Studio 3, Inc. has commissioned a new tourist attraction in the shadow of the Space Needle. When we’re not moving mountains for clients, we are painting them. With artist and mountain-man Trace Gough’s mural, we have brought a bit of the PNW beauty to our own backyard. How is that for the highest quality visual solutions? Come by, check it out, and while you’re here let’s talk photography, videography and retouching.
“The mural is my interpretation of a photo taken while climbing in the Cascade Mountain Range. The photo was taken very early in the morning, from a high camp near the Neve Glacier in North Cascades National Park. I’ve been all over the Cascades, and this is hands-down one of the prettiest places, though laborious to get to. There was a layer of haze hanging in the valleys to the north. “ – Trace Gough, Artist
Transforming a storage container into a mural in 7 easy steps:
Step 1: Power washing and prepping the storage container, or “the can” as we at Studio 3, Inc. fondly refer to it.
Step 2: Use the Grid Method to enlarge the reference image onto the scale of your surface.
Step 3: Outline the mural in sharpie or paint.
Step 4: Start from the back, painting first the sky, then the mountains.
Step 5: Gradually get darker as you paint your way forward, creating depth of field.
Step 6: Save the details for last, enhancing the “wow” factor with textured ridges and moody clouds.
Step 7: Step back and admire your work, you’ve just created a masterpiece. (Now if only we could paint that house in the background).
Tag: Commercial Photography
Something Only an '80s Kid Would Remember- Studio 3, Inc.'s First Digital Camera
Digital Photography in 1993 = Big, Ugly, and Awesome… and boy did we think we were cool. Before the digital camera was the norm, it was enormous!
Take a Hasselblad, attach a HUGE digital back, and add cooling fans, a dehumidifying unit, and a large filter wheel, then you can start to imagine our first digital camera. The digital back was a Scitex Leaf DCB, it was 4 megapixels, and it cost $36,000. All of this was attached to a computer slower than molasses, packing a whopping 8 megabytes of RAM.
To take a picture, you would trigger the camera at the computer. The filter would rotate in front of lens to red and shoot. Then green and shoot. Then blue and shoot. One million years later, you would see the image come up on the computer. By aligning the three layers in the camera software, you got to finally see the finished photograph. Piece of cake, really.
This software really was sophisticated. The early versions had a button that was labeled “Guess”… we didn’t like to click that, but it worked. Later versions changed the label to “Auto,” a little easier to stomach.
The thing they must have hidden in the fine print was how much the lenses would be used. Every time you took a shot, it was actually three shots. Due to the fact that our equipment was being used three times as often we had a lot of lenses going in for repair and rebuild. The local shop got to know us pretty well and would give us the heads up when it were time to retire a lens.
This was the beginning of digital photography in the commercial world. It was a huge investment for the studio, and we where the first to take the plunge. It brings back a lot of fun and crazy memories, not to mention the price! $2000.00 for a 2gig hard drive… and that was a Deal!
What a ride it has been.
- David Bell, Photographer, Digital Pioneer.
Top Tech Toys for 2017
Yeah, we’re not sure how we made it through 2016 either, but now that 2017 is here we wanted to share what we’re excited about for the NEW year. Although we love raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens as much as the next guy, it’s this batch of new tech products that are making their way to the top of our list of favorite things! Sure, Virtual Reality is hot, hot, hot, but we wanted to highlight some other items that are equally whoa-worthy. If you have a love of photography like we do, then grab your hot cocoa, curl up next the fire, and take a peek at some of the latest and greatest tech toys you just gotta get your hands on this year.
Wacom Cintiq Pro
The new line of Wacom tablets to debut this year are bringing the art back to Photoshop. Small, portable, and affordable, now you can draw and retouch in style, directly on a screen that covers 94% of Adobe RGB colors.
Microsoft Surface Dial
Even though our studio is equipped with state-of-the-art Apple stations, the Microsoft Surface Dial definitely caught our attention. It brings a tactile feel to editing and makes you feel like Tony Stark while you do it. (Watch the hands on video from TechCrunch.)
Adobe VoCo
This sneak peek that was unveiled last month at Adobe Max is bringing video editing to new heights. Soon, you’ll be able to edit sounds the same way you edit pixels, and we can’t wait to try it for ourselves. (Didn’t know we did video? You can see some of our work for yourself here.)
