Upon receiving an awesome email regarding my artwork for a Topps Star Wars Galaxy 5 base card I did last year, a proposition was also included to produce some art to adorn the walls of his home. Initially it was a request to create a card illustration to compliment and go alongside the official card, but I decided that instead of painting a card (of which the size is rather limiting) I would surprise him with a larger painting and a smaller print of the art mounted on card to go in his Star Wars trading card collection. The first commission was to be of Count Dooku and his fall to the dark side. This in contrast to the original art for Lucasfilm that I created fit in perfectly in the continuing story of a Jedi who once was good, and padawan to Master Yoda himself…

After the artwork arrived on his doorstep I soon received another email of gratitude and along with it another commission. This time it was based on the Force Unleashed, which I did some work for Wizards Of The Coast and Lucasfilm for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game Sourcebook. The artwork was to include Darth Vader and his apprentice along with the Emperor…

Needless to say there are more paintings in the pipeline… Details will be revealed soon!

It is wonderful to be able to create original art for the fans – With email and the World Wide Web we live in such a small place now, absolutely anything is possible!

ps|studio DPI has been on hand to create photography to showcase the Waikato, New Zealand based wine maker from vine to wine in anticipation of their new website and for use in their marketing material for 2010.

Requirements for the shoot included product and location photography, showcasing the onsite facilities including the bottle production line.

We tried a few variations for the bottle shots. First ideas were to have the wine bottles photographed in and around the vineyard – the origin of the wine. This to me was a logical first choice but unfortunately made the images unworkable from a marketing perspective.

We also took shots on a aggregate slab onsite with a hint of the lifestyle that goes with enjoying a glass or two of vino, the great outdoors and hot sunny days. however, as I like to shoot with available light on location we were getting some inconsistencies with the shots across the product range. Reflections of the cloudy but sunny sky above did not work in my favour.

Not satisfied with the results, it was time to take the wine to the studio.

With bottle samples in tow and a determination to get it right, we were back at base to begin working out what we should do and how the final images should look.

After a conversation with Mystery Creek Wine’s marketeer, we had some good ideas that definitley got the creative juices flowing in order to have an end result that would please everybody (including ourselves).

During the experimentation on the product shots we decided that the element of aggregate from the earlier shoot, which was favoured by the client and ourselves, would form a good foundation for the studio photography. We located some loose, broken, exposed concrete and found pieces that were of particular interest, set up a gray backdrop… Time to play!

Lighting the wine bottles was a little challenging to start with, but after a few test shots it was all looking good.

The clients response to the test shots was like beautiful music!… They loved them!

Sonia and Kurt were guests at Kurt’s Sister’s wedding that I photographed last February and when the time came to choosing a photographer for their big day, they told me they couldn’t go any other way!

They loved the way I worked and were so impressed with the end results that I was booked without really having to respond to their enquiry…

A wonderful couple whose love shines so bright when they are together, lots of laughs, even during the ceremony!

I just dropped off their DVD Slideshow to them this afternoon and they were both very excited to see how it all came out, as I left they were rushing into the house to get the DVD started…I love that!

What a fantastic couple, I wish them both the very best for their future together…

Here are some of the photos from the day…

Friends and Family of the happy couple are welcome to view the full set of photos online at the ps|studio web galleries. You will require a password from them in order to log in.

http://psstudio.nextproof.com/galleries/sonia-and-kurt

I just love shooting Weddings. A day of so much preparation and excitement to be captured through the lens. A couple so in love and surrounding themselves with all the people they hold dear.

What’s not to like?!

Lucy and Chris. What a great couple… The morning of their big day was shrouded in rain and grey skies. I always believe that it will be a great day whatever the weather and I frequently reassure my brides that you can’t let the weather really spoil this special day – you really have to roll with it despite all the complications that may, and usually do arise over the course of a well planned day, you really have to be flexible. This applies to the Bride and Groom and everyone involved all the way down to the guests – and the photographer!

I knew we would be shooting indoors for the ceremony, however we would be headed outdoors to the beautiful Hamilton Gardens for the Bridal shoot later so my fingers were crossed for clearer skies!

Just as we were headed to the preparation shoots the sun graced us with it’s presence and stuck around all afternoon! How wonderful!

Have a look at some of the photos from the day. Big congrats to Lucy and Chris you guys were awesome fun!

