This story was photo-driven by a series of images where we utilized an Ikea Strandmon chair to symbolize the opportunity provided by the gift of an endowed chair position. Locations were based on each person's area of expertise and how we could creatively weave the chair into the scene. Once the images were shot, they were brought into Photoshop where they were carefully edited to help the chair to pop and to keep the viewer's focus on the subject.
Original image:
Thankfully, our subject is a regular water adventurer or this shot wouldn't have happened. Since this chair was physically placed in the water, I had some plastic wrap that needed to be removed from the final image. You can also see how the green chair falls flat against the brightness of the green in the background. My goal with this first image was to draw Dr. Rose out from the background a little more and make use of the expectations of perspective to add depth to the scene by adjusting color and contrast at each level of the shot. The vignette used here became a unifying treatment for all seven of the images.
Some documentation shots from the day of the shoot. I helped set up the scene but we shot tethered to a device onshore so I could see the images as they were being recorded. The photo team loaned us waders and I'm fairly certain mine were made for someone about two feet taller than me.
Original image:
We packed Dr. Freedman up to head north to an area of the state I once passed on my daily commute. The goal here was to capture as many of the wind turbines in the background as possible but, once we found our location, we realized there weren't as many in the background as we'd hoped. Once the image was in post-production, I was able to solve the turbine issue and also chose to mask out the barn in the background so we could minimize the association with agriculture. The early morning light was beautiful in the original but we really lost the chair in the field, so I massaged the color and contrast to allow Dr. Freedman and the chair to emerge from the scene. Admittedly, the vignette was a little heavy-handed but I liked the moodiness of the final so I left it.
A couple of documentation shots from the day of the shoot. We always had fun with the test shots (Dr. Freedman is getting his own shots in, here, while we worked). I snagged the shot on the right with my own camera in between Kurt's shots.
Original image:
Our photographer, Kurt, really fought the light in this space. He was able to get the chair to pop a bit better but the rest of the image needed to be infused with more light which I was able to pull in via Photoshop. While I wanted the warehouse to be authentically represented, I also fought the desire to clean up parts of the image I found distracting. In particular, the side of the forklift and certain elements on the floor.
A doc shot from one of our videographers, Chris, and the image that I believe Kurt shot that day. The warehouse was a maze of elevated belts, walkways, stairs, and abuzz with the activity of forklifts and boxes moving everywhere. It was fascinating to watch.
Original image:
With Dr. DiRita's expertise being something not easily represented in an image with him, we had to get creative. We were able to acquire images of the bacteria and partnered with a local gallery to invent a space where the projection would be able to stand out in the background. At the time, they were in the process of taking down a show, so I had to mask out some of the remaining elements of the exhibition. In addition to pulling the chair and subject out from the shadows, I also composited in the microscope from another shot and revisited the two areas in the background where the shadow of objects prevented the projection from flooding the space.
We didn't do doc shots with every shoot but I'm so glad I have the ones that were shared with me for the memories. Kurt, now retired, was always really great about making us stop and take a candid or encouraging us when we'd get silly in front of the camera during test shots. I suspect he has a treasure-trove of blackmail images of us in his possession at home. The image on the left was one of his and the one on the right was shot with my iPhone as we were getting set up.
Original image:
The original concept for this shot was scrapped because, as you might imagine, working with animals on a shoot is completely unpredictable. We'd wanted to get the silhouette of the horse in the background with the light shining out around it, but this horse wasn't sure it wanted to be away from Dr. Valberg. The dog, on the other hand, was a natural. My Photoshop work was limited to bringing the rich color back into the scene, making the chair pop, and fixing the dents in the doors that I found distracting.
Original image:
The contradicting light temperatures in this shot made it easier to get the chair to pop a little more in Photoshop. I masked out a few elements in the scene to minimize distraction (like the outlet), but I chose to leave the sheet folds in since it was so relatable to anyone who's had this type of imaging done. A crafty crop helped me to eliminate the can light in the ceiling to keep the warm light at the center of the shot.
Original image:
This shot required the most assistance in post-production. We struggled to find a location that fit the historical aspect of Dr. Aronoff's research. This particular atrium has some epic stone and woodwork, but it also included some display cases and artwork that couldn't be physically removed. The goal was to eliminate any background distractions, but we also needed to pull the subject out from this almost too epic background.
After removing any visual distractions, I cropped the image and blurred the background a bit so the eye would naturally go straight to Dr. Aronoff. We also liked the symbol of the olive branch that was used in a few of the other shots, so I composited it back into the final. I appreciated how the way it's placed across the spine of the book aligns with one of the borders on the map below it, helping to draw the eye downward from the subject.
Credits:
Kurt Stepnitz (photographer), Jennifer Trenkamp (project lead),
Aimee Brasseur (art director and designer), Anthony Siciliano, Chris Buller, & Kevin Epling
Awards:
2017 Bronze Addy
2018 CASE Circle of Excellence Platinum
