The Tobin-Clark Estate-Hillsborough, CA

I recently had an opportunity to create marketing photos for the real estate listing of a large, historic estate in Hillsborough, CA, at 40 Verbalee Lane.  Known as the Tobin-Clark estate, it was built around 1930 and was designed in the Tudor style by the noted architect David Adler. The mansion is approximately 32,000sf, and the estate is approximately 6 acres. My clients were Randy Eyler and Pat Briscoe of Alain Pinel Realtors. Here are some highlights.

Front Elevation

Rear Elevation

Side Elevation

Rear Exterior

Pool

Solarium

Music (Living) Room

Dining Room

Foyer

Library

Office

In terms of the process, this was not a typical real estate photography shoot. Due to the size of the property and the desire for more consistently high quality from image to image than for normal real estate photography, I shot this over two days to deliver 22 images, and I used an assistant for the day I spent shooting the interiors, to help move equipment, furniture and decor. Normally, for real estate photography, I will spend approximately 1.5 to 4 hours at a property (depending upon the size of the property and the number of images I am to deliver), without an assistant, to create somewhere between 12 and 25 images. Aside from allowing me more time to light and arrange the interiors, the more involved process allows me more time to shoot all of the scenes when the ambient lighting is more favorable, since no part of a building that receives any significant amount of ambient daylight will have good daylight at all parts of the day. Even though I have the capability to use supplementary lighting, I generally prefer to use as much of the ambient lighting as I can, if that lighting is of reasonably high quality. I would also like to point out that high quality ambient lighting does not necessarily mean bright lighting. I can sometimes create high quality photos in very low-light conditions, without any supplementary lighting, as long as the basic quality of the ambient lighting is good.

I also spent more time processing and retouching some of the images than I would for a normal real estate photography job. Overall, this job was closer to what I would do for an architect or interior designer.

Enhance Your Internet Viewing Experience: Calibrate your Computer Monitor

The management of color for digital photography is an extremely complex subject, of which most amateur photographers have little or no understanding. Basically, color management has to do with the whole process of color digital photography, including how photos are processed and viewed. For most amateur photographers, a thorough understanding and application of this process is not practical. However, there is one part of the process that could be practical for non-professionals and would greatly serve the medium of digital photography: calibration of computer monitors. 

The brightness and color rendition of computer monitors changes over time, and the stock monitor brightness and color/contrast monitor settings are generally not ideal for viewing photographic images. Furthermore, the ambient lighting conditions under which a monitor is viewed will have an effect on the viewer's perception of the image (applies to viewing printed images as well). Conscientious professional photographers will calibrate their computer monitors with special software and hardware that enables them to achieve a more consistent and accurate view of photos on their monitors. This specialized software and hardware is not necessarily terribly expensive (although more elaborate and versatile versions can be), nor is it difficult to use for someone who is at least moderately comfortable with installing and using various kinds of computer software.  Here are a couple of examples of monitor calibration tools that are reasonably accessible for the average computer user: Colormunki and Pantone Huey.  Both of these products can be had for under $200.

Ideally, for best viewing of images, the monitor calibration should take into account the nature of the ambient room light. However, even calibrating a monitor without regard to the ambient room lighting can make for a much more accurate photo viewing experience than simply using the stock monitor settings, or, even worse, badly manipulated monitor settings.

Some professional photographers will occasionally go to the extent of calibrating their clients' monitors. However, this is not practical in all cases. Furthermore, serious photographers are interested in disseminating their work to the widest possible audience, in a manner that represents their work as accurately as possible. Since the Internet has now become the preeminent medium for viewing photographs, it makes sense to try to ensure that the photo viewing medium enables viewers to have the best possible viewing experience.

Architectural Exterior Twilight Photo

Here is a recent twilight photo of a beautiful villa-style home in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Double Page Ad in the December, 2011 Issue of Gentry Magazine

One of the photos I shot for a recent real estate listing was used in a double page ad in  the December, 2011 issue of Gentry Magazine. You can see it in the DigiMag version here.

The ad design was by Marketing Designs.

Joseph Eichler, Architect?

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and people often asked if I am related to "the" Eichler, the...um...architect. They mean the founder of Eichler Homes, Joseph Eichler, who was my grandfather. He was not an architect but a developer; however, he was very much interested in architecture and modern design, and he worked with some very talented architects (among them Quincy Jones, of the firm Jones and Emmons) to achieve the unique Mid-Century Modern style for which he became well known. You can find out more about him here: Joseph Eichler

Architectural Photography-Expanded Commercial/Institutional Portfolio on My Website

I just added 8 photos to the commercial/institutional portfolio on my website: www.eichlerphoto.com

Here is a sample.

Moore's Law Strikes Again-The Evolution of the Microchip

According to a recent article in Time Magazine, next year Intel will begin distribution of microchips that use what it calls a Tri-Gate transistor. Instead of electrons flowing along a flat channel, as occurs in current transistors, they flow along three sides of a raised fin with the new design. Reportedly, the new transistors will perform about 37% better and use about half the power. Here is an article in PC Magazine that goes into more detail: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2384909,00.asp