With Twenty-Ten almost upon us it is natural to reflect back over the year that has passed. 2009 has been filled with highs and lows, the global economic crisis that we battled through, the jobs we have won and lost, the meeting of great new people and mourning those that have gone. A year of ultimate craziness and the end of a decade.

Director, Daryl Goldberg was kind enough to recollect the beginnings of the creative process that led to the creation of a film poster through to the release of his film.

When it came time to make the poster for my feature-length comedy Made For Each Other, I knew I wanted something eye-catching, beautiful, and as fun as the movie itself to help build an audiences interests. I also knew that if I left the poster to the distributors, it would likely end up being a couple of generic looks from my principal actors with their faces simply on their as big as possible. In other words, generic. Like every other poster in the genre with only the combination of faces swapped out (remove Sandra Bullock, insert Jennifer Aniston, etc.). The fact of the matter is that the tendencies in posters these days, especially “romantic comedies”, is that the faces sell the movie and there is a sort of a paranoia towards taking any real chances in letting personality shine throw in your marketing materials. It seems the days of the poster as a work of art itself had largely past us by.

I thought back to movie posters I loved as a kid, the kind that stuck in your mind well after you had seen the movie itself. Posters that weren’t simply informing you of what faces you’d be seeing on the screen, but were themselves entertainment.

Once I had set my heart and mind on that style, I discovered my real challenge. Given the current tendencies in movie posters, they are primarily made by Photoshop artists rather than the traditional types of artists that produced them in the days before such digital technologies had even been conceived of. Simply put, there weren’t that many people around who still do what I wanted.

I knew what I was looking for was someone with talent who shared my affection for those classic posters. I quickly discovered the best, and perhaps only, way to discover those people was through exploring the world of fan art. As I began looking at various fan art competitions, I noticed some work that was drastically far and above the rest. I also noticed it was always from the same artist. Without fail, Paul Shipper’s work was always incredibly striking, his talent was simply undeniable, and, most amazingly of all, he seemed to somehow be plucked from a different generation. A generation where such incredible skills were still respected and exploited in the movie industry. So, always of the “can’t hurt to try” mentality, I hunted Paul down through his website.

At first I was surprised to realize he was somewhere on the other side of the globe. Being in the film industry, I know people are often reluctant to work with you if you’re not in the right zip code, much less continent. But hey it’s the computer age, and its as easy to chat with someone in New Zealand as your neighbor these days. After all, I was so ecstatic to realize Paul was enthusiastic about the idea, geography seemed of little consequence. So I ran off to the post office and sent a copy of the film around the globe to get his thoughts.

Then the real fun began, designing the poster. When you do a traditional poster you sift through photos either from the movie itself or shot just for such marketing purposes. You pick and choose, and then let the photo-shop magic happen. But in painting an original work I actually found a tremendous amount of liberation. Everything was somehow now possible. Everything was an option. Every look could be changed, body position, background, etc. As we got into it we changed scenery, we changed activities, and yes I confess, we may have even changed an actresses bust size. But unlike photoshop where the natural response would be, “oh they changed her bust in photoshop. That’s so fake.”. Ours was illustrated, so of course its fake! It’s a caricature, that’s the beauty of the genre; exaggeration is expected and embraced.

In the end Paul created what is not only an incredible poster but also an incredible work of art. One I am proud to have hanging on my wall, and one I’ve gotten countless requests from other people wanting to have it hanging on their walls. The poster has served us incredibly well on the business front as well. It has played a tremendous part in the marketing of the film. And it seems without fail, wherever the poster is seen there is a fondness and nostalgia for its classic artistry. Most importantly of all, at the end of the day a poster is a marketing tool, and I challenge anyone to pass by the poster Paul Shipper made for “Made For Each Other” and not be curious to find out a little more about our film.

Daryl Bob Goldberg

Director

Made For Each Other

Official Website: www.madeforeachothermovie.com

View the Trailer on Apple in HD

IFC Films: MFEO Page

Become a fan of MFEO on Facebook

The Maunga 100 Cycle Challenge organised by NZ Rotary in conjunction with Te Awamutu Sports Cycling Club is an annual event that is becoming the benchmark for the more established Taupo Cycle Race which has been in operation now for over 30 years.

ps|studio DPI was approached to get involved in the cycle event early on, attending meetings, giving professional advice on photography and design and generally offering a helping hand for this large sporting event which believe it or not is only a few years old. The Maunga 100 is an event which the organisers hope in years to come will be one of the best cycle challenges in New Zealand.

