Posts Tagged 'Patrick Darby'

tonic photo studios partners with IO Data Centers to produce epic imagery

tonic studios has been busy working with IO Data Centers for in excess of 5 years now and has had the pleasure of watching them grow to the forefront of their industry. IO Data‘s Always ON IO Anywhere modular technology allows for an incredibly efficient and secure Data Center infrastructure with maximum flexibility for growth in both scale and technology.

We’ve watched IO grow from a relatively small scale Data Center operation in Scottsdale to a massive provider with facilities in both Phoenix, Scottsdale, New Jersey and plans for more down the road.

Being inside one of the DC’s is truly other-worldly. Powerful technology fills multiple football field scaled spaces in a secure and controlled setting that varies in temperature no more than a fraction of a degree.

Sensors detect any abnormality and systems back up systems to insure there is never a disruption to the services the centers provide. In short, it’s seriously cool!

So where do we come in?  Well, we’ve pretty much shot every aspect of the facility inside and out and most recently (over the past 4 months or so) have worked closely with the marketing team to develop a unique style and approach for presenting IO’s visual content.

I would describe the approach for the imagery to be bright and airy while also bold in it’s depiction of surfaces, tones and textures.  We were really going for a look that would highlight the interest within each space and present a sense of epic scale and high technology.

Check out IO’s website and keep an eye on IO as they continue to forge ahead in the industry.

Patrick Darby

Founder/ Photographer

tonic photo studios

iPad 2 winner receives his prize and a tour at tonic studios

Ben Smith of The Lavidge Company with studio director Patrick Darby

tonic photo studios director Patrick Darby presented the iPad 2 to winner Ben Smith of The Lavidge Company

We mentioned recently that Ben Smith of The Lavidge Company was the lucky winner of our iPad 2 giveaway. Last week, Ben came down to tonic photo studios to receive his snazzy new iPad and was treated to a tour of the studio by Studio Director Patrick Darby.

We thank everyone who entered our giveaway by liking our Facebook page and updating their contact information on our mailing list. We appreciate your support and hope you enjoy reading about our projects here on our studio blog. Keep watching for upcoming stories from Patrick’s recent project with i/o Data Centers and more photography shoots with Mort and Donna Fleischer at MorDo Ranch.

Also, we will be playing the role of host for the American Society of Media Photographers on August 18th. ASMP will be holding an event here which focuses on commercial architectural photography, one of our specialties here at tonic photo studios. Patrick and all of the staff here are looking forward to it, so expect to see some stories and pictures from the event later this month!

Patrick Darby, tonic photo studios creative problem solver

Headshot of Patrick DarbyMy name is Patrick Darby and I run Tonic Photo Studios. You’re going to be hearing more from me over the coming months here on our blog and on our Facebook page. We’re going to be ramping up our online presence and personality, and providing you with a better look into the activities of Tonic. A lot’s been going on around here and there are some exciting things on the horizon. Looking ahead, I’ll be regularly updating this blog and our Facebook page with these and other points of interest. My goal is to generate a greater sense of Tonic’s capabilities and overall personality, and to hopefully provide you with some compelling and interesting material on a regular basis.

Running Tonic requires a little bit of everything, but ultimately it all comes down to creative problem solving. I spend my days (and sometimes evenings) dedicated to that task. How can I make that pizza shot look as fresh and compelling as possible? How can I light that 50,000 square foot exterior in two hours before dawn? How can I get a shot of the light rail from the perspective of the tracks without getting run over (or arrested)?

Running Tonic is not just a job; it’s a way of thinking and a crazy, never boring way of life. I embrace each project and give each client the attention and dedication they deserve. What’s important to you is important to me. I make your project and creative challenges my own. I get the picture. Get yours at Tonic Photo Studios and discover the cure for the common image.

Stay connected for more Tonic updates and info!

Mayor of Phoenix Photo Session at tonic photo studios

Tonic Photo Studios was recently chosen by Mayor Phil Gordon, of the city of Phoenix, to help him with his image. And we were only too happy to oblige!

In lieu of his upcoming State of the City Address, we set up a session in our photo studio and worked with the Mayor to create a series of images that showcase his leadership qualities.


Mayor's State of the City Announcement

An announcement of the mayor's State of the City address, featuring photography by Tonic Photo Studios

Above is one of our final shots, in context of an email release regarding the upcoming event.

We feel like the project was an overwhelming success, helping this public figure create the perfect imagery and style.

Here at Tonic Photo Studios, we love to help individuals and company’s make the best impression with their photography. If you’re in need of a creative solution for your image, please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can see our portfolio of work as well as our contact information on our website at www.tonicphotostudios.com.

