Sunday, December 22, 2013

Recent Interior Photography

Some photos I made recently of several rooms in a home in Los Altos Hills, CA, for Kacey Fitzpatrick of Avalon Enterprises, a San Francisco Bay Area design-and-build company.


Traditional Residential Design
Wine Cellar

Bath
Bath Detail

Traditional design
Bath Detail




Saturday, December 21, 2013

Recent Work-Multifamily Property

A photo a did for Fisher-Berzack Institutional Advisors, to illustrate their brokering the sale of Park Merced Apartments in San Francisco.

This assignment presented a number of challenges. The property, which contains 3,221 units spread over 150 acres, is the second largest apartment property west of the Mississippi. Furthermore, it comprises a mixture of high-rise and low-rise buildings. In addition, at the time of year I shot this, fog is quite common on the Northern California Coast, and good weather is essential for making a compelling exterior photo of a subject such as this.

As to the size and design of the property, the goal was to give a sense of the size of the property while still creating a strong photo that would also clearly show both the high-rise buildings containing flats and the low-rise townhome buildings. Getting up very high and far away might have been adequate for  encompassing the whole property, but might not have shown the buildings as clearly as a closer view. However, a closer view still needed to provide some sense of the scale of the property.

As to the weather, that was a matter of waiting it out.

Multifamily Investment Properties-Bay Area
Park Merced Apartments, San Francisco, CA

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Architectural Photography Assignment

Here are some photos I did of a substantially rebuilt home in Los Gatos, CA for Sean Pearson of RUF Project.

SF Bay Area Residential Architecture
Great Room
Architectural Photographer-SF Bay Area
Great Room



Bay Area Homes
Great Room

Master Bedroom/Bath

Living Room/Fireplace/Entrance

Friday, December 13, 2013

An Eichler Home for the 21st Century


When John Citrigno acquired an Eichler Home in Sunnyvale, California, after the owners defaulted on the mortgage he held he saw an opportunity. Earlier in his life John wanted to become a builder and even considered becoming an architect, but went into real estate investment and financial services instead. He had grown up in a part of the Bay Area that has many Eichler Homes and had always been a great admirer of them. With this house he could combine his long-time interests in building, architecture and Eichlers to create an Eichler Home for the 21st Century. Thus John decided to undertake a complete rebuilding of the house to high contemporary standards, while staying true to the fundamental aesthetics of its design.

In addition to his admiration for the homes that my grandfather, Joseph Eichler, built in the Bay Area in the 1950s and 1960s, John also admires the man himself for his commitment to making high-quality modern architectural design available to those of modest means. John’s concept for the rebuild of his Eichler was to try to imagine what my grandfather might have done had he been building homes today.

The heyday of Eichler Homes was concurrent with the rise of what is now known as Silicon Valley. The design aesthetic of these tract homes, built in the Mid-Century Modern style, had strong appeal for many who were involved in the high tech industry in the 1950s and 60s, as well as for people who would be involved in high tech later on, such as Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple Computers. Although Jobs never lived in an Eichler Home, the part of Silicon Valley in which he grew up contained many of them, and many of his childhood friends and classmates lived in them, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Apple’s first employee, Bill Fernandez. Jobs credited the design of Eichler Homes and the way they were built as a major influence for him in the development of Apple products.

John, who lived near Jobs as a child and was a classmate of his, credits Jobs as an additional major influence for his concept of a “21st Century Eichler”, specifically, the influence of Jobs’s attention to detail and quest for perfection, and his dedication to creating designs that combine maximum functionality and user-friendliness with a clean, contemporary aesthetic that is minimalist in style yet never sterile, at prices that are affordable for the masses.

I think that John has been exceedingly successful in his undertaking, and I have no doubt that my grandfather would be very pleased with the result. I can’t speak for Steve Jobs, but my guess is that he also would have been very pleased with the result and would have seen evidence of a kindred spirit. 

