an inspiring blend of science tech and geek
When it comes to still life / product photography, it’s projects like this that get me excited. These prosthetic limbs were designed by Scott Summit of Bespoke and backed by 3D printing systems. Both limbs shown were created by 3D printing and the metal one was chrome plated afterwards. Scott’s a product design guru of sorts and a long time client of mine.
© peter samuels
© peter samuels
Here are a few images from a previous shoot and a model who was very excited about her unique prosthetic.
© peter samuels
© peter samuels
camouflage cell towers – ominous sort of cool
You know you’re a city boy when your road trip travel photo subject of choice are camouflage cell towers… These faux trees inspire thoughts that range from blade runner landscape visuals to the Twilight Zone episode where the people discover they’re in a tiny model set world and nothing is real. Then I imagine the politics behind them – the compromise between the NIMBY (not in my backyard) patrols and the telecom industries’ need to add more towers across the land. All this so I don’t drop your call when I hear from you with the perfect project for me.
Thank you exotic electromagnetic wave pine, I can hear you now.
© peter samuels
bodymetrics – the science of fit
I was pleased to be chosen to photograph the bodymetrics pod, or rather, glowing orb like variation to Woody Allen’s orgasmitron.. This is one of the stranger things I’ve photographed since it’s lit from the inside and pulses in different colors, it really has no point of reference for someone to say, ‘oh yeah, that’s a..’ Therefore, finding the balance of how it ‘should’ look becomes entirely subjective – and totally fun.
Bodymetrics is essentially a Microsoft Knect modification that scans your body then tells you which jeans will fit you best. Soon, buying clothes online and knowing with a better certainty of how well they’ll fit could be the norm and likely transform the industry along the way!
© peter samuels
visually intimate sounds better than nudes
I don’t often do figure work, but occasionally the inspiration occurs. Throughout the history of photography nudes are a well traveled road making the subject an intriguing challenge to create work that speaks to the heart while being unique and consistant within the work that I do.
© peter samuel
© peter samuels
© peter samuels
farewell to my best friend and inspirational muse
Last month I made the difficult decision to put my loving dog and inspiring muse down for the big sleep. Earlier this year, Leica, the dachshund /min pin mix had surgery for two herniated discs – that’s when the cushions between the vertebrae turn sandy and mineralize. The surgery was a a financial and emotional behemoth with a 3-4 month recovery time. She seemed to be doing alright, however, just nine months after the first surgery, a new disc had herniated and we found ourselves back at square one. Disc issues are common in dachshunds, it’s a genetic thing, and though my girl was only half doxie, it was apparently enough for her. As one surgeon told me, it’s almost as if their spines were designed to go bad.. The decision to let her go was as heartbreaking as much as I knew it was right thing to do.
Leica was not only a great dog, she inspired a new dimension of work for me. Leica was my first dog and I wasn’t photographing animals before she entered the picture. She was my muse and she did her job very very well. She will be missed and I celebrate the time shared with her.
good girl! © peter samuels
Equestrio feature on the Arabian Saluki ‘sons of the desert’
Equestrio, a beautifully printed publication based out of Dubai, asked me to locate and photograph Arabian Saluki dogs in America. Not an easy task since very few are in the bay area at all. Happily, I managed find just about all of them and bonus points go to Tesse, the Saluki who had a resent litter of pups – score!
Salukis are desert hunting hounds steeped in Arabian history, the Egyptians called them the Royal Dogs of Egypt, and are considered to be one of the oldest known dog breeds. Swift, smart and beautiful, these ‘sons of the desert’ were bred to chase and catch prey in the harsh desert climate. Here’s a video showing they’re astonishing hunting speed.
all images © peter samuels
Equestrio magazine – portfolio feature and interview
all images © peter samuels
I’m thrilled to announce my kickstarter project – fairy tale animals
Please visit my kickstarter page for details and I’ll elaborate more in an update soon.
© peter samuels
Apple Store presentation thursday 5.17.12 – 6:30-7:30
I’m excited [nervous?] to be doing a presentation at the Apple store next thursday. I’m sure I’ll have plenty to say by the time it starts.. Okay, seriously, I’ll be speaking about my commercial work playing on the boundries of fine art and what I’ve been learning about fine art sales from a commercial photographers perspective.
The presentation is titled ‘merging fine art and commercial work’ I know it’s going to be great because I have much to share on the topic! Please come, it’d be great to say hello and see you there!
