owners tied her up and then turned her in for escaping all the time. How does that make sense?  She’s part Boston Terrier and part Whippet.  I can’t wait to get to know her better!  Here she is on a shoot with us in Arroyo Grande.

Frrrrreezing

One day I received a call from the advertising agency for Ritz Carlton Hotels.  They were putting up a new hotel in Vail, CO and needed an elevated perspective shot  that captured a full 360 degree panoramic of what would be the roof top view of the hotel.  The goal was to capture the image with snow, but not snowing, and we had a strict deadline.  Easy right?  No.  After much planning and several postponements due to weather, we flew into Vail on a snowy day, hired a 60 ft. boom lift, shot in -8 degree weather the next day with perfectly clear skies and fresh snow, held my camera close to my heart to keep it warm, then played a few days in a heavy blizzard.  The timing was difficult, but we got our shot, met the deadline, and even had time to play.  I have the best job ever!  It just takes a little planning and research.

Sand Stone Sculptures

While traveling between shoots, we stopped off to visit one of the most photographed natural wonders in the U.S., Antelope Canyon.  These sandstone caverns were astounding, and the rough off road trek to the site added to our adventure.  Traveling through this passage way a photographer could easily go shutter crazy.  I spend some time taking shots of what interested me, however, the majority of my time was spent in awe over the glory and beauty of this very special place.  I highly recommend traveling to see it.

Stop Working And Love Me

Sometimes after taking a short break from the computer, I return to my chair only to find my cat Strummer, unwilling to relinquish his position in my seat, and asking for a little attention before doing so. I can’t blame him, we have a special bond that an alley cat can only develop with someone over several years.  When I work too much, he lets me know, and it helps keep me grounded.  He’s the best cat ever.

Bus My Ass

To make a long story short, I ended up having to get 30 large scale busses moved in less than 30 minutes, and have two cars towed, in order to get this shot.  Despite all my planning, all the time I spent introducing myself to everyone on site the day prior, all the guarantees I was given by the local bus workers that everything would be ready when I returned, not a single thing was done when I arrived on set, probably my 8th trip there that day.  The transit workers suggested I just come back another day.  This shot was back breaking to get.  In the end, I would up with a new long term client, HOK Architects.

Arizona Sky

On a recent trip through Arizona, Sarah and I had to pull the car over one warm August night to bask in the beauty of the local star filled sky.  It was quite romantic and the number of shooting stars we saw that night couldn’t be counted.  Nothing like this exists in Los Angeles.  This isn’t even a long exposure, this is exactly what the sky looked like that night and it was amazing.  I wanna go back.

Stone Buildings

While traveling back to WI to see Sarah’s family, we stopped in Monument Valley and spent the day.  I don’t even know where to begin describing this place.  No photograph can tell the true majesty we experienced.  It was as if we went back in time to a more spiritual place.  Nothing for miles but these amazing monoliths.  Native americans filled the local towns, breath taking landscapes we both knew but have never experienced, and majestic sunsets ending our days. It was wonderful.

Down Time, Monterey

We traveled to Monterey this week to photograph the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula for HOK Architects.  On our prep day proceeding our shoot, we finished up early and had the opportunity to see some of the local sites.  What a beautiful town.  I can’t wait to go back.  This shots is from the local aquarium, well known as a special place to visit while in Monterey.  

London Sites

I visited London for the very first time this year.  What an amazing city.  I personally believe the natural lighting is so amazing in London that the local photographers could probably shoot blindfolded and obtain amazing shots every time.  While these shots do not show that spectacular lighting around the city, and the amazing historic architecture you see around every street corner, they do show some of my favorite views in all of London. One is an amazing Carousel we stumbled upon late one night, and the other is a slide tube in the Tate Modern Museum, one of the most amazing museums I’ve seen in all the world.  I’ve already fallen in love with this city.

I Could Have Used A Boat

This shoot was my first documentation of the work by architect Santiago Calatrava.    He seems to transcend all others and is to date my favorite designer.  His designs are purely art and I felt prevlidged when I discovered his first brigde in the U.S. was in my home state. At that point, I immediately took flight to Redding, CA to interpret the project through my own vision. Apparently my vision that day was calling for me to go chin deep in the freezing Sacramento river to get this shot.  Just above the chilly water laid my camera, my new carbon fibre tripod five feet deep submerged. I dealt with the misquote bites quite well, waiting in the chilly water for the right light was beyond refreshing, but when the shots came out as I had planned, it was all worth it.