AgBiome – Architectural Photography

Woohoo, the sun’s temporarily out again! It’s been brutal weather in the mid-Atlantic, with exactly 9 days of sun during a five week stretch across May and June. That means there’s a glutton of backed-up architectural and real-estate projects to discuss over the next couple of months. First up is AgBiome in RTP, North Carolina, all architected up by Integrated Design, photographed between the long periods of clouds and rain.

Massing is generally as follows: Laboratory and reserach space is underneath the sloped roof overhang to the left, office space behind the protruded form to the right,

and greenhouse all the way in the back, tied to the loading dock that adjoins to the main office/lab building.

I really liked the material and furniture selection in the simple, utilitarian reception/public entry.

This is the open office space.

The conference room posed a little bit of a personal lighting challenge. Lifting the garage doors opens the space into the nifty break area.

This photograph doesn’t do justice how beautiful I found the break room. It’s a simple layout in an exposed room, but the green splash of color between chairs and plants increases the feeling of relaxation in the space that people enjoy spending time in. That and there’s free snacks and goodies to be found in the kitchen area…

A little about this photo. Staging and lighting for this shot took two hours to setup. There was no posing for this particular image, just unwitting subjects in their natural environment. I find people who aren’t modeling tend to have two reactions to cameras – they either try to duck out of the way of the picture they think you’re taking or they’re distracted by what you’re doing – when all you people to do is act normal. Therefore many times I’ll make it look like I’m not taking a photograph. This time after setting everything up, I tucked myself away in a nearby office cubicle and remote triggered the camera from the live view feed on my tablet. People would notice the camera and lights, walk in unsure if I’m shooting, then eventually forget, relax, and just do what they do.

Click!

This shoot was about 80% setup, 20% shooting. Cleaning up the lab for this photograph took a good 90 minutes.

Wrapping up are a couple of nigh- er…early morning shots. Hey, sometimes you’re shooting at 8:30pm, other times it’s 5:30 a.m.

More work-related stuff is coming up shortly!

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