The Cloud

For the last couple years we have been collaborating with a client that specializes in data security. After the first time we worked with them I had the idea of creating an image that illustrated the concept of "The Cloud". That place where many of us store our data offsite, hoping that we never really have to access it for the purposes of recovering information.

I imagined the image the first time we collaborated with them but never really found the right image to use as the background. The idea remained in my head for a year until the last time we visited their secure facilities. There it was, a white room that had yet to be filled with server after server. This was what I had been looking for.

I have always been a firm believer in the pre-visualization process. Creating images that you can see in your mind and interpreting them through the camera the same way they looked in your minds eye. I believe that as a commercial photographer that is one of the major reasons our clients come to us and trust us to put their message forward. Yes, sometimes there are happy accidents that happen during the shoot, but as a professional we are contacted and trusted to deliver results in a consistent basis. We relish in finding opportunities that put this skill to practice and although we do this all the time, we really had fun crafting this image that I had envisioned for quite some time.

Some times I am asked about how some of the images are created, so I wanted to share some of the steps we took to bring this image together. I knew I wanted the file to be the largest size possible, so for the background image I used a tilt/shift lens and shot two images that I planned on stitching together. This would give me a final file size larger that what my camera would achieve in a single frame. The video below shows a progression of how the images were combined.
Hope you enjoy it!

If you would like to view the video directly on youtube please follow the link below:
View in Youtube.

Pepperell Mill Images - Website Update

I think most of us are all proud of where we come from, even if there are bigger, better, more glamorous places. That's certainly true for us. We love it here in Biddeford and we feel fortunate to have our studio in the North Dam Mill, a portion of the Pepperell Mill Campus. It's great to see this city growing and truly coming into its own. It's even better knowing that on some small scale we are having a positive effect on its growth.

The History of this mill and this city are as tightly woven as the cloth that came off its looms. We have really enjoyed capturing some of the more interesting spaces from around the mill. These are each a small time capsule, a frozen moment in that timeline of our history.

"Requiem Project" Website Update

The Requiem Project consists of a series of images using Mozart's Requiem as a source of inspiration. It is an introspective interpretation based on the music and lyrics of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's final piece. Each image corresponds to and is named after a specific movement on the composition. Click here to listen to the complete version in D minor on Youtube.

"Beautiful Faces of Cancer" - Website Update

"Beautiful Faces of Cancer" was a project intended to raise awareness about how life with cancer affects all of us. It is a celebration of those who chose not to be governed by this illness. Whether you or a loved one has been diagnosed. It is true that cancer leaves an indelible mark and changes people's outlook on life in a major way. The "Beautiful Faces of Caner" is a conduit for people to tell their story. It is a  compilation of images and voice recordings of individuals who decided to let the rest of us into their lives. Maybe someday, with their help we'll be better able to understand this disease and what it does to people physically and emotionally.

Photographer Irvin Serrano was the mind behind the "Beautiful Faces of Cancer". It was a project that came to life after a close friend was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Since then, Irvin has been in awe of the great inner strength of the people he has met who have stood up to this relentless disease. The worst can have a way of bringing out the best in some of us.This is what this project was all about, showing through images what the beautiful faces of cancer look like.

Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral - Website Update

In an attempt to streamline the site for better focus & navigation, we have decided to shift our personal work section of our website to our blog. We will be making periodic posts for a few weeks to transition all of those images here. If you have already seen these images we hope you will enjoy seeing them again!

These are images that Irvin created on his last trip to Mexico City. He was fortunate to get some great behind-the-scenes access to this amazing cathedral and its massive pipe organ.

Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral

Istanbul

A couple of years ago my girlfriend Melanie and I made a list of places we would like to visit. Traveling to Mexico was pretty much a given since I try to go there as often as possible to visit family. In our first trip we traveled to Mexico and explored Oaxaca and other places around the city. Melanie is a French and Spanish teacher so we thought that it would be interesting to get us both out of our element and travel to a place where neither of us spoke the language. Turkey made it to the top of our list.

Just last month we were able to begin crossing countries off our list by heading to Istanbul. We only had a little over a week to travel so we decided to stick around Istanbul and not try to see too much in a small amount of time. I am happy to report that I am glad we did that. In my travels I had never gone to a place that had a culture that was completely new to me. The places I have visited in the past have always been similar in culture and I could most likely get around speaking Spanish, English or my limited French.

Istanbul captivated me from the moment I got there, the people, smells, architecture and not long after our arrival, the food. The language sounds awesome. I had heard Turkish spoken in my college years while hanging out with my friend Serdar. Unfortunately, any Turkish he taught me could not be used in regular conversation. After a couple days we were able to start deciphering some of the sounds and begin to make out familiar words.

My plan was not to go too crazy with photo gear so decided to take only one camera body and about five lenses to choose from. Each day I would pick one or two lenses and leave the others behind. That worked out great given that we were walking almost everywhere we went. Took a couple tilt/shift lenses to shoot architecture, a couple of prime lenses and my trusty 24-70mm. There were two things I wanted to primarily shoot, the first one being general shots of the culture and life. Secondly, I wanted to shoot a series of time-lapse videos whenever possible. Here you will see a rough version of one of those time-lapse videos.

It was a great trip and would recommend experiencing Istanbul to anybody. The people are great and for those of you wondering, yes, we felt safe all the time. A friend predicted we would come home with a rug…we did. Those guys selling rugs are good I tell you…good! Car sales people should learn from them. The guy we got our rug from was very nice and genuine when compared to some of the other salesmen we had encountered. A couple of days after we bought the rug he spent some time with us and gave us a lesson in backgammon while drinking tea and puffing on a nargile (hookah). Tried a couple local delicacies out of our comfort zone, drank some Raki and realized in a short period of time that someday we would want to visit Istanbul again. Oh and by the way, I am now addicted to Turkish coffee.