As a photographer, there’s nothing more inspiring than capturing the essence of a building’s history through my lens. That’s why I was thrilled to photograph the Hyatt Centric The Loop Chicago at 100 W. Monroe Street during my recent visit to the Windy City. It is a shining example of Chicago Architecture. It will also be a good addition to my Hotel Portfolio of photographs. In the midst of 1920’s Chicago Heyday History This building has a rich history that dates back to 1927 when it was first built as the Continental and Commercial National Bank. It was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, one of the most prominent architectural firms in the city. This 22-story building was the tallest building in Chicago at the time of its completion and was known for its stunning art deco architecture. As I arrived at the Hyatt Centric, I couldn’t help but […]
Aerial Drone Photography – Interview with Steven Graffham
In this interview with Winter Park Photography photographer Steven Graffham, goes into depth about his passion for aerial drone photography. You have been shooting photography for years now, what led you to first get started in aerial photography?Whenever I see a video I am always studying to see how it is captured, and what type of equipment they might be using. For instance, I am studying it to see if they might have been using a boom or a smooth wide shot. A couple years back I saw a video that was filmed at a local wedding venue I knew. The video started off like any other video would with a low shot over the ceremony chairs as if they were using a crane; but then the video kept progressing, over the beach and then eventually to where it was about ten feet over the water. I was stunned and could not […]
Pursuing the Experience – How Hiking the Pitons Gave Me Insight Into Life
Everyone has a to-do list for life. Climbing a mountain was never on my to-do list, at least not until my long time friend and occasional assistant Steve told me it was. And so, the Pitons came into view. To-do list amendment (apparently) For over a decade now I have been lucky enough to travel to some very exciting locations to photograph hotels and, when I’m really lucky, the overall destination too. But all too often I fly in, focused on the job at hand and fly out immediately after without the chance to explore a whole lot. That is perhaps how it should be. However, while on a photo shoot in Barbados in late 2013 with Steve, he got chatting to one of the cleaners at our hotel about where she was from. (He likes to ask questions and is a generally curious man, so he usually finds out […]
Why the Right Hotel Photographer Makes a Difference
Choosing the Right Photographer All my life, I’ve loved soccer. I played as a kid, watch it every weekend, coached a team as an adult, and currently have season tickets for Orlando City Soccer. So when I was first invited to photograph a professional soccer match by a group of experienced sports photographers, I was thrilled and confident that I would walk away with amazing images. I had never really photographed the game before, but I was a good photographer and I knew the game inside and out. After the game, however, I was disappointed in what I had captured. Sure, I had a few good frames, but for the rest, my timing was off. I seemed to always have just missed the action while all the seasoned sports photographers were spot on almost every time. My inexperience was painfully obvious in comparison in both timing and the handling of […]
