Phoenix Arizona Commerical Photography Studio tonic photo studios specializes in architecture product conceptual and food photography

One of the great things about tonic photo studios is that boundaries here aren’t rigid. We usually keep our work within four main areas of expertise (food, architecture, people and conceptual photography), but thanks to E.B. Lane and our sister company R and R Images, we recently were presented with an opportunity to step outside of our boundaries and tackle a project which was at the same time unique, challenging and incredibly fascinating.

Local financier and rancher Mort Fleischer and his wife Donna are well-known as avid collectors. Their private collections of American Impressionist and Western memorabilia are among the finest and largest in the world. The paintings are primarily of the California Impressionism school circa 1900-1930, with the artists exhibiting strong influences from the French Impressionists. The Western memorabilia collection features items from the American West, circa 1850-1910. The collection includes saddles, spurs, chaps, rifles, pistols, military equipment and numerous other materials which were a part of life in the early days of the West. In order to document them, we were called upon to photograph each of the four galleries which comprise the Fleischer collections.

tonic studios director Patrick Darby spent a full day in the galleries, taking several images in each. The goal was to produce a comprehensive book which showcases the collection.

Of course, we have a few images from the photoshoot to show you. Images here on the blog don’t do justice to the breadth and scope of the collection, but we can’t discuss a project like this without offering a few pictures to illustrate the work we did.

Photographing art galleries is certainly not a typical tonic studios project, but we were delighted to take on this unique and special assignment. It’s these kind of projects which keep work at tonic fresh and exciting. They keep us on our toes and refresh our creative spirits.

Later in the summer, Patrick will be called upon to photograph MorDo Ranch for the Fleischers. MorDo, a combination of Mort and Donna’s first names, is the Fleischer’s home and ranch in northeast Maricopa County and is just as unique as their collection of Western memorabilia. While commercial architectural photography is well within tonic’s usual range of work, we’re sure the MorDo Ranch shoot will be far from typical. Expect to see some great stories and fantastic photos from that shoot in a few months.

If you’d like to learn more about the Fleischers and their extensive collection, take a look at Phoenix Home & Garden’s January article on MorDo and its style.