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We enjoyed a tour of the new building, as well as their generous hospitality on the day of the photo shoot. Everyone was very gracious. You can see more Hubbell photographs on the Commercial Interior Photographer section of our web site.
Also this month, I was able to attend the annual convention for Decorating Den Interiors. It was held in Nashville, TN. My first trip there, and there was entirely too much to see and no time to see it. I shall return. I stayed in this absolutely cool place, one of those extended stay deals but they will also let you have a room for just a night. It was the Crestwood Suites in Madison. Hats off to them for a really clean and very secure place, plus they were just as friendly and helpful as could be. Every year, franchise owners enter a competition which is judged by some of the most respected home magazine editors in the industry. This year there were two separate judging's and included 30 or so editors from various Meredith Corporation magazines. I was text-messaging Jeff in the dark during the awards ceremony to tell him that our images were being flashed up on a big screen as one designer we photographed for took home 1st Place in the "Home Office" category and 2nd Place in the "Family Room" category, and another walked away with 1st Place in the "Children's Room" category and also with 1st Runner Up Decorator of the Year. It was a terrifically exciting moment.
We photographed for a truly gifted interior designer in North Carolina this month. Her homes are always great to photograph. Jeff says the rooms just about photograph themselves. It's the third time we have worked with her and as always, we came away with great images that had little to do with us and mostly to do with her talents. We have such great clients and they all have become people we genuinely care about, not just someone we do work for. That's been the best part about our business, from my personal perspective. Some of the designers we photograph for were actually friends before we ever got into the photography business. Back when we worked for a furniture manufacturer, I talked with many of them on the phone at least once a week...but never met them. Now, I hardly ever get to talk to them but we've met many of them and had great fun working with them. Life is just funny that way. Incidentally, if you're interested at all in our days in the furniture industry, you can see some of those images here. And that will also show you how far we've come in developing our web site. Jeff does all our web site work himself.
go. It's a beautiful drive to get there and a very charming place once you do arrive. Anyway, we did appreciate the good folks at High Country Furniture having us up for the day. We also photographed the interior of a store downtown and I thought that Jeff did an excellent job of it. Sometimes a photographer just does not have the luxury of being unhurried and relaxed. Sometimes there are too many things going on around him and he has to try to shut us out (because he can't shut us up!), and perform under the most adverse conditions. That's when you see what he's made of. If he can pull it off and get the image he came for despite all the distractions, he's not only good but the best.
JULY 2007:
This has been one of those months so far...it seems like every single thing on our schedule has had to be rearranged at least once. I think my mother has said "Everything happens for a reason" about 20 times so far, and the month isn't over yet. But everything does seem to happen for a reason. We're going a bit more commercial this month with a photo shoot involving heavy machinery and some industrial products. Not as visually gratifying as the lovely home interiors we're used to, you say? Oh but it is! That's the wonder of photography...through the creative eye of the photographer even a lint roller can become a visually stimulating image. But before this month is over, we will have more interior images to add to the web site.
We'll be photographing a home in one of the Cliffs Communities next week, and that's always exciting for us because of the incredible vistas there. This is one we took on assignment for a magazine at The Cliffs at Glassy on the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway in Landrum, SC.
We're very pleased to be able to add a few custom home builders to our list of clients this month. Their artistry and craftsmanship is a pleasure to photograph.
We were treated to a spectacular fireworks show on July 4th this year, and naturally Jeff got some incredible photographs. This image was taken on the spur of the moment in a parking lot when a fireworks display that we knew nothing about began. Since we rarely leave home without at least one camera, Jeff was able to hop out of the car and snap away. By the time I got done fumbling around trying to get set up, the fireworks display had come to an end. Need more practice!
JUNE 2007:
What an exciting month for us! We were honored to be chosen by a magazine to photograph the new and very eco-friendly Hubbell Lighting facility in Greenville, SC. This building is just a visual wonderland inside and
out! You can see the exterior of the building on our South Carolina Architectural Photographer page. Much of the lighting inside the building is controlled automatically and adjusts to how much light is coming through windows and also by detecting the presence of a person in the room.
They have extensive testing facilities in their new building just off I-85 in Greenville, SC. Their research encompasses everything from energy-efficiency to the reduction of light pollution...something we personally would appreciate because we would like to be able to see the stars in the night sky once in a while around here.
Above left: One of the learning center rooms where Hubbell visually explains new lighting techniques for the home that conserve energy.
Above right: One of the employee dining areas, a visually relaxing and pleasing area.
Above top: Hallway between lobby and rotunda, with video display panels, awards display and actual working bulbs that were the forerunners of the household bulb of today.
