Blank Prespectives

Les Baux de Palm Springs

On May 19, 2011, in Photography, by dblank

The Residence of Suzanne Somers and Alan Hamel in Palm Springs, CA

Client:

Palm Springs Life Magazine, Suzanne Somers, Scott Lyle Reality

Usage:

Magazine cover & 12 photo feature story, printed sales brochure, National & International online sales campaign.

Project:

I was chosen by Palm Springs Life (PSL) Magazine for this assignment because of my experience both in celebrity portraiture and high-end architectural photography. The magazine requested a portrait of Suzanne and Alan for the cover along with 8 pages of architectural photos for the feature story.Suzanne and Alan named their 65 acre beautiful meandering hillside estate “Les Baux de Palm Springs” as an homage to the French countryside architectural style which 4 of the 5 structures on-site are modeled upon, and because of their many trips throughout France to purchase furnishings for their home.

My favorite photo from this body of work is image #3 “Champagne Breakfast at Sunrise.”

I arrived at the property at sunrise on the second shoot day to scout a few potential areas for shooting in the mornings. I found Suzanne putting the final touches on this table for me to see. It just happens at that moment the sun was coming up and could almost be seen through the leaves of the bougainvillea.

I quickly retrieved my camera and a tripod and ran back up to the level of the breakfast to find the sun streaming perfectly though the leaves, I placed my camera so the sun was shinning directly into the lens. It was a magnificent scene needing to be captured at that very moment.

This image represents a rarely published aspect of Palm Springs life and of its lifestyle, from the hill sides looking out to a magnificent sunrise.

The house was to go on the market shortly after the photo shoot. Suzanne Somers and Scott Lyle Realty approached me to shoot additional days for the sales brochure and an extensive national and international web based marketing campaign in order to sell the home.

For more information about “Les Baux de Palm Springs” go to: http://www.LesBauxdePalmSprings.com

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G Stein Traditions Pool at Dusk Horizontal

Photographing a Southern European Style Residence in La Quinta, CA

On March 11, 2011, in Photography, by dblank

Traditions Country Club in La Quinta, CA

Client:

Gordon Stein Design

Client Uses:

“Gordon Stein Design” Self Promo & Advertising

Magazine Editorials

Contest Submissions

Design

6,800 sq.ft. Southern European style single-family home designed by Gordon Stein of Palm Desert, CA. This home was built on a large but unusually thin and wide lot elevated 15′ above street level and backing up directly to a rocky mountain face. Due to the limitations of the property dimensions Gordon’s challenge was to design a high square footage open floor plan that does not feel squeezed by the natural constraints of the lot. The final result was a meandering estate with a grand feel.

Gordon’s unique approach created an expansive multi-level home. As Gordon describes, “It looks and feels much bigger than 6,800 sq.ft.” Gordon turned the limitations of the property into an advantage by utilizing the 15′ elevation and creating a second floor at street level. He then spread out the four main sections of the home in a “zig-zag” pattern across the property. This created two large areas for outdoor recreation on either side of the house. The front of the house has a pool, fire features and fire table (images 1,2 &3) and in the rear an expansive water feature with fire and a Tahitian style pavilion and day bed. Contact Gordon at: gordon @ GordonSteinDesign.com or call (760) 773-4488.

Photographic Approach

A common challenge with photographing homes of this size is that I am shooting multiple cameras simultaneously at dusk with a five minute window for final exposures. In particular what was so challenging with this home, due to the “zig-zag” design on a thin lot, is that many of my cameras were in precarious positions at the edge of the property hovering over tall retaining walls. (Refer to images “Fire Table & Pool”, “Pool & Custom Fire Table”, and “View Across Pool & Spa”)

A particular challenge in capturing these three images simultaneously is understanding where to put my lights so that they will be hidden from the view of all three cameras. If I were shooting from only one angle, it would be easy, but I am shooting from three. In practice it is impossible to hide every light from all three cameras. The challenge then becomes knowing where to properly place lights so they can easily be removed in post-production.