I got an assignment to come photograph a "mockup" for a new project the shop is working on. My earlier experiences with mockups were with things about the size of something that would fit on a table top - door samples for example.
So off I went with all my gear (knowing it would be good to be ready for anything of course) and there on a cart in the shop were some rather enormous timbers - eight of them about 12 feet long. They represent one small portion of a building-sized wooden sculpture that will decorate a four-story-tall wall at a new medical complex. Update: it is finished and installed - here's a link to a story and a photo.
Impressive stuff - the objects you see occupy a space about 8 feet wide and 12 feet tall. Once it was assembled and stood up vertically, it was time to arrange the lighting. I set up the usual strobes and added a nice little kicker from the lower right with a slightly warm gel on it.
The whole setup was done right in the woodworking shop, so it was back in the studio that I drew a path around all the pieces and removed the background. I decided to add a nice drop shadow and an interesting background, so my digital skills paid off again. (Try doing that in one setup in a woodworking shop! Remember I'm an old-school guy with years of experience with large-format view cameras and hot lights, so I'm very pleased to be so productive with the digital tools.)
The dedication to extraordinary woodworking skills and engineering at Daiek Woodworks are far superior to anything I've come across, so I consider myself fortunate indeed to photograph the woodworker's art of this caliber.
