The Play of Light and Shadow

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.






Savidan Gallery Exhibition

I am honored to announce the opening of my first gallery exhibition at Savidan Gallery located at Faciliteq’s showroom in downtown Las Vegas, NV. I’m really excited about this opportunity to share some of my work with the larger design community in Las Vegas.

My exhibition features photographs of the architecture and design of downtown Las Vegas, but it’s not what you might think. I don’t have photographs of the casinos or Fremont Street on display. Instead, these are photographs that show Las Vegas as a living, working city.

For example, featured among my photographs are the Las Vegas City Hall, the World Market Center, the Smith Center, and several residential and commercial buildings. These are the structures of government, culture, life, and work that make Las Vegas a real city beyond its facade of casinos and entertainment.

Inside the Savidan Gallery at Faciliteq on 3rd Street in Las Vegas, NV

This work is part of my ongoing project to capture the environment and life of downtown Las Vegas.

Inside the Savidan Gallery at Faciliteq on 3rd Street in Las Vegas, NV

At the opening reception last night, I said I wanted to thank the architects and designers who continue to build Las Vegas because without them, none of my work would be possible. Not only do architects and designers create the subject matter I love to photograph, they also serve as my inspiration.

I tried to make my photographs fit right in with the scenery outside.

If you’re in Las Vegas, stop by Faciliteq’s showroom on 3rd Street. They have a beautiful gallery, and I’m proud and honored to be showing my work in it.

Savidan Gallery at Faciliteq, Las Vegas, NV

New Instagram Account

Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted a new blog article, but that is not because I haven’t had anything going on! In fact, I’ve been extremely busy with a lot of different projects. I’ve also been working very hard to connect with architects and designers and others who are interested in professional architectural photography.

I have also been working on my Instagram account. Over the past few weeks, I have been making a great effort to increase my activity and presence on Instagram. I am trying to make a new post to my account each week. I’m going to continue to post my finished architectural photographs on Instagram, but I also plan to do some behind the scenes posts. I’m working on a video right now that will show some of the magic of post-production in Photoshop.

Here is one of my latest posts:

500 S. Main Garage, Las Vegas, NV

You can learn a little more about this building--parking structure in downtown Las Vegas, NV--in my post. My Instagram account is @michaeltessler, and I added an link to my profile here on my website in the upper right corner of each page.

I am finding that Instagram is a great way for me to connect with lots of different people who have an interest in architecture and design. I hope to see you out there!

Post-Production: Fixing Major Issues

Architectural photographs should be clean, simple, and graphic. They should tell a story clearly and without distraction. They should focus on the architecture--the shape, pattern, line, and design of the space. Any element that does not contribute to the story of the photograph detracts from it. That’s why I almost always remove unnecessary, non-architectural elements like light switches, outlets, and air vents from architectural images. These changes are a normal part of post-production and are relatively straightforward to accomplish. Sometimes, however, more difficult situations arise. I’d like to share two examples from one of my recent projects.

The new HealthCare Partners facility in Pahrump, NV features a rock sculpture with light display. Designed by Daniel Amster, Dakem & Associates, LLC.

HealthCare Partners is opening a new 57,000 square foot medical center in Pahrump, NV. The building was designed by Daniel Amster of Dakem & Associates, LLC. The photograph above shows the exterior of the structure, which includes a large rock sculpture with a multi-colored light display. The photograph below shows an interior view of the main hallway of the building.

Main hallway of HealthCare Partners in Pahrump, NV. Designed by Daniel Amster, Dakem & Associates, LLC.

Look at the back wall on the right side of the photograph. That’s not how the wall looked when I was there. Here’s one of the raw images before post-production. There were several palettes with lots of large boxes up against the wall. Unfortunately it was impossible to move the boxes out of the way. I needed a photograph from this perspective, though, and I was able to fix this issue in post-production.

Note the boxes against the wall on the right.

I knew it would be possible to remove the boxes in post-production because they were sitting in front of a blank wall. That's easy enough to replace. The hard part about this fix was recreating the light and shadow on the wall. There is a diagonal shadow and an intersecting hot spot from an overhead light, and I had to reproduce the subtle changes in light and shadow accurately so the fix would be convincing. This fix was time consuming and required some Photoshop skills, but it was necessary and well worth it. The otherwise acceptable photograph would be unusable without this fix.

HealthCare Partners main entry, Pahrump, NV. Designed by Daniel Amster, Dakem & Associates, LLC.

Returning to the exterior, here's a view (above) of the main entry of the building. I made one major change to this photograph to prepare the final image. The column on the left has a heavy garbage can in front of it. It was too heavy to move any distance, and I did not have a dolly to get under it, so I had to photograph with it in the frame. It could not remain in the final image, however.

