30 December, 2014

The Art on your Walls

Well it's embarrassingly been almost a year since I've written a blog post, sorry, but here it goes...

As we come to the end of another year and as I look back on all the wonderful opportunities I've been so fortunate to be a part of. Rather than do a top 10 or 25 list, I wanted to just mention one aspect of my almost daily life that really resonates with me. Often times stopping me dead in my tracts. That is the art, the private art collections that I have been privy to in New England. 

About a month ago I was visiting/scouting an upcoming project I'll be photographing and there was the Designer and myself; just the two of us, alone standing in a home surrounded by more Kandinsky's than I'd ever seen in one place. If there is one single solitary aspect of my daily life that is truly priceless, than it is the opportunity to view and take pleasure in the collection of art that most will never see in their lifetime. That privilege is truly meaningful and it's impact often stays with me for a very long time. 

One of my personal favorite elements of all Design Publications is not necessarily seeing how someone lives or how their home is decorated. I look to the art, the private collections that are generously shared by their owners in the photographs that grace the wonderful Design Magazines we all love. 

When I first scouted the home of Craig Tevolitz and Richard Baiano this one cibachrome print by Vee Speers stopped me dead in my tracks. There is just something about it. This is the scouting shot taken and when I scout I use one lens and so at 35mm with my back to the wall this was as much as I could get of the stair landing…


On the day of the photo shoot after Editor Kyle Hoepner and I had gotten settled we discussed the shots for the day and decided I would start setting up this shot first. Primarily because there was very little styling to do and that allowed Kyle to start styling other aspects of the home with Designer Craig Tevolitz. For me this shot had to be absolutely perfect, not just through it's composition but from a technical standpoint as well. There where so many parallel and perpendicular lines that all had to line up. In order to get this shot, I would use my 17mm Tilt Shift lens which allowed more information in the framing of the shot and the tilt shift aspect made certain all the many lines would be perfect. 
This is the shot as it appears in the magazine:

And sorry about the screen shot, but when you shoot for a magazine they technically "own" the photographs until after the issue has outlived it's shelf life. So even though it would be very easy for me to use the unmarked photograph in this blog, I believe in playing by the rules and honoring my contract with New England Home Magazine :-)

Please be sure to pick up the January/February issue of New England Home Magazine to view the rest of this home's beautiful artwork, stunning Design and thoughtful Architecture which really becomes art in and of itself. 

I am very proud this feature made the cover, please look for your copy on news stands.



Happy and Healthy New Year

Michael





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