Bay Area Mid-Century Modern Design
Front Exterior

Modern Architecture
Atrium


Living Room
Master Bedroom


Master Bath
Back Yard


Kitchen/Dining Area

Bay Area Homes
Rear Exterior

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

The Eichler X-100 House

A well written and informative blog article on the Eichler X-100 steel-framed house: Eichler Experimental: The X-100

The article doesn't mention it, but the noted architect Raphael Soriano also designed a steel-framed house for Eichler Homes, which I believe is also located in the San Mateo Highlands.

Recent Landscaping Photography

Some colorful landscaping at an office complex in Silicon Valley.

Silicon Valley Landscape Design
Silicon Valley Landscaping

Monday, December 9, 2013

New Landscape/Lifestyle Photography

I revisited this location, which I originally shot with my iPhone, to see what I could do with my "real" camera. It took several sessions before I arrived at the combination of lens, lighting and human presence that seemed to satisfy me, at least for the moment.
Pacific Coast, California
Near Fort Funston, San Francisco, CA

Friday, November 1, 2013

iPhone Photography

Bay Area Beaches
Near Fort Funston-San Francisco, CA
Shot with my iPhone 5s. Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

iPhone Photography

Photo of a store window display at night. Shot with an iPhone 5s.

Contemporary Decor
Store Window Display

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Where You Stand

"A good photograph is knowing where to stand."--Ansel Adams

Of course there is a bit more to it than that, but all the rest doesn't really matter much if you don't know where to stand.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Friday, October 4, 2013

Recent Twilight Photography

A couple of recent twilight photos of traditional style home in Atherton, CA.

San Francisco Luxury Homes, Bay Area Real Estate, Silicon Valley Architecture
Residential Exterior-Rear View

Bay Area Luxury Homes, Silicon Valley Real Estate
Residential Exterior-Rear View

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Recent Twilight Photography-Continued

Here is another version of the shot from my last post. I shot this version closer to civil twilight, which yields a more dramatic effect. The other shot is really more of dusk shot, that is, shot shortly after sunset.

816 Ames, Palo Alto Homes, Contemporary Architecture in Silicon Valley

Recent Twilight Photography

DeLeon Realty, Palo Alto Real Estate for Sale
Residential Twilight Exterior














Recently built, contemporary-style home located in Palo Alto, CA. This look is very popular for contemporary-style buildings, residential and commercial, in Silicon Valley. The mix of wood, stucco and concrete.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Cover Photo

A recent real estate marketing photo of mine on the cover of Homes and Land of the San Francisco Peninsula.


Bay Area Homes


Thursday, August 22, 2013

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Recent Work-134 Alhambra Street, San Francisco

Some photos from a recent real estate marketing assignment for Melinda Merrion/Brooks Street Realty.

Living Room

Office/Bedroom

Kitchen

Dining Room

Master Bath

Foyer/Stairs

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Recent Work

Several photos of 13080 Sun Mor Avenue, Mountain View, CA, which I did for a real estate marketing assignment for Derk Brill, Alain Pinel Realtors.


Craftsman design
Rear Patio
Kitchen Design
Kitchen


 To view more photos, visit the property website: 13080 Sun Mor


Monday, July 8, 2013

Headshot/Portrait Photography

While my specialty is architectural, interiors and real estate marketing photography, from time to time some of my real estate clients commission me to do headshot portraits of them for their marketing. Here are a few examples. My preference is usually for environmental portraits, but I will accomodate clients who want more of a studio type of look, which I usually shoot in their office with a portable backdrop.

















































































Recent Real Estate Marketing Photography

Several photos from a real estate marketing assignment I did for one of my longtime clients, Ken DeLeon, DeLeon Realty.

205 Shawnee Pass, Portola Valley, CA

Bay Area residential Properties
Rear Exterior




Real Estate for Sale
Family Room


Dining/Living Room
Kitchen

Living Room