MAY 2007
We were treated to southern hospitality at its best on our trip to Florida to photograph for three interior designers. Our first stop was Orlando. From our hotel window at night we watched while people with no sense whatsoever at all pay a ridiculous amount of money to ride a crazy bungee thing that shot them somewhere around 200 feet into the air, bounced them up and down three times and then reeled them back to earth. We visited The George & Dragon restaurant and pub where we were the only patrons without a
distinct British accent. Good food, really nice people. We didn't realize it, but Orlando it seems is sort of a Mecca for our friends from England. All of the homes were beautiful and our clients were just the best and made our job seem a lot more like fun than work. The last photograph we took on this trip was the one that was most priceless, though. The homeowners were those kind of people that never meet strangers and make you feel at home from the first moment. We really enjoyed meeting them...and their extended family, as you can see from the photo at right. Yes, that's a bird, a cat, a dog and a rabbit! Jeff was put to the test on this eclectic " family portrait"! It took a more than a few tries to get this one, what with getting the bird to stay on the guy's shoulder, keeping the cat from freaking out and running away, and getting the dog to not slink off. The bunny never moved throughout the whole thing! You can see more of our portraits in our South Carolina Head Shots section of our web site.
APRIL 2007
We graced the pages of another magazine, with a home in Greenville. The details and quality of workmanship in this house were just outstanding. And the homeowner was just loads of fun. He kept us relaxed by playing music all day while we worked...everything from Etta James to Vivaldi! I'd love to get a call from the home builder and the company that did the millwork for this house just to get to photograph some more of their outstanding work! There were even custom brass door hinges! For more home interiors, you can click here. If you'd like to see exteriors, click here.
MARCH 2007
A lot of things happened in March, but one of the most memorable for me personally was a little day trip Jeff and I took on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's not like we haven't been all up and down the thing before from literally one end to the other, and we have camped any number of times up there. But for some reason, this day was just one of those that will stand out in my mind from now on. It was partly the spontaneity of the thing...we just got up and decided to go. Partly it was because we didn't have to be back at any particular time and we felt no hurry whatsoever at all. And partly it was because we discovered lots of things on this trip that we never had before...a cabin tucked back off the road that we've probably passed a hundred times and never seen, for instance. And the flowers...I love it when Jeff is in the mood to photograph flowers
because he can do it like nobody else I know. Sometime when you have a lazy morning with nothing critical to do, treat yourself to a cup of coffee (or beverage of your choice...no telling what some of you nuts like to drink in the morning!), pull up a chair in front of your computer and go to Waterscapes Photography. You can click on the flower at right or type in www.waterscapesphotography.com and just sit back and enjoy. I know what's there, I've seen it all at least a hundred times (and I was present when most of the photographs were taken) but I still like to just go look sometimes. You can't tell me this guy isn't doing what he's supposed to do with his life. I think National Geographic needs him.
Well, I'm not going back any further than March, but I will just say that right at the end of February, we were fortunate enough to be called upon to photograph for High Country Furniture In Waynesville, NC. If you've never been to Waynesville, and you have a chance,
AUGUST 2007:
I had thought to start off the August section by showing off some of our latest product photography, but there was a fire nearby and Jeff was first on the scene. In fact, I was working away in the office and although I heard the sound of sirens, I was so engrossed in my work that I paid no attention and didn't even know I'd been left on my own until sometime later Jeff came breezing into the office smelling distinctly odd. I said, "Where have you been? To a fire?" To which he replied, "Well, yes, actually I have." Thankfully no one was home and no one was injured, however our hearts do go out to our neighbors whose home was damaged. The temperature reached about 102 that afternoon, and as you can see from the images, the fire fighters were in serious danger from the heat.
We'd like to say a special word of thanks to our friends at The Alden Company, at 30 Orchard Park Drive here in Greenville. They allowed us to use their store to stage a photo shoot involving ladies handbags for a new client of ours. With their guidance and helpful suggestions, we were able to produce some fantastic images.
This photo was taken in a testing lab, and while there's nothing earthshaking or spectacular about the assignment, I just happen to really like the image. Strange as it may sound, it reminds me of my favorite artist, Georgia O'Keeffe. She once said she painted fragments of things because it seemed to make her statement as well as or better than the whole could. I think this says "testing lab" as well or better than a photograph of the whole lab could.
Our web site has changed a little in the past few weeks, so if you're interested in the updates revisit the residential interiors page as well as our products section to see what's new.
