Best Western Denver SW (by Chester Bullock)

I do product photography, and I do real estate photography. But when it comes to shooting hotels and resorts, it’s a mix of both.

The manager of the Best Western Denver SW (located in Lakewood, Colorado despite the name), saw my photos recently and liked my work. They are in the middle of a website redesign and needed new photos of the property since they have completed renovations recently. I went down one recent afternoon and took care of the shoot. By the end of the weekend I had presented him with the images I thought were keepers. He was extremely pleased and they should be showing up on the website after the new one is launched. And I’ll be going back for exterior shots once things green up here in Colorado.

Contact me today if you have photographic needs in real estate, products or portraits.

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Lakewood Tigers baseball pitcher

I am very excited to announce that 2010 will be the year I begin offering team photography services for local youth sports organizations and teams. Just in time for the 2010 Jefferson County Junior Baseball League season, I have developed special package pricing that is more focused on value to the family, while providing great products that the athletes and families alike will cherish.

I am a local photographer who spent five years coaching in the Lakewood Junior Baseball organization, with my 5th year as head coach. It was always a challenge for me to coach while wanting to get great pictures of the kids. Now I am able to focus completely on getting great pictures of the kids, be it at practice, in a league game, or in a tournament.

For more information or to contact me with specific questions, please see the Team Sports Photography page. Every player deserves a great photo, and I will deliver that.

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Arjuni Photo Shoot

I love shooting hard-to-photograph items. I am getting pretty good at it. But this time, I really had my work cut out for me. Arjuni is a Denver purveyor of hair weaves. The owner came to me with what seemed like a simple request – take photos of roughly 27 samples for use on the new website. It was something of a rush job, because the grand opening of the site was two weeks out. On top of that, two other photographers had been tried beforehand, but could not deliver images to her satisfaction. Great, no pressure there.

I experiemented a bit with some different positioning and lighting, and then settled on something that seemed to work really well. The owner was pleased. I started getting comments like “Phenomenal work!” and “Thanks for all of your hard work. You’ve definitely captured some gems that I’m excited about!” Really, this is what it is all about. Sure, I get to make images that make me happy, on my own time, but when I am on the clients’ clock, I need to deliver.

That said, I really like doing product photography here in the Denver area. So far I have done some neat things and met very interesting people. I have started to see repeat business, which is a good measure of success I think. If you need a product shot, even if it is not a hard to photograph surface, contact me for a quote. I have no doubt I will deliver images you can be proud of, and ones that will help sell your product.

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Durango & Silverton Steam Locomotive #482

If you are a railfan, you know about the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in southern Colorado. This is a different view of the one I posted Wednesday. As with the HDR version, this image is also for sale as a print or a download in my online photo gallery.

Also, this is the last reminder to become a fan of my Facebook page. Do it before the end of the day Sunday and you will be entered to win a $50 gift certificate to my online photo gallery.

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A Piece of History

Durango and Silverton Steam Locomotive #482

Watching the newest episode of Top Gear on BBC America the other night, I was inspired to revisit my images of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad that I shot back in August of 2009. There was one 5 shot sequence where my intention was to make an HDR. I actually made it, but then I saw some ghosting from people moving, so I shelved it until I had time to work it out. Well, I went back in, and tried a different option for ghost handling in the latest Photomatix. The result is the image you see above. Well, kind of. After I got the HDR, I brought it back into Adobe Lightroom and applied some of the Kubota Lightroom Actions to the image. The result is an image that feels shot in the period, but has the benefits of HDR.

Available for sale in my online gallery, this is the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad engine #482. It is a Baldwin 282 steam locomotive, manufactured in 1925 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Having served on the Denver & Rio Grande Western from 1925 to 1962, it was then sold to the Cu,bres & Toltec Scenic Railway in 1970. I have not been able to locate information detailing when it was sold to the DSNRR.

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WMD Geiger Counter

Twice now in the last 7 days I have been asked to do product shoots. I do these in my home studio here in Lakewood. One company who has become a repeat customer is WM Devices, a local producer of electronic effect devices for musicians. William hand builds all of the equipment he sells, and doesn’t sacrifice a sharp look on the exterior. Baked enamel finishes with screened lettering, these look right at home in any musicians kit. If you are a musician, check out his stuff at wmdevices.com.

I like shooting products. I can take as long as I need to in order to get the lighting just right, and can take multiple images if I need to. I normally use my DIY Light Tent, but for larger objects, might revert to the DIY Backdrop holder. Lighting is the really fun part, making sure to get the colors just right (especially for something like the WMD Geiger Counter above). I can take all day if I need to, and the client gets charged a flat rate, so it isn’t eating into their budget.

If you have a product you need photos of, drop me a note or give me a call and we can discuss your needs, timing and budget.

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Gone Skiing

Union Meadows at Copper Mountain

Today is a holiday at the company I work for, so I am going skiing. Not sure if Copper Mountain has enough snow yet to ski the part of the mountain in the picture, but I hope so. I worked at Copper for 2 years, and pride myself in being able to find all the powder stashes. But it has to snow for that to happen.

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The inaugural photo of the week, I am re-running this image of my daughter, taken at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Enjoy.

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Snowflakes – The Sequel

I spent some time the other night working on the snowflake images a bit more. Here is a series of keepers (at least in my mind). All shot on my back patio here in Lakewood, Colorado. I actually thought about taking more during a more recent storm, but it was so cold when the snow was falling, the flakes were really small.

And don’t forget that you could win a $50 gift certificate to my online gallery by becoming a fan of my Facebook page. One fan will be picked at random on 1/31, so become a fan now!

Enjoy.

Colorado Snowflake macro photo by Chester Bullock

Colorado Snowflake macro photo by Chester Bullock

Colorado Snowflake macro photo by Chester Bullock

Colorado Snowflake macro photo by Chester Bullock

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Lakewood, Colorado Family Portrait

Souther Family

A rare occurrence happened recently – all immediate members of the Souther Family were in town, so they took the opportunity to do a family portrait in time for the holidays. Any major holiday tends to be a good time to have your family portrait done, since that is the most likely time to have everyone close by with some free time.

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