The 2010 Hasselblad Masters, which, at some point later on, became the 2012 Hasselblad Masters because someone decided, midway through the competition, that the competition should take place every two years instead of annually, is finally over. I was competing against a field of highly talented shooters from around the world and I was certainly [...]
Author Archives: D.A. Wagner
The New Studio and Free Bread
Full of daylight if I want it, or downstairs on the first floor if I don’t, the huge new 10,000 square foot studio has nooks and crannies, floor to ceiling windows, natural wood floors, an additional 5,000 square feet of basement storage, a 1,500 square foot workshop and I could go on. But I won’t. [...]
Photography as an Entrepreneurial Venture
I just finished a three-and-a-half-week intensive program at SUNY’s Levin Institute called FastTrac NewVenture and boy, am I fried. It was a NYC sponsored class that, “helps entrepreneurs develop their skills needed to start, manage and grow a successful business.” Yes, I’ve been an entrepreneur, but no, I’ve never really made any plans, done much [...]
Shush! It’s a secret…
(I can’t say who the client is, but it has something to do with telling time.) Shooting virtual, 360º objects is one of those skills I honed in another lifetime. I’ve shot 360s of corporate jets, firetrucks, model trains and couches, but never 360s of small, highly reflective (basically mirrors, really) jewelry. And shooting a mirror [...]
More Everyday Items
Funny. I didn’t think this was that interesting the first time around. But now that I look at it again, it fits right in with the Everyday Items theme. Again, no retouching here, just tweaked in Lightroom 3 and a few dust spots removed. D.A.
Everyday Items
There’s something about the dynamic of the negative space and the transparency of these cheap nail brushes that made this work. No retouching here other than to spot it and process it out in Lightroom. As much as I love traveling, I love playing around in the studio.
Cycle or Shoot?
I went to Italy for three weeks to shoot stock and take a little break. The idea was to cycle through Tuscany and Umbria and capture all the scenic backroads, farms, bridges and ancient Roman odds and ends incorporated into medieval buildings or structures that still lay abandoned. No car. So, with Vicki (my significant other) [...]
Making a Hero Out of Something Simple
My client, Lighting Services, Inc. makes simple, elegant track lighting fixtures. And while this doesn’t look like anything revolutionary, it is. It’s green inside, not in color, but as in low energy use LED technology. I loved teasing out the gradient textures and giving shape to the parabolic mirror. Even the 1980s style blue highlights in the [...]
Dolls with Attitude
So to speak, it doesn’t take much to breathe life into dolls after they’ve been undressed. They get strange. Take the clothes off the doll and they take on a life of their own. (And, yes, I know, the color of the heads don’t match their bodies — I’ll fix that in post). These are [...]
Product and Packaging Design from 1958
Since I’m sidetracked right now with teaching my classes, this blog post is dedicated to my design students. It’s the cold war. It’s the year after Sputnik was launched by the Soviets. This 1958 film saluting the stylists of the automotive, industrial, interior and architectural design industry reflects the American obsession with consumerism and the future. It [...]
