"Church Furniture" for Daiek Woodworks

Recently, I was asked to photograph some new work by Daiek Woodworks - an altar and lectern at the First Congregational Church in Rochester, Michigan. The goal for the photographs was to display Daiek's veneering skills for a competition.

Arriving at the church's administration wing on a bitterly cold morning, I was warmly welcomed by the staff, who had nothing but praise for Daiek Woodworks' creations. The Reverend Dave Wheeler himself directed me to the church and was happy to show me the features of the altar and lectern. He then left me to my work, saying I was free to move things about as I needed.

First, I created a nice interior photograph of the church - just for the Reverend - that he may use wherever he can. It's not often that a professional photograph is available of your church, so it was my way of thanking them for generously allowing me to complete my work for Daiek.

Then the work began of showing the altar and lectern from several angles, including detail shots. The task was actually quite easy, with lots of room to move lights around and a beautiful subject.

I eventually used all six of my strobes - two Canon 550's, two old Sunpack "potato masher" style units, and two A/C powered monolights. Some were used as background fills; some were edge lights; some were main lights.

The greatest wonder of digital photography is the ability to see the preview so easily. Changes are done in a moment, so there is no disincentive (like shooting piles of costly Polaroids or wandering around with a flash meter guessing at the outcome) to create the best work possible.