They certainly put on a great event! with over 300 entrants over its 3 main challenges, a 12k, 30k and the almighty 100k Challenge, not to mention a Bikes and Trikes assault course for the younger enthusiasts. it proved to be a great mix of a pro sporting event and a great day out for the whole family.

The 100k Race attracts many professional and enthusiast cyclists from all around New Zealand.

Due to the scale of the event we had a total of four photographers joining in on the fun of capturing the event. Thanks to Dave, Jason and Mîchell for your help covering the event.

Were you riding at the Maunga 100? Head over to our proofing site to see if there is a photo of you, view all the images from the day, buy prints from standard 6×4″ to 14×20″ canvas and even download a copy of your favourite photo direct to your computer desktop!

It was a great day at our local Sports Club last weekend, and ps|studio DPI were in attendance to capture the action!

We pride ourselves in working for clients of all shapes and sizes. We cater for big publishing houses down to small companies, clubs and organisations.

We have worked closely with TA Sports and handle all of their design and photography needs. For the Sevens event we worked on branding for the event down to corporate passes and the designing of leaflets and letters to promote the event. In addition to this recent work for the club in the last 2 years we have worked on a DVD Sponsors showreel, covered main events with photography, redesigned the club logo and handled team photography for all their main sports including Netball, Rugby, Rugby League, Juniors and their Rep teams.

So if you are looking for a professional edge in Pro Photography, Design or Illustration you need look no further… Contact us and see what we can do for you.

The assignment started this week with product shots of their entire range of wines (20 in total). I also took some time to have a wander around their fine facility, taking shots of the production areas, the pretty awesome looking ‘tanks’ with their own gantry, wine barrels, machinery, equipment and of course the vineyard itself. Wine-making is a real fusion of nature and technology.

The aim of the shoot is to show that the facility is a fully working operation from start to finish, everything is handled on site even down to the labeling of their wine bottles – which I will be shooting on another day. They have a fantastic tasting room in the grounds which is available for visitors to try out the many varieties of wine and even buy a few bottles to take home.

The weather was pretty wonderful yesterday, some cloud cover – still, I applied my sunscreen… The harsh conditions fit the shoot perfectly. Time to find a little shaded area, enjoy a wonderful glass of wine direct from the source, and get shooting… All part of the telling of the story don’t forget…

In an attempt to capture some of the lifestyle that goes with the product it was a simple decision to shoot outside. And what better place with the mighty Waikato river as a backdrop, things don’t get much better.

With the first phase of photography now done, the next phase should be even more exciting! Will keep you posted…

Mystery Creek Wines will be redesigning their website based on the photography provided by ps|studio DPI in the near future.

INK BIG is a New Zealand based company specializing in Large canvas printing and stretching. The quality of their craftsmanship is second to none. I can attest to that being a customer myself.

Dave Lashlie, the founder of INK BIG came to see me one fine day and we happened upon talking about logo design. I actually wasn’t aware of INK BIG’s logo, but when I first saw it I knew something had to be done. No disrespect to Dave, his vision is printing and he is also a keen photographer, but he is the first to admit that design is not his strong point.

He asked me to take a look at his branding (see the original logo above) and I was more than happy to oblige.

My first concept was to use a pallette that resembled the inks found in his top of the line Canon printers. What with INK in the name and INK-jets being a large part of the business this seemed like the logical route. I also had the idea to coin the phrase ‘Think Big”…by dropping out the ‘Th’ before the ‘INK’ creating a play with the company name and it’s roots. Dave kinda liked this, but he really wanted to keep the trademark splatter that his old brand and his customers had grown accustomed to. Fair play.

After several attempts of trying to ‘re-create’ and ‘update’ the old style logo, it was time to start afresh…trying to invigorate an already not-so-good logo wasn’t my best idea. So with that in mind it was simply a case of combining a fresh, grungy splatter, a font with an edge to it and keeping the slogan ‘Bigger is Better’ to maximum effect. My choice of colours were print related Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. with the predominant colour closest to the red of the original logo.

When I sent the logo design over to Dave, I honestly thought he wouldn’t like it. Never under estimate your client. He LOVED it! (that is pretty much verbatim from his email by the way).

Another happy customer.