Recent Project

Featured Project - Wardelle Townhouses

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I recently photographed an affordable housing project for Sparkflight Studios in Las Vegas, NV.

Front elevational view of building 10 at the Wardelle Townhouses in Las Vegas, NV.

There’s still room in affordable housing for some nice design elements, and the Wardelle Townhouses incorporate as many as possible. In the kitchen, a tile backsplash adds interest behind the stove. Textured walls are incorporated in various locations throughout the community as well.

Detail view of the kitchen showing the backsplash and built in counter

Stairs inside one of the units

Textured brick is featured on some of the entries

The activity center includes an exercise room, community room and kitchen, a conference room, and a library.

The main common area in the Activity Center

Conference room

Sitting area and exercise room

The buildings photograph nicely especially in the golden light of late afternoon.

A late afternoon view of building 1

Community amenities.include a dog park, a playground, an outdoor picnic area with grills, and an area with planters for growing vegetables and herbs. Mature trees were also preserved as part of the landscaping.

Outdoor picnic area outside the Activity Center

Twilight view of buliding 9

Featured Project - Clark County Fire Station 61

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Earlier this year I was assigned to photograph the new Clark County Fire Station 61 in Las Vegas, NV designed by TSK Architects.

Clark County Fire Station 61, Las Vegas, NV

Most people don’t get the opportunity to see the inside of a fire station, so I thought it would be interesting to provide a look inside this new station. The station features a fitness room, outdoor grill area, a large kitchen and dining area, a TV lounge/relaxation room, a three-unit equipment bay, and multiple dorm rooms and bathrooms.

Equipment bay, Clark County Fire Station 61

Equipment room, Clark County Fire Station 61

TV lounge, Clark County Fire Station 61

The Clark County fire units--the engines and ambulances--are yellow, which distinguishes them from the Las Vegas Fire and Rescue units, which are red. The yellow theme has been designed into this station with several unique design elements. The yellow metal mesh walls are a distinctive feature at the public entrance to the station, and they recur in the exterior side enclosing the outdoor grill area. The three large doors of the equipment bay also feature the yellow-themed design.

Fire unit in bay, Clark County Fire Station 61

Fire unit in bay, Clark County Fire Station 61

The yellow and black theme continues inside the station in the kitchen and the bathrooms.

The kitchen, Clark County Fire Station 61

One of the most interesting design elements of the station is the burnt wood planks used in the ceiling above the entrance. The burnt wood planks continue from the exterior into the interior ceiling of the entrance lobby. The dark brown and black color of the burnt wood creates a strong contrast with the yellow design elements of the station.

Burnt wood planks, Clark County Fire Station 61

Front exterior, Clark County Fire Station 61

The Clark County Fire Department operates on three multi-day shifts, and each team resides at the station for the duration of their shift. The kitchen features three pantries and three refrigerators so that each team can maintain responsibility for its own food and supplies. Each dorm room also features three storage wardrobes, one for each team.

To learn more about Clark County Fire Station 61, visit TSK's website.

Featured Project - World Market Center Expo

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One of my larger projects last year was photographing the Expo building at the World Market Center in Las Vegas, NV.

Wolrd Market Center Expo, Las Vegas, NV

Entrance leading to the courtyard between buildings A, B, and C

I photographed this new addition to the World Market Center as part of two assignments, the first for EV&A, the architecture firm responsible for the exterior and overall design. I later photographed additional interiors for Fentress Architects out of Denver. Fentress partnered with EV&A and was responsible for the interior design of the Expo.

The World Market Center had three buildings--A, B and C--prior to the addition of the Expo. The Expo features two large exhibition halls, the north hall and the south hall, which can be separated by a movable wall or combined into one large space. And by large I mean over 190,000 square feet combined. Here’s a panoramic view of the exhibition halls. We’re right in the middle, with the south hall on the left and the north hall on the right.

Exhibition halls at the Expo

Exterior view of the Expo addition to the World Market Center,

The Expo has been integrated into the existing structures. It connects directly with Building C, and the existing parking structure elevators open into the new space. The 11,900 square foot registration area provides ample space for people to gather outside the exhibition hall, and several sitting areas offer comfortable spaces to catch up on email, make a quick phone call, or meet friends and colleagues.

