Creating an Impromptu Architectural Image for an Atlanta-based Healthcare Company

A photographer must be ready for any hot potato a client throws his direction. It is not always possible to accommodate impromptu requests, but the more versatile I can be, the better.

Perspective corrected image...

While on location setting up a mobile headshot studio for executive portraits, I was asked to make an architectural image of the client's new building. They had just completed parts of the build-out so this location still had that "new car smell"... and they needed an image the next day.

Outside was dull, dreary and threatening snow. I only had a few moments to snap some images before I was needed inside. I did the best that I could with the 24-70mm portrait lens I had with me. I normally do not bring my wide-angle 16mm lens to portraits so it was this or nothing.

A tilt shift lens would have been handy to dial out the perspective, but that is a rental for me. As such, I had to remove the extreme perspective in Photoshop. There are limited to what looks realistic. The very first image is what a tilt-shift lens might have produced. I'm not sure which I prefer since the second slightly distorted one looks more epic.

Building with some of the perspective left in...

The light played to my advantage with the foggy overcast sky acting like a giant softbox to evenly illuminate the structure's facades. The sun was cooperative and placed itself directly behind the building allowing parts of the giant glass tower to be both reflective and transparent. 

Out of camera capture...

Of course, the sky had to be replaced with something better than boring white. Above is the original out-of camera shot... I think I added enough drama to make it work.

Happy Birthday to My Second Dad

We may get to pick our spouses in life, but we don't always get to pick the family attached to them. I hit the in-law jackpot by marrying into a very nice family. In particular, I not only gained a father-in-law, I gained a friend in Ronald Heady.

To me, he exemplifies the best that a man can aspire to be. I have never met a more intelligent or analytical mind in my life. I am sure that if scientists performed intelligence tests on him, their machines would have to be recalibrated. My relationship with him allows me to share my interests from photography, guns, gadgets, watches, robotics and science... not your typical "how's the weather" banter.

A few years ago, he allowed me to take some portraits of him. He had just given me two special gifts for my camera collection that reaches back as far as the 1930s. One was a Minolta camera that he personally used. 

The other was a Yashica twin-lens reflex camera that his father, Ray Heady, used as a newspaper reporter for the Kansas City Star newspaper beginning in 1943. I was over the moon to get these treasures and they are displayed in a place of prominence in my collection.

Here he is with his favorite gal, Sue. Happy Birthday, Ron! We love ya!