Tyndall Air Force Base
I just recently completed a photo assignment for architectural firm PBS&J, where the project was located in the panhandle of Florida, at an Air Force Base in Panama City called Tyndall. I also photographed at an Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, but as it is a home for special operations for the Air Force I was told if I show any of the photographs I would have to kill you afterwards. I would like to show you some of photographs I took of the Fitness Center.
Almost all these images were photographed using available light and HDR photography. This job presented some challenges as they were getting ready for the ribbon-cutting the next day, everyone was cleaning, running around and in general it was organized chaos. Because of time constraints and so many people around that were out of my control in all the shots, I decided that using lights was out of the question. In most cases I was trying to blend natural light with tungsten or fluorescent lights. Most of the corrections for this were done in Photoshop using Curve Adjustment layers and mask.
Besides all the people, we had monsoon rain showers off and on all day long and I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to get the exterior photographs I needed. Luckily, after about 3:30 in the afternoon the clouds broke up a little and I was able to shoot the exteriors. The twilight shot is made up of nine different exposures, I had to use that many exposures because of the reflective nature of the metal on the front of the building. I had to add grass on both sides of the building as there was just a small amount in the front, and I decided the clouds were distracting in the sky, so using Content Aware Fill I took the clouds out leaving a clean blue sky.
This was my first time working on a military base, but not around military people, and as always, it was a pleasure and honor to work around these brave and honorable people.
Before
After
BUILDER’s Online Concept Home Becomes Reality
When the Home for the New Economy debuted last January at the 2010 International Builders Show, it was cheekily billed as “the best home never built.” Presented as a 3-D online prototype, complete with a virtual walk-through tour, the efficient design envisioned how market demand for more modest, flexible, and affordable homes might translate into architecture for the next wave of home buyers.
Now that vision has become reality. The concept home that initially existed only on the Internet is now an actual house at Warwick Grove, a traditional neighborhood development by Leyland Alliance in the town of Warwick, N.Y. Leyland built and sold this first one as a test project and has since signed contracts for five more, making the Home for the New Economy the leading plan among the neighborhood's many options.
Here is the link to the whole article:
http://www.builderonline.com/design/builders-online-concept-home-becomes-reality.aspx
a+d Architecture and Design Museum Opens in Permanent Space
The A+D Architecture and Design Museum > Los Angeles has existed since 2001, in various locations around the city. But it’s never had its own permanent exhibition space—until now. On April 27, it celebrated the grand opening of its new building, a remodeled Moderne–style commercial structure on L.A.’s Museum Row. (The remodel was designed by a team from Kanner Architects, Richard Meier & Partners Architects, and Gensler, and built by a team that included Hinerfeld-Ward (supervising contractor), Turner Construction Company, Hathaway Dinwiddie, Matt Construction, and Minardos Group.)
Here is the link for the whole article:
Networking Tips That Work
Many of us look at networking the way we look at going to the dentist. We know we're supposed to do it, but we really don't want to. So we put it off until, one day, something goes wrong and we have no other choice.
The way networking is usually presented makes it seem incredibly unappealing. It defies our natural tendencies: it seems insincere and sycophantic, and for introverts in particular, it seems to require becoming a whole new person--one who is fearless and gregarious, and who never encounters an awkward silence.
Here is the link for the whole article:
http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-4_career_networking_tips_that_work-1287
Fortaleza Hall, built on Frank Lloyd Wright’s Johnson Wax Campus
The basis for a building’s design is often rooted in something seemingly inconsequential: a napkin sketch, a material sample, or, in the case of the new Foster + Partners–designed Fortaleza Hall, on the SC Johnson campus in Racine, Wis., an airplane. This isn’t just any plane, however, but the Carnaúba—a replica of a 1930s twin-engine Sikorsky S-38 amphibious plane. The late SC Johnson chairman Sam Johnson flew the plane to Brazil in 1998, with his sons Fisk, the current chairman and CEO, and Curt. The father-and-sons flight team replicated (down to the aircraft) a 15,000-mile-roundtrip journey made 63 years earlier by Sam’s father to see the source of the Carnaúba palm, the waxy leaves of which are used to make what was then the company’s most famous product. (Wax has since been eclipsed by the company’s other brands, like Ziploc.) When Sam died in 2004 and the idea for a memorial building took shape, his plane became the central conceit.
Here is the link for the whole article:
http://www.architectmagazine.com/cultural-projects/fortaleza-hall.aspx
Our Town, Our Jobs
The locals are restless: local architects, that is. Around the country, architects are protesting when vied-for projects get awarded to out-of-state or out-of-town firms. But just because the economy has changed doesn’t mean the rules about hiring architects for public projects have, too.
Here is the link for the whole story:
http://www.architectmagazine.com/government-projects/our-town-our.aspx
Reaching NAHB’s Gold level
There is an article I found about a redevelopment project in downtown Indianapolis. This is Redevelopment Group’s, the builder, first homes certified under the NAHB’s Model Green Home Building Guidelines, reaching Gold level. To keep prices near market rate and in an area were green building isn’t in high demand yet; Redevelopment Group opted against pricier options like photovoltaics. Those decisions, combined with thoughtful details and styling, a close-in location, and the promise of efficiency paid off for the builder: five of the six homes have sold, including three prior to completion.
Here is the link for the entire article:
Wood is “Cropping” Up More In Design
Here's a great article in Contract Magazine that discussed how wood is becoming a more popular solution in interior spaces. The article describes woods renewal ability, its warmth and how manufacturers are keeping wood LEED certified. The article talks about how the demand for wood is up, but it's also important to note that the economy is still a major factor and that designers and architects are using wood sparingly.
Here is a link to the article:
http://www.contractdesign.com/contract/design/Wood-Design-Focus-K-1454.shtml
U.S. Supreme Court Shuts Front Doors to Visitors
If you haven't heard, the U.S. Supreme Court has announced that visitors can no longer enter the building via its iconic front entrance any more over security concerns. Follow this link to an article from Architect Magazine that discribes what effect is has on the architecture. Click Here.
New Art Work
I have been working on a new idea for my art photography where I am blending many images together to create a new vision. Here is an example of one that is still in progress. I would love to get your feedback on this image.