Lounge in the registration area

The Expo features a glass curtain wall on the three exterior facing sides of the registration area and along the corridor connecting the main registration area to the smaller lobby that provides access to the parking garage and the rest of the World Market Center buildings. The glass curtain wall admits a great deal of natural light to the space. The glass walls also provide great views of some of the other interesting architecture in downtown Las Vegas, such as the Gehry-designed Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Research, the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, and the many hotels and casinos in downtown Las Vegas like the new Circa Resort.

Hallway with glass curtain wall at the Expo

Registration area at night

In the evening, the integrated lighting of the polygonal ceiling system comes to life and illuminates the registration area.

Connecting hallway at night

Exterior view of the registration area with the connecting hallway on the left

As Las Vegas returns to normal, I know the World Market Center Expo is looking forward to welcoming many guests.

Aerial view of the Expo at the World Market Center, Las Vegas, NV

A Musical Interlude

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A piano is a remarkable instrument, and I decided to take an opportunity to photograph a beauty as a personal project during this slower period of business. In addition to being an architectural photographer, I am also a musician, so this was a fun little project for me.

Side partial elevation of piano

This piano is a wonderful 6’7” Bosendorfer grand about 15 years old. It plays superbly and looks fantastic. I approached photographing it generally the way I would photograph a large piece of furniture--from an architectural perspective. But I also took a very artistic approach to the photography. I was not working in a large enough space to photograph the entire instrument at once, so I focused on some more artistic and detailed images. In any case, I felt the subject itself demanded a more artistic approach.

The piano lid

The piano soundboard

Some of these photographs are elevational, and that makes them more architectural, but I think that also lends those images a more artistic look, especially because they are also more detail-type images that focus in on one aspect of the design or the form of the piano, and they show the piano in an unusual way. I also used a number of less-conventional--from an architectural photography standpoint--perspectives, which allowed me to express some of the details of the instrument more artistically.

The hardest part of photographing the piano was dealing with its high-gloss surface. I wanted to show the glossy finish but without a lot of distracting reflections. I used a plain white background to take control of the reflections, but I also had to be careful to handle the lighting properly to avoid the surface taking on more of a matte finish rather than the glossy finish it has in reality. So that was a little tricky, but with some lighting work and a little bit of post-production where needed, I was able to achieve my desired result.

The dampers resting on the strings

The tuning pins

I have photographed furniture for designers on several occasions, but photographing a very large instrument like a piano is not something I’ve done before. The best way to do it would be to photograph it the same way you would photograph a car, which is also something I’ve never done before. That’s a whole separate specialization in photography, and like architectural photography it is very difficult to do at the highest level without a lot of experience and practice. I also do not have the lighting equipment that car photographers use. But my goal here was just to capture some of the beauty of this instrument and also highlight some of the inner workings of the piano action.

The pedals

A piano leg

Each piano has its own personality. It has a special sound to it, and it engages with the player in a unique way. I play differently depending on the instrument I’m playing. It’s very difficult to describe, but each piano speaks to the player in a different way, and that causes the player to respond to each instrument differently. Although you can’t hear the instrument, I hope these photographs help you appreciate this piano’s beauty.

The strings terminate at the tuning pins

The Play of Light and Shadow

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One of the things I love to do in architectural photography is to observe how the movement of sunlight throughout the day affects a building’s appearance.

The light casts shadows with interesting helix patterns through the patio overhang.

The light falls on the building in different ways throughout the day, and these changes create dramatic differences in both the interior and exterior of the building. Sometimes it creates interesting patterns, like in this photograph from a recent project I completed at an office remodel in Las Vegas, NV.

The sunlight interacts with the patio structure and creates an interesting helix pattern in the shadows on the ground. It’s a beautiful effect. We anticipated something like this happening during the day, and while working on the interior photographs, we kept an eye on the light conditions on the patio so we could make this photograph at the right time.

I was impressed with the work my client did to transform this building. It was a blank slate to start with--literally just four walls and a roof. My client transformed the space into a beautiful office facility with workstations, offices, conference rooms, a kitchen area, and several places to sit and meet informally. Here are a few more photographs from the project.

The long table is in the dining area, and behind it is a sitting area. Behind that is the reception desk.

Two sofas and a coffee table provide an area to relax while waiting for a meeting.

Here you can see the two separate levels in the office. The conference rooms are on the mezzanine level, and the workstations and offices are on the first level.






Architectural photography in Las Vegas and Phoenix - All content and images are copyright © 2014-2023 Michael Tessler. All Rights Reserved.