twilight

Historic Architecture - The Nelson-Piper Building's Transformation

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I was called to get some shots of the historic Nelkon-Piper building for EDCKC's blog. The building is 134 years old as of writing this. Immediately I knew a front twilight shot was in order so I could capture the character of the exterior. I requested that the interior lights stay on until about 5:30pm. The sun set around 5pm the evening I shot it. The benefits of shooting twilights in the winter are you get to shoot and be done before 5:30 instead of 8:30 or 9:00 in the Summer. There's one positive for Winter...

The next day I got to spend a couple hours capturing some of the interior views of the office space doing my best to dodge people and not be a giant distraction. There was no lighting setup here.  That way I could remain stealthy and sneak around getting shots without blasting light into people's spaces.

Inspiration From Home

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It was only a couple years ago when I decided to quit my job to pursue a photography business. I had no interest in shooting family portraits, weddings, sexy models or events. Rather it was the fascination with patterns found in architecture that made  me start shooting.

Looking way back I realize that it was the home I grew up in that planted the seeds for the love of architecture. It was originally a one-story farmhouse built in the early 1920's. The second story was added in the 1930's.

We spent many evenings and weekend afternoons watching storms come in on the front porch in the Spring. On both the front and side porches you can see the beautiful stonework. It made my imagination run wild because you could see all the old fossilized shells and other interesting critters peppered throughout the stone.

My favorite details are the beams holding up the porch eaves. They are a little crooked from foundation movements. You'll understand if you have lived near Kansas City. It has a reputation for bi-polar weather. 100 years of scorching summers, windy storms, hail, snowstorms, ice storms and floods will shake things up a bit.