Chronos High Speed Camera
Want a camera that can shoot 21,000+ fps? Want it for 1/10th the price of other cameras? Um yeah, we can’t believe todays technology is this amazing either! Certainly a game-changer for any cinematographers looking for affordable slow motion capabilities.
iPhone 7 Lightning splitter
Get a new iPhone 7 and missing some of those old ports? This dongle is a must have for any iPhone 7 owner, allowing you to play music and charge at the same time. Because… multi-tasking!
Now, reach out and let us know what inventive ideas you’ve got floating around in that noggin and what you’re inspired to create in 2017. We’re ready to collaborate with you on your next photography, video, or digital art project.
Thank You for Being a Friend…
Ever wonder how the hell Studio 3 has remained one of THE leading photography and video studios in the Pacific Northwest for like, ever?
Becoming a successful studio takes more than “having an eye for composition” and keeping up with the latest trends. Our success stems from the relationships we have built not only with our amazing clients, but also with our freelance stylists, set designers, photo and camera assistants, location scouts, key grips, gaffers, producers and production assistants. It really does take a village!
We’ve also spent countless hours volunteering in our local communities. Whether we’re donating our time preparing and serving food at a food bank, or hosting an event that will help women in need, we love to give back.
We view every job (large or small), every client (new or established) with the same level of excitement as we did way back when we first started out in this crazy industry. For us, the key to success has always been about collaboration, trust, respect, understanding, and a genuine desire to have a great time while creating beautiful photos and videos.
Over the years, we’ve had many conversations start with “OMG remember the time we…” followed by an eruption of laughter. Thanks to our wonderfully creative clients, we’re going to keep rolling up our sleeves and continue to record these memories for years to come.
Although our talent pool is overflowing with rock stars that have a gajillion combined hours of experience, we know that what really keeps our client list growing and growing is all the TLC we put into nurturing those relationships, baby!
Reach out anytime… we’d love to share a funny story or two over a cup of coffee and talk about ways we can collaborate with you on your next project! As always, keep your eyes on our social media channels – we LOVE to share photos of what happens on THIS side of the lens. Who knows, you might even score a cameo in one of our future posts!!
Chatting with Studio 3 Co-Founder, Jim Felt
Studio 3 has was established in 1978 by three high school buddies. We sat down with one of the founding members, Jim Felt, to learn a little more about his lengthy career in photography.
How long have you been a photographer?
I got my first camera in 8th grade but it didn’t occur to me then I would become a photographer and remain a photographer.
What was the biggest “uh oh” moment you can recall having on a set?
We forgot our light meter for a shoot in Oklahoma City. The shoot was during a sunset and we needed that light meter. We called every shop in town and of course nobody had anything for us to use. So I went ahead took the photo without a light meter and it turned out perfect anyway. The client never knew.
What was the most innovative “MacGyver moment” you’ve had on set?
I was at the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama getting ready to shoot a space shuttle. The shuttle flew in on a 747 and we were there to do a mid-operation shoot. The problem was, how was I going to light this thing? I realized that this military base was full of firemen, so I walked up to them and asked them, “Hey, can we use your spotlights to light up this space shuttle?” They agreed and we got the firemen to use the spotlights on their trucks to light up the shuttle.
What was the craziest thing you caught on camera that wasn’t for a shoot?
It was 1968 and rioting over the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr had begun in the Lloyd Center area of Portland. My buddy and I were cruising around and pulled up to the completely empty parking lot of the Lloyd Center Mall. Armed with our Nikons, we approached the mall and it looked abandoned, except for the cop cars that were parked inside of the mall. We proceeded to walk around taking photos of this creepy, empty mall when finally we hear a voice, “What the hell do you think you are doing here?” It was the police, with their guns. They were telling us to leave and even tried to take our film. We had cameras and they had tommy guns.
There have been some unbelievable moments that I’ve captured over the course of my photography career (some planned, some un-planned) and I wouldn’t trade my experience for any other profession in the world. It’s been exciting to watch Studio 3 grow through the “film-days”, into digital, and I can’t wait to see what happens next as we move into virtual/ augmented reality!
Stop, Prop and Roll!
How’d you make it look so GOOD? Well, my dears, it takes quite a bit of searching to find just the right prop. Ask our producers and stylists, they’ve got TONS of hilarious stories about finding the perfect prop for the job!
