This was my second photo shoot with Alexis Johnson, who is running for U.S. Congress for District 3 of Santa Fe, New Mexico. For our first shoot we a little pressed for time, so I was very glad she had more time for this shoot done right in Cathedral Park in the heart of Santa Fe. This extra time allowed me to really find the best backgrounds in the park, which were still important to get right even though as you can see they are out of focus in both shots. The bokeh (out of focus background) quality is still very much dependent on what is being made out of focus. So purposefully choosing where Alexis stood for the above photo with a tree being hit by the sun resulted in that great, bright bokeh behind her.
This is my third commercial photography shoot with Amity. A Hair Place in Albuquerque, New Mexico (first shoot, second shoot). Today’s shoot was to focus on the redesigned interior of the Nob Hill located hair salon, however, I ended up getting an action shot and a few commercial portraits of owner Felicia as well! Felicia is my photography client, but I am also a client of hers, for my haircuts! So I can recommend her from first hand (hair) experience and Amity itself as a very cool, and relaxed space to get a haircut in, not like impersonal, noisy chain salons.
I had the opportunity to present the story of how I became a professional photographer at 1 Million Cups this week here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was a chance for me to really think about what was the start of my path to becoming a professional photographer. I realized it began back in 2001, on a trip to Thailand and Cambodia. I invite you to watch the video below to hear the full story. I begin presenting just a couple minutes into the video.
From the ground, it was impossible to get an idea of what a rural land real estate property looked like due to near complete tree cover. I was out for a new rural land real estate client near the small town of Sedillo, in the east mountains area of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I took what photos I could from the ground with my Sony a7R IV, and was amazed what a difference 100 feet makes when my new drone, a DJI Mavic 2 Pro, went way up above the treelike and revealed hills, mountains, and a brilliant setting sun. This is the value drone video provides in compliment to the still photos I make from the ground, especially for rural land real estate. This is my cut of the video focusing on just the mountains and the sunset.
Stylistic Commercial Real Estate Photography in Albuquerque
Looking for a new place to live in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico? Opening soon are the Zocalo Lofts right on the corner of 4th & Coal. I was hired to make interior and exterior photographs to highlight the lifestyle of living in this new construction building. I used a variety of techniques to capture these three images. The top is using a long exposure to make light trails out of the tasing headlights and taillights to add a dramatic style to the building exterior shot. Then for the gym photo, I used the absolute best interior technique there is, flambient. Finally, the lobby photo was made with a realistic HDR processing.
I tell my photography students that for something to be a photograph (and not merely a snapshot), you have to show the viewer something that cannot be seen standing there with the naked eye at eye level. There are many ways to accomplish this, one of which is to use a very shallow DoF (depth of field). For the first time, I own a f/1.4 lens, the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART lens that I bought to pair with my new Sony a7R IV mirrorless camera just to be able to create shots like the one above. Because the DoF is so shallow, an ordinary tree branch,, helped by the colors of autumn and warm golden light, looks like an alien world. You cannot see that just by standing there and looking at it. Therefore, the photo shows something different that can attract the eye of the viewer.
Driving back from a long afternoon of rural land real estate photography and drone flying down the very scenic Bluewater Road, with the interstate nearly in sight, these pale horses caught the corner of my eye. I have an axiom that a real photographer never passes up a chance to get a shot. So even though I was tired and had a long 2-hour drive still ahead of me to get home, I pulled my Jeep over and went back into my camera bag to take out the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master lens to make a few photos of these horses. I approached slowly, as I always do to animals to let them know I am a friend and just want to share space with them for a moment. The horse in the top photo seemed to understand this as it obliged me by lifting its head up so I could get the shot you see.
