Wanamaker Photography Blog

Behind The Scenes Of A Photography Studio

After my recent trip to San Francisco, I began looking back through some of the other trips I’ve made throughout the past year and the images I captured while visiting. The first trip that came to mind was one that I took back in the early part of February of last year to Las Vegas. Again, this trip was mainly business with a little free time for myself to check out the sights.

Now, they say that New York is the city that never sleeps … well … I think that title should be given to Sin City. No matter where you were staying or where you wound up for the night, there was always something to do or see. With the incredible amount of shows, clubs and other nightly entertainment … you could avoid sleep for a week and still not see and experience everything that Vegas (and the surrounding area) has to offer.

After getting out of classes early one day, I decided to head out into the beautiful 75 degree weather and take a walk around the strip. Luckily, there was a tram that stopped right at the hotel and would take you from one end of the strip to the other in just a couple minutes. For $5, I hopped on and headed for MGM. When I came out of the MGM hotel, I was greeted with a familiar sight …

Never having visited Vegas before, seeing a hotel that looked like your own home-town city was pretty cool. Every little detail that they could have packed into the design … they did … and it was incredible!

I continued up the strip, past the hotels in progress and the hookers working the streets and finally made it up to the Bellagio where I walked up one of their driveways, turned around and shot Paris in the desert …

As I continued up the strip, I also grabbed a shot of the Mirage volcano that amazed so many at night …

But overall, I have to say that the Venetian is the one hotel that I liked the most. Just walking up to the front entrance was a sight to see. Unfortunately, because I was too busy looking at everything, I didn’t even shoot a picture until I got inside and remembered I had a camera slung around my neck!

As I walked through the main entrance, they had this water fountain that was just screaming to have its picture taken …

As I continued my personal tour through the hotel, I eventually wound up in their rendition of the Grand Canal, complete with Gondolas and singing Gondoliers. As I made my way through the shops, I saw a really cool looking statue with a ton of money laying on the railing in front of it. Again, not having been to Vegas before, I was curious to find out what it was all about.

All I have to say is that this guy was good …

I stood next to him for nearly 5 minutes and not once did he move, sway or make a noise. After I took my shot, I decided to make my own contribution … and when I did, he reached out to shake my hand as a thank you, only to freak out a little girl standing near by who thought he was a statue as well!

Like San Francisco, Vegas was a cool city to check out and is definitely on my list of re-visits. Unlike most tourists to the area, I didnt get a chance to see Red Rock, the Grand Canyon or Hoover Dam … so they are a must for next time!

Now … lets see what else I can dig up …

After an extremely long, fully packed, six and a half hour plane ride across the country, I finally set foot in San Francisco for the first time last week. While it was 8PM Pacific time and you couldn’t see too much of the area, I was still excited to be out there!

The trip was a combination of business and pleasure, which let me see some of the city while learning new things about business. I stayed at the Parc55 Hotel in downtown San Francisco, just inside of the Financial District. At the end of each day, I had some time, before the sun set, to get out and take in some of the sights like a typical tourist. Luckily, there was a cable car turnstyle a half-a-block away from the hotel, which gave me quick access to many of the great spots throughout the city.

I hopped on to one of the San Francisco Cable Cars and headed for Mason Street in Fisherman’s Wharf. Not wanting to miss an opportunity for a great picture, I slid my arm through one of the side bars and hung off the side of the car with my camera bag and one of my feet dangling over the road below. As we crested the top of Mason Street, I snapped this shot of an oncoming cable car with the bay in the background.

I kept taking shots of the oncoming cable car until I was about 2 seconds away from being knocked off as it passed by. Needless to say, not all of those shots came out that great …

After being dropped off in Fisherman’s Wharf, I walked around and grabbed a few more shots of the area before heading out on a Bay Tour that would take me under the Golden Gate Bridge and around the far side of Alcatraz. I wish I could have visited some of the more known spots to take shots of the bridge from … but I still love this one …

Alcatraz island …

And as we finally came around Alcatraz island, Downtown San Francisco …

(For another great shot of this boat, check out our photo of the week)

As the sun set and the upper 60 degree weather faded, I decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. I figured I would be daring once again and hung off the side of the cable car for a few more shots. As we climbed up Mason Street, I saw another cable car headed our direction … so I snapped this …

But what makes this photo great is the guy in the white shirt. As you can see, he isn’t looking in the same direction that his cable car is headed. Needless to say, no one in his car decided to tell him about us either. As the two cars approached, I leaned in as far as I could … and then I heard the “thud”. The guy in the white shirt was actually hit by our cable car! He never fell nor did the cable cars stop … but I am sure he was a little sore the next morning!

As I got back to the hotel and opened up the door to my room, I was greeted with one more photo opportunity. The bay fog that covers the Golden Gate almost everyday, started rolling into the city. I waited as long as possible so I could get the right light and the perfect amount of fog!

All in all, the trip was fun (until I got sick for the last few days) and I learned a lot of new things that I get to bring back home with me. I shot a lot of images but only got to see part of the city … so I look forward to returning soon!

As a final thought, there were two things that I really didn’t like about the city. The first was that everything seemed to be overpriced … no matter what is was. The second was the homeless … as they were everywhere and constantly pestering you for food or money. On a few occasions, I even had a couple of them follow me down the street. While I understand that people can be down on their luck, I wish the city would do a more for them to help clean up the streets!

This morning I woke up to a snow covered landscape with a crystal clear sky and couldn’t resist grabbing the camera for a few shots! I wish everyone a Happy New Year! Hopefully 2008 is a little crazier than 2007 was!

When I travel around off-assignment, I tend to bring my camera with me anyways as I never know what I will see. This habit proved to be a good thing!

While driving home through Sussex NJ, I saw the wintery sky begin to quickly change colors as the sun started to set. After finishing my last errand, I drove around the area to see if I could find a nice little spot to get a shot or two off. As I drove down one of the back roads, the quick-thinking side of my brain told me to go straight instead of making a right-hand turn. Good thing I finally listened!

As I came over the crest of the hill, this shot nearly fell in my lap!