From sketch to photographic reality: McDonald’s and the Lavidge Company shoot smoothie outdoor boards at tonic photo studios

 

Concept

In conjunction with McDonald’s launch of their new smoothies in mid July, we were presented with two concepts to carry through to visual reality. This project was a good example of Tonic’s creative problem solving abilities. In specific reference to the most challenging aspect, I played around with several potential methods before I determined that shooting the banana peel upside down was the best direction to take. I rigged it up like a little puppet with fishing hooks and clear line and shot numerous versions with the peel elements in different positions and at different perspectives. From that point, it was just a matter of flipping the elements and clipping them out to build the final composite(s). It was also a bit of a challenge figuring out how to keep the peel fresh through the duration of the shoot. Citric acid alone was not enough. The secret was to select very fresh bananas that had just turned from green to yellow. Any riper and citric acid or not, they were browning in no time.

 

Behind the Scenes

It was a great shoot with a great team which included (among several others) a technical advisor from McDonald’s corporate. Thanks to McDonald’s and Lavidge for the creative opportunity and the sugar high we all had throughout the day!

McDonald's Outdoor Boards

Bring us your ideas!

tonic photo studios participates in revolutionizing the desktop prototyping market

While Tonic provides a great commercial photography solution for a diverse range of clientele, product photography is one of our specialties of which I am currently witnessing a great deal of activity in these days. We recently produced a shoot for Solido, a North American AZ Crown venture. This was a fantastic opportunity for the studio, the product has been out in other markets, it’s new in North America and photographic representation has been minimal up to this point in time.

Through the course of the day in the studio,  we produced a full range of imagery to represent the product, what it’s capable of producing, and how it’s used.

We truly believe this product will revolutionize the desktop prototyping market and were pleased to have been chosen to participate in its advertising and marketing initiatives.

Creating a prototype

Behind the scenes

Fun & challenge with Harkins Theater photo shoot at tonic photo studios

The only thing missing was a movie!!

How do you keep an ICEE from melting?

Recently, we undertook a fairly large-scale project for Scottsdale-based Agency MMA and Harkins Theaters. We were tasked with photographing pretty much every single menu item Harkins sells in their snack concessions. Quite an undertaking indeed! For three days the studio was packed with popcorn, hotdogs and nachos. Not the most challenging work environment for sure, however, one of the most interesting aspects of the production was Ellen Straine’s (project food stylist) ability to produce an indestructible, long-lasting ICEE! It took some experimentation but she pulled it off and was able to create an ICEE suitable for still production.

Ellen really showed off her true skills on this one and helped produced another successful food shoot at Tonic.

tonic photo studios client Peter Piper Pizza brings a dual video/still shoot to the table

Great synergy with Peter Piper Pizza

Recently, Tonic produced a shoot for Peter Piper Pizza, Inc. Peter Piper has been a fantastic client for us over the past year or so and we always enjoy the great energy associated with the projects.

The most recent shoot was particularly interesting, as we set up a video production with real HD pictures simultaneous to the still production.

Tonic has over 8,000 square feet of available shooting space so it’s always great to utilize as much of it as possible.

The client was thrilled with the high level of efficiency achieved with the dual production,  which essentially minimized their time away from the office.

This was not the first video production we’ve hosted and will most certainly not be the last, as we’re always striving to provide a diverse, efficient and highly creative experience for our clientele.

Check out the posted images to get a behind the scenes view into the overall production.

tonic photo studios technology: making photography better

Huge building, two guys and one light…

ACO Building

This exterior for Aco Polymer was produced using one light source blended through several exposures to create a seamless reproduction.

It always makes me a bit nostalgic to think about how I would have shot this building 10 years ago. Back then, it would have taken 20 lights, several generators and many assistants. Not now.

Today, it took just two guys, one light and some serious Photoshop time. With fewer people and equipment, the end result is stronger due to the control we have today.

Gotta love technology.

The interior below sheds some additional light on the process. Interesting to see what the canvas looks like when the one lighting the image is left in…

With Perry

Anatomy of a product photo shoot via tonic photo studios

A look at the process

Tasked with shooting the ZO for imagery to populate the client’s web site, advertising and collateral, Tonic produced a wide spectrum of shots that tell the story of its functionality and attributes. These images document the behind the scenes preparation for the shoot and one image of the ZO. 

Check out digizoid.com to see all of the imagery tonic produced for the ZO in context.

ZO with laptop

ZO in car

The ZO...small but mighty!

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