Stepping into our prop library, you’ll see that we have multiple racks with bins filled with fabric, sport helmets, fruit, tech supplies, mortars and pestles, and pretty much any object you can fathom. We keep it so organized, Martha Stewart would cry with pride.
We keep a hefty inventory of household items on hand to recreate life-like sets. Cups, picture frames, hand towels; we’ve got all the odds-and-ends to spruce up a set. Of course we have a plethora of other homestyle necessities too: luggage, bird cages, mannequins and a gas mask.
The prop library in our Seattle studio even has a fully functional shop attached to it, for when we need to build things for a shoot. What kind of things do we build for shoots? Kitchens, bathrooms, tables, even this beautifully lush “front yard.”
Need fruit, flowers, pie, towels, perhaps a stethoscope? We’ve got it! All sorts of items are constantly being added to our prop library and we are happy to add more to meet your needs. Give us a call and let’s get started on your photoshoot today.
Same Friendly Faces, Great New Location
We’ve had a busy week here in the Studio 3 Portland branch. As is the norm in PDX, we’ve moved! Yes, after 40 years in the same location we decided it was time to shake things up a bit.
Ahh look at that open space! After months of waiting, we have finally moved into the heart of the bustling Kerns neighborhood in Northeast Portland. Creative, fun, vibes are inevitable here as our new location is surrounded by theaters, restaurants, parks, art galleries, few urban farms and our neighbors, Kamp Grizzly.
We loved our time in the Southeast, and we take with us the many years of memories. Memories that we sorted and packed into hundreds of boxes. Boxes that have now formed rising towers, reflecting our decades of innovative commercial photography.
A little change of scenery has proven invigorating. We are buzzing with new ideas and our studio is ready to handle whatever project your brand may have. We are all settled in, so now is the time to swing by either Portland or Seattle location, grab a cup of coffee and let’s chat about your photography needs.
Time Will Tell…
LaCoste’s stylish watch blends elements of dignified grace and exquisite fashion. Its dynamic look requires a dynamic image that only Studio 3 can deliver. Photographer Trevor Boone pulled out all of the stops, shooting in Seattle’s Union Station, a backdrop uniquely suited to reflect LaCoste’s class and refined elegance.
Using mostly natural light, Photographer Trevor Boone turned the bustling public area into his own personal playground as he navigated through the uncontrolled environment with skill and precision. The result is a backdrop with character, proving that Studio 3 can shoot anywhere and everywhere.
Not only will our team locate a picture-perfect setting, we’re also experienced in hiring the right talent for your project whether that means partnering with agencies or holding open casting calls in our studios…. and if you need some cute kittens to get the puurrrrrfect image, we can handle that too!
Studio 3 is the premiere photo studio in the Pacific Northwest specializing in long-term partnerships with the top companies in their field. Now is the time to reach out and bring a spotlight to your brand with precision and authority.
A Glimpse at Photography Production
When you stumble across a flawlessly delicious image you can’t help but wonder; how did they make it look so good? While we can’t reveal all of our secrets, we can certainly give you a glimpse into the messy, hectic, chaotic yet beautiful world of Commercial Photography told from our Seattle Producer herself….
A job always begins with an estimate request, and historically, those like to come flooding in on Friday afternoons, just as I’m ready to walk out the door for Happy Hour.
During the estimate process I learn if I need to find a location, source props, hire a model, or even bring in the occasional docile cat like we did for the Humane Society Cat Calendar. Oftentimes, it’s about finding ways to make the impossible, possible.
With just two words, “we’re approved”, the Production office turns into a hub of organized chaos. Location scouting, hiring talent, finding the perfect stylist, scheduling Post Production…. it’s all part of the thrill in getting everything finalized for the next big photo-shoot and sometimes it’s just hours away!
For a recent issue of Seattle Magazine I was tasked with organizing 20+ food and beverage rock stars to be in the Studio on the same day for their specialty items to be photographed for a feature story in the magazine. Sounds easy enough until you find out that Bakers start their day at 4:00AM when Bartenders are on their way to sleep!! Scheduling the two to be at the studio at the same time is challenging… but we always find ways to make it work.
Now, flash forward through the shoot day(s), hours of color correcting and retouching, and final file delivery and it’s clear that a lot of people have put their blood, sweat, and tears into producing that picture perfect image. Then, when it’s a wrap we wake up the next morning, chug our favorite caffeinated beverage, and happily do it all over again.