SEPTEMBER 2007:
September saw us off to Charlotte for another day of photographing interiors for a designer whom we have done work many times. Building relationships is what we love, not just doing a job for someone and moving on. The next week it was off to Florida. First stop, Jacksonville. Second stop, Lake Mary. We'd never heard of it, but it turns out to be a lovely place with some very gracious people. The following two weeks were spent either in Atlanta or on the road coming or going. In fact, we've spent so much time there that I can almost find my way around the major arteries now, which is saying something for this directionally-challenged, no-map-reading individual. One home that we photographed there was just as good as a trip to the art museum. The homeowner is devoted to the arts and has custom lighting in his home to showcase the pieces of artwork. And needless to say, it was great to photograph. We can't show images just yet because there is magazine interest and we don't want to give anything away. Don't worry, we'll toot our horn if we get published again. See the "What A Trip" section for dining details of the Atlanta trip! We also wrapped up the photography for an annual report this month. We were pleased to work with The Asher Agency in Fort Wayne, IN, on this project. We were called upon to photograph an 18-wheeler and to make it a "beauty shot" were our instructions.
We fought fog, road construction and all sorts of other frustrating things to get the final results, but I think we got the job done nicely.
Working with art directors long distance by phone was a first for us, but we really enjoyed it.
OCTOBER 2007
We had the pleasure of traveling to Virginia in October. Always a nice drive with lots of picturesque farms along the way. We photographed a lovely church in the small town of Forest, VA. Their lobby displayed the work of a very talented fine artist and we thought it worth showing you here.
Most of the rest of October was spent at home in Greenville, SC. We did some work for Greenville Design magazine, photographing the offices of Showcase Marketing, which was just nothing short of spectacular (see below). We also made a quick trip to Charlotte to photograph for an interior designer there whom we have had the pleasure of working with before. As always, we appreciate our repeat clients and the more we get to work with someone the easier and more creative it gets because we are all more relaxed and comfortable working with each other. This was no exception, and we just had a great time working with her. It's nice to be able to do what you love for a living, but the icing on the cake is having lots of fun doing what you love!
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2007
The last two months of the year nearly did us in! The biggest excitement for us was celebrating my parents 50th wedding anniversary. Jeff made a video DVD for them--a compilation of photos from their childhood, when they met and started dating, wedding photos, all the years in between, etc., and chose music they liked from those periods of their life. It was without a doubt one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for them, and they play it over and over still. Then we were off on one trip after another, back to Florida, back to Virginia, over to Kentucky, and all points in between. We did make it home in time to toss lights & a tree up for Christmas and had a house full of young people over the holidays. Add two old folks and a few cats into the mix and you can just imagine what it was like. I'm still finding bows in odd places! Happy New Year everyone!
Spring 2008
It seems like we haven't had one spare minute so far this year. We've had the great fortune to add a number of new clients to our list, and we're very happy about that. We have added a new page to our web site under the category of Kitchen and Bath because we have done so much of it that it seemed to require a category all by itself. While other industry groups seem to be cutting back on their advertising spending budget, we have seen a large number of folks in the custom kitchen and bath industry stepping up theirs. Smart thinking. Research from every economic recession has shown that the benefits of increased advertising during these periods results in long-term growth. Internet and promotional advertising are two areas that have consistently proven to give high returns on investment, and seem to be somewhat recession-proof. Maintaining high visibility while your competition drops out of sight just makes good business sense.
When we haven't been on the road or in front of the computer, Jeff has been working on our back yard bird sanctuary. It's very rewarding and well as relaxing. Sometimes nature can be a bit harsh, especially on the young. We found a baby cardinal that had left the nest a bit too early and was being attacked by another bird. The kind people at Foothills Animal Rescue took the baby bird and at last report it was doing well. Jeff got this great shot one afternoon. You can see more of his non-commercial work at Waterscapes Photography (www.waterscapesphotography.com)
Fall - Winter 2008
Yes, I know! Long time, no update. Sometimes it seems like we get so wrapped up in work and worry that we forget to notice all the wonderful little things going on around us. But then something seemingly small and insignificant happens, you're there with the camera at just the right moment and not only do you have a cool photograph, but you also have one of those moments that reminds you to enjoy life. While on a photo shoot, we had the pleasure of meeting Abby the cat. She followed Jeff everywhere and was infinitely fascinated by the camera, to the point that she ended up on his shoulder overseeing his every move for a while. As we were moving equipment and preparing to move on to the next room, Abby checked out the flowers added as props for the shot, and Jeff had a few seconds to catch her at it. Below is the photo of Abby and also the room we were photographing at the time.
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