Willow Homes - Birmingham, AL Architectural Photography / October 30, 2015 by Tommy Daspit

Tommy Daspit offers the very best in architectural, commercial, and real estate photography in the Birmingham Alabama area.

I’ve gotten a little behind in blogging some of my recent projects. As some of you might know, my 18 month old daughter, Pippa, has been sick with high fevers for the past couple of weeks. This has put me a bit behind on everything but I’m working on getting back into the swing of things as best I can. I do want to thank everyone for all of the love and support we’ve been receiving lately! It’s been a tremendous help, I don’t know how we would have made it otherwise!

I’m really excited to show this project off. I’ve posted a few of the images in other places but this is the first time I’m putting them all together. Jason Hale of Willow Homes contacted me about photographing a couple of his recent projects. I’ve worked with him in the past and I’m always excited about working with him. Willow’s homes are beautiful and high quality. Their style is amazing and a true joy to photograph.

The last home I photographed was a remodel of a 1950’s craftsman and was part of the Birmingham parade of homes. This one was a complete teardown and rebuild on a lot in Homewood. Jason wanted me to photograph the key point of this home as well as a couple of the kitchen and master bath for the home he did right next door.

As soon as I drove up I knew this was going to be a good one. The design of the home, and the landscaping was just perfect. Going inside was even better! The homeowners were so very gracious in letting me take over the house. It takes time to craft images that truly showcase the builders vision and craftsmanship. It’s not something that can be done well in a couple of hours!

In addition to the standard daylight interior and exterior images, I was also able to create some pole arial shots and twilight exterior. For the pole arial images I use a modified painters pole that allows me to get the camera 16’ in the air for a higher perspective. I use a wifi connector to control and trigger the camera from below. This gives me the ability to get a high vantage point without having to sacrifice quality or run afoul of the FAA! The wifi system also allows me to trigger the camera remotely for the twilight images. I actually combined multiple photos to create the final images. I lit each room from the inside using a flash triggered by the same wifi remote system. Without it these images would be very difficult to pull off. This all takes time and skill to achieve a stunning look like no other!

Click on the thumbnails below to see the complete project. If you’re in the market for a remodel or whole home build I highly recommend Jason and the Willow Homes team!

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Willow Homes - Birmingham AL Architectural Photography / May 22, 2015 by Tommy Daspit

Last week I got the opportunity to photograph an amazing project for Willow Homes of Birmingham. Jason Hale, owner, hired me to create images a house in Homewood that his company had remodeled.

For most of it’s life this was a two bedroom, post WWII, Craftsman style ranch home. From the “before” photos I’d seen, it’s better days seemed to be well in the past. That was until Jason went to work. The transformation is nothing less that stunning. Many people would have torn down the old home and started from scratch. Instead, the new owners have a home with all the modern touches with a history and a character like none other. This one of a kind creation fits the character of the historic neighborhood in a way that no completely new construction could.

Some complete and so impressive was the remodeling of this house, it won a gold medal in the recent parade of homes. Seeing the before and after first hand I can say that I’m not surprised. Jason and his team at Willow Homes are obviously very skilled and talented. It was an honor to create these photos to showcase their work.

I know that if I ever need remodeling work for my home, Jason will be the first I call! See more of their projects on their website.

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Downtown Birmingham AL Architectural Photography Part II / February 25, 2015 by Tommy Daspit

One of the great things about my business is that I get to make a living out of my hobby. I truly love what I do. Kelly can testify that I get up early every morning excited to get to work. For me though, it really isn’t work, it’s fun.

Still, there are times when I like to shoot just for me. Most of the time I’m photographing buildings, businesses, or homes for clients. It could be a real estate agent, builder, architect, home owner, business, or property management company. I never know from one month to the next who my clients will be. Of course I love all of these jobs, and they all give me an opportunity to be creative, but there’s something to be said for complete freedom to do what I want.

So there are times when I just go out and see what I can find. There are times when I may be out on a shoot for a client and see something that catches my eye. I think it’s important as a professional photographer to keep a balance between client work and personal work. I think it helps keep me fresh and challenges me artistically to stretch in ways I might not have in the past.

These are a few images of downtown Birmingham that I captured last week. I was leaving an American Marketing Association luncheon when I decided to do to the top of the parking garage (across the street from the Harbert Center). The light was perfect and I wanted to see how the city looked from that vantage point. I’m very glad that I did! Take a look at what I found. Be sure to tell me which one is your favorite and why in the comments section. A random comment will get a signed 9x13 print of their favorite one!

View more of my architectural portfolio here.

Downtown Birmingham AL Architectural Photography / January 26, 2015 by Tommy Daspit

Looking up at Downtown Birmingham, Alabama. John A Hand Building center.

Last week I got the opportunity to go to downtown Birmingham with Kelly to do some personal work. Sometimes it’s nice to just go out and shoot with no particular objective or assignment in mind. The weather was as perfect as it could be (it had been raining for what seemed like forever) so we loaded up the car and head out.

Some of the shots were of popular Birmingham landmarks, some others were just abstract. I was looking for interesting color contrasts, lines, and framing. I tried out some techniques for the first time and my new geared tripod head which is so awesome for architectural photography.

Take a look at the shots below and let me know which one is your favorite in the comments!

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Helena High School Architectural Photography / January 8, 2015 by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

When Kelly and I chose to move to Helena a little over four years ago, one of the main reasons we chose this town was the schools. We love the rest of the town (old town, Buck Creek, the waterfall, parks, community), but the reputation and quality of the schools was one of the most important factors. So we were very excited when the plans for a new High School were announced. Helena students had been sharing a high school with nearby Pelham. Now we would have a place of our own.

Even before completion you could really tell the new feeling of pride in the community. From the selection of the mascot and logo design, to frequent construction updates from famous town blogger No Sleep in Helena, the excitement grew for its completion.

As an architectural photographer I was really excited by the striking design of the building. It’s impressive inside and out. Sitting upon one of the highest hills in Helena it’s reminiscent of the Roman Pantheon, which seems to have inspired part of the design. The front of the school faces almost due west. This, combined with a lack of surrounding clutter, makes for an architectural photographers dream. I knew that their would be opportunities for amazing light and some amazing images.

Over the Christmas break I finally got an opportunity, with some great light, to go out and do some shooting. As the images show, my expectations we clearly met! The only challenge was the presence of the flag pole and parking signs in front. Even with the use of a Tilt-Shift lens (specialty lens for architectural photography), there was no way to capture the full front without them. I know that the architect who designed the school wouldn’t want them obscuring their work. So I had three options, one I could photograph the front from the side, or two use a super wide angle lens, or three, remove them in Photoshop.

Option one wasn’t ideal because it really wouldn’t show off the full aesthetic of the front of the school. You could get a basic idea but not the full effect.

Option two wasn’t ideal because wide angle lenses, especially up close, add a lot of distortion. Lines aren’t straight, and the perspective looks odd. We don’t want potential clients to think that the architect can’t draw a straight line.

Option three was the only good option. It would allow me to show off the full front while maintaining perfect vertical and horizontal lines. It took sometime in Photoshop to make this come together but I feel that the results speak for themselves!

Take a look at a couple of my favorites below. I’m including a link to the architect’s website, they have some interior images as well.

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Helena AL High School Feild Goal Post sunset

View more of my Architectural Photography Portfolio here.

I'm available for commercial, architectural, real estate and Google Maps Business View Photography throughout the Southeastern United States (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina). Have a project in need of photographs? Contact me today!