Gold and Silver Wristwatch - Detail

(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 (yes, I know, it’s a watch, but you get the point) as it rotates  is a bit of a challenge. It means lighting that doesn’t burn out, or reflect me, my camera or the studio. This recent assignment meant shooting more than a hundred of them, and well, let’s just say it was work. (On the upside of this, I’m still in shock that I now have a remarkable 10,000 square foot studio and this shoot was almost a relaxing event. Really. More details on the new studio to come…)

In the end, the client was gracious and loved the results.

And me? I loved every minute of it.

D.A.

P.S. Hat’s off to Jim Galvin and Jim Anders for their help – above and beyond the call of duty. You guys are my heroes.

Lighting Services, Inc's LumeLEX 2000 Series - Blue Hero

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 lighting effects, as requested by the client, were fun to do. It brought me back in time…

Now, I’m trying to figure out where I can fit a few dozens of these in my place. The electric bills are killing me.

C.J. Pascoe’s Sandusky, Ohio photography studio in the late 1800s

Light

Before 1880 being a photographer entailed a fair amount of knowledge in chemistry, science and physics in order to make a camera, mix up a batch of emulsion (film), and develop and print the photos. Light was almost exclusively relegated to the great outdoors and those privileged enough for studios with oversized windows and skylights. The alternative was controlled explosives. Still life photography was mostly a daylight hours event. (Hey, I’m a still life guy, so this is my take on it.)

And although Humphry Davy invented the very first documented light bulb around 1800 and Englishman Sir Joseph Swan invented and patented the first incandescent light bulb in 1878, it wasn’t until 1880 that Thomas Edison developed his light bulb with a brighter, longer lasting filament. Even today, one hundred and thirty years later, we still use that basic design (fluorescents, however, are taking over). Edison’s light bulb and his concept of an integrated system of underground distribution of electric light into private houses made his invention successful, starting with Pearl Street in New York City in 1882.

Photography

Coincidentally in 1880, George Eastman of Kodak fame, introduced his first “dry plates,” a precursor to ready-to-use roll film and the hand held, pre-loaded Kodak camera (originally with 100 exposures!), which eventually made photography available to the masses, lessening the amount of technical knowledge necessary to take photographs to nearly zero. You bought the Kodak camera. You took your photographs. You sent it back to Kodak for developing and prints. (Oh, the horror! Now everyone can do it.)

Convergence

It was at this point in time that amateur photography started to evolve into a nerdy hobby, eventually transforming basements and bathrooms around the world into darkrooms for developing and printing everything from family portraits to pornography. Some of these amateurs became notable professionals, like Count Sergei Lvovich Levitsky (the Annie Leibovitz of his day), introduced in my last posting.This convergence of these inventions eventually led to the widespread use of controlled artificial lighting in professional photography and the emergence of the motion picture industry.

Note: I’m skipping over my personal hero, Harold (Doc) Edgerton (with all due respect), the inventor of the modern pulsed xenon strobe, because that’s a different story involving M.I.T.

Anyway, this history lesson is now over.

But on a personal note, what is all this griping about digital cameras, Photoshop and computers making it easy to be a photographer? It makes it easy to take pictures.

Being a photographer? Now, that’s hard.

Embrace change.

C.J. Pascoe’s Sandusky, Ohio photography studio in the late 1800s

Light

Before 1880 being a photographer entailed a fair amount of knowledge in chemistry, science and physics in order to make a camera, mix up a batch of emulsion (film), and develop and print the photos. Light was almost exclusively relegated to the great outdoors and those privileged enough for studios with oversized windows and skylights. The alternative was controlled explosives. Still life photography was mostly a daylight hours event. (Hey, I’m a still life guy, so this is my take on it.)

And although Humphry Davy invented the very first documented light bulb around 1800 and Englishman Sir Joseph Swan invented and patented the first incandescent light bulb in 1878, it wasn’t until 1880 that Thomas Edison developed his light bulb with a brighter, longer lasting filament. Even today, one hundred and thirty years later, we still use that basic design (fluorescents, however, are taking over). Edison’s light bulb and his concept of an integrated system of underground distribution of electric light into private houses made his invention successful, starting with Pearl Street in New York City in 1882.

Photography

Coincidentally in 1880, George Eastman of Kodak fame, introduced his first “dry plates,” a precursor to ready-to-use roll film and the hand held, pre-loaded Kodak camera (originally with 100 exposures!), which eventually made photography available to the masses, lessening the amount of technical knowledge necessary to take photographs to nearly zero. You bought the Kodak camera. You took your photographs. You sent it back to Kodak for developing and prints. (Oh, the horror! Now everyone can do it.)

Convergence

It was at this point in time that amateur photography started to evolve into a nerdy hobby, eventually transforming basements and bathrooms around the world into darkrooms for developing and printing everything from family portraits to pornography. Some of these amateurs became notable professionals, like Count Sergei Lvovich Levitsky (the Annie Leibovitz of his day), introduced in my last posting.This convergence of these inventions eventually led to the widespread use of controlled artificial lighting in professional photography and the emergence of the motion picture industry.

Note: I’m skipping over my personal hero, Harold (Doc) Edgerton (with all due respect), the inventor of the modern pulsed xenon strobe, because that’s a different story involving M.I.T.

Anyway, this history lesson is now over.

But on a personal note, what is all this griping about digital cameras, Photoshop and computers making it easy to be a photographer? It makes it easy to take pictures.

Being a photographer? Now, that’s hard.

Embrace change.

Detail of Heat Sink, Lighting Services' LumeLEX 2024 - Winner, Next Generation Luminaires Design Competition

Just a few weeks ago, a U.S. Department of Energy panel of 14 judges from the architectural community handed out one of their coveted Next Generation Luminaires Design Competition Awards for Excellence in Lighting Design and Application to my long-time client, Lighting Services, Inc., for their architecturally beautiful, modular, and very green, LED spotlight.

As a privately held company, LSI never sits on their laurels – they’re always up against the big boys. I can relate to that. LSI’s fixtures hang in museums and institutions all over the world and this is just one of the many awards they have won. They are always developing new designs and incorporating new technologies, while practicing sustainability. They are serious about protecting our environment and work hard at it.

I’m proud to have LSI as a long time client, trusting me to photograph their products.

Now, if only I can figure out how NYC recycling works.