Apple Store Downtown San Francisco May 17th 2012 6:30-7:30
Apple Store presentation
Fairy tale animal series takes flight
After photographing Stanley the donkey, I’ve been inspired to build a new series of animal pictures with fairy tales in mind. It’s a subtle twist to my existing work which is perfect since I always strive to build new work that doesn’t stray too far from what I’ve already been doing.
© peter samuels
© peter samuels
© peter samuels
the donkey that wasn’t an ass at all
Last week I got to photograph a donkey in the studio. Since I’ve often photographed horses on location in studio settings, I was thrilled at having a small horse in my studio without the confines of a barn like location.
I just completed a video shoot for Bidawee, a pet services company back east – more on that in the next post. For the Bidawee gig, we brought in animal trainers from Los Angeles and since they were town, we worked out a out deal for me to photograph the ass after the shoot.
All puns aside, Stanley wasn’t an ass at all. In fact he was polite and adoring – a model burro, if you will.. Stanley had that ‘just walked out of a fairy tale’ look about him. )
While the shoot was intended for my comercial portfolio, I’ve already sold two large prints of Stanley as fine art. One of those is going to Bar Bambino, a cafe restaurant in the mission, where they’ll feature the 5′ print in the front dining area – sweet! It’s exciting to see my comercial and fine art work blending so nicely and makes me wonder if the donkey image is the beginning of new series.
© peter samuels
meet duke, the stellar and beautiful afghan hound
© peter samuels
© peter samuels
I always enjoy testing with new subjects that catch my eye and when I saw Duke, the afghan hound, in my neighborhood, it was a classic scenario of ’excuse me sir, but I must photograph your dog. I think I even used a british accent due to a wave of properness that came over me..
botanical, meet mechanical – may the stamin not be jaded
© peter samuels
I did some work with an Los Angeles based agency a while called Boom Bang. They asked me to do some images of flowers and vibrators for a Trogan pitch they were working on. I recently went through the files looking to build a new image for that incorporated my still life and flora work, I think the composited result is successful and it’ll likely make the portfolio edit too.
lucky happy vibrant kitty
© peter samuels
This image came about both to fill a need in the portfolio as well as a recent art show at project one in San Francisco. The original image was photographed against white and while liked the image a lot, it needed something extra to pull it together. Without the art show request or the portfolio need, I might not have kept pushing to find a solution that worked. You know an image works when you just have to print it out and have it sit by you just because you love to look at it.
There’s something very loving about the Good Fortune Kitty or Maneki Neko. She is a money blessing after all and the bright yellow/gold seems to invoke a positive emotional reaction which I find intriguing. Perhaps there’s a series in this for me if I can find more ‘happy vibe’ statuettes, not an easy task since many are somewhat odd or almost creepy looking.
Not just for hay.
I was recently asked to photograph a horse inside a showroom, the client, Coup d’tat, is an interior design showroom that features an visual ethic that I like to call ‘steampunk meets industrial design chic’. However, while the white bookshelf in the image is more Kubrik than Steampunk, I feel the the over look of the showroom is still fitting of my description.
The shoot was for an ad featured in California Home and Design and Chrysta Giffen of CG retouching did an outstanding job combing three variations into one final image. Great work Chrysta!
If the term Steampunk doesn’t ring a bell, one of favorite all time movies, ‘City of Lost Children’, is a good example as are the visuals described by the 18th century science fiction author, Jules Verne. My client wanted to feature the white bookshelf unit, one of a pair, that were custom built in the 80′s for the Macy family. The one of kind pair of bookshelves have a $300,000 price tag and it was obvious that Bugs, the horse, sincerely appreciated his fancy feeder..
© peter samuels
The showroom also sells some of my personal work with a reasonable amount of success. The image below shows some of the work in on display, the flora images are 40×40″ and the horse is 60×60″.
Some of the Flora and Equestrian work on display at Coup in San Francisco. © peter samuels
from the studio ~ the mystique of old lightbulbs
© peter samuels
© peter samuels
© peter samuels
from the studio – toaster the labradoodle
I recently asked Kevin Rose if I could photograph his labradoodle, Toaster, here in the studio. Toaster is a bit of celebrity since he was just voted cutest dog in 7×7, he made a great model and I’m pleased with the evolution of this look for me.
© peter samuels
On location – Equine
© peter samuels