Note the garbage can in front of the left column.

The fix for this situation was more difficult because I actually had to reconstruct the column. I paid a lot of attention to matching the color and lighting of the column. If you didn’t know I had done anything there, I don’t think you would be able to tell that anything has changed, and that is always my goal with these kinds of fixes.

Rescuing photographs from problems that could not be fixed on location is an important part of post-production in architectural photography. It’s not easy, and it is always much better to fix things on location when possible, but I love doing it. I’m always amazed at what can be done with Photoshop given enough time, experience, and attention to detail.

Geodesic Dome House, Palm Springs, CA

One of my most recent projects brought me to a unique home in a spectacular location. This house is in Palm Springs, CA. The house features a geodesic dome invented by Buckminster Fuller and is sited in the large wind farm at the north end of Palm Springs.

Geodesic dome house in Palm Springs, CA. Re-designed by California architect Pavlina Williams, AIA.

This house has an interesting history. It was originally built in the 1950s as a weekend family vacation home for a chemical engineer from Torrance, CA. The house was built without an architect and was pieced together by neighbors and local residents.

Palm Springs, CA. Architect: Pavlina Williams, AIA.

Palm Springs, CA. Architect: Pavlina Williams, AIA.

Palm Springs, CA. Architect: Pavlina Williams, AIA.

In the 1970s, the owner bought a commercially available kit to add the geodesic dome. The primary dome of the house originally had very few windows, which is surprising considering the broad mountain views available at the site. The house remained unchanged until only a few years ago, when California architect Pavlina Williams, AIA and her husband discovered the house and recognized it as a diamond in the rough.

Palm Springs, CA. Architect: Pavlina Williams, AIA.

Palm Springs, CA. Architect: Pavlina Williams, AIA.

Pavlina redesigned the dome, adding the triangular and other geometric windows which now provide panoramic views of the area. She completely renovated and remodeled the interior as well, introducing a treasure of mid-century modern furniture and design.

Palm Springs, CA. Architect: Pavlina Williams, AIA.

Palm Springs, CA. Architect: Pavlina Williams, AIA.

The house is now the perfect desert retreat, and it’s a great place to escape for a weekend. Thanks to the efforts of Pavlina, the house has become an architectural gem in the desert.

Geodesic dome house in Palm Springs, CA. Architect: Pavlina Williams, AIA.

Portraying Function: From Academic to Dramatic

The O’Reilly Theater in Pittsburgh, PA is a beautiful public theater designed by Michael Graves Architecture & Design. The theater is modern and comfortable, and every seat in the house offers great views of the action on stage.

Main auditorium entrance, O'Reilly Theater - Pittsburgh, PA - Michael Graves Architecture & Design

Inside the lobby, O'Reilly Theater - Pittsburgh, PA - Michael Graves Architecture & Design

These photographs of the lobby and lounge areas show some of the architectural features Graves built into the structure. Inside the theater itself, the curves and the use of wood continue throughout the space to create a warm, comfortable environment in which to enjoy a play. The challenge I had was to portray this space differently from the way other photographers had captured it.

Lounge Area, O'Reilly Theater - Pittsburgh, PA - Michael Graves Architecture & Design

The theater staff told me that when the inside of the theater had been photographed in the past, the images always had an “academic” look to them. They wanted something more “editorial.” At first I wasn’t sure what they meant, but when I made my first photographs inside the theater, I started to understand. The photographs made the space feel a little clinical. It could have been a lecture hall at a university--it had that “academic” feel to it. There was nothing in the photographs that portrayed a sense of the drama that takes place within those walls. They wanted me to make something more “editorial.” So the challenge I gave myself was to use my photography to transform the space from an academic location to a dramatic location. That would be my editorial interpretation of it.

The best tool we have for creating drama in a photograph is light. I used a combination of multiple ambient exposures and exposures with supplemental lighting to provide me the raw materials I needed to create an atmosphere of drama in the room. I later blended these images together to realize that vision of drama. I was careful not to take any technique too far because I did not want the quality of the photographs to degrade. Fortunately I captured enough of a range of material in camera that this was mostly an exercise in blending, which maintains the quality and integrity of the photograph. Here is one of the photographs I produced.

Main auditorium, O'Reilly Theater - Pittsburgh, PA - Michael Graves Architecture & Design

The theater was very happy with my photographs. No photographer had captured the space in this way before.

In my architectural photography, I always try to be accurate and true to the architect’s and designer’s intent. In this case, with some direction from the theater, I believe I succeeded. The space was designed as a location where dramatic performance takes place. My photographs show how the audience will feel as though they are a part of that drama.