Studio Blog | POLARA STUDIO

May 14 2013 // Kasey Huber // Location Photography

Sigma Lens Customization Shoot

Blue Collar is an excellent interactive agency based out of Hood River, OR. We worked with Rob McCready (Partner and Director of Client Services) and April Donovan (Creative Director) of Blue Collar Interactive. They both provided amazing creative direction and strategy to shooting this new Sigma Lens Customization USB dock and Sigma Optimization Pro Software.

“We wanted to create an environment that didn’t signify anything too specific, but portrays the workspace of someone that takes photography a level above being just a hobby. The technology being developed here is very new to this industry, and through a new R&D initiative, Sigma is taking a giant leap towards new innovation in it’s products.” – Jeremy Dunham

Here’s a little behind the scenes as well…

April 15 2013 // Jeremy Dunham // Beverage Photography

Simulating Magic Hour in the Studio

I just finished a shot for our friends at Zircon Azul tequila the other day. I wanted to make a magic hour scene with a margarita and the bottle, something that said Mexico and warm weather.

I see this sort of thing done a lot, but the light almost always strikes me as a bit off. Usually an orange gel is just thrown over the main light and that’s it. That has always seemed wrong to me because if you look at the sky at magic hour there is usually a range of colors going from orange to purple to magenta to blue.

For this shot I used a number of different gel combinations to achieve the effect. Orange on the bottom to simulate the sunlight, magenta in the middle to simulate the red band of light, and blue on the top and on the opposite side to simulate the open sky.

You can see how the light falls in the highlight.

Though it is still obviously a studio shot I think this technique is a little more of an authentic match for magic hour.

You can see more of Jeremy’s work Here

March 26 2013 // Kasey Huber // Editorial Photography

Jay Lawrence

I started going to the Portland Historic Races and Columbia River Classic at Portland International Raceway (PIR) about 6 years ago. These two races are a chance for owners of vintage race cars to get out on the track and compete against other cars of similar category and age.

There is a huge variety of cars here, some from the 50’s with single cylinder motorcycle engines, and even retired 90’s Formula 1 cars.
There’s also a huge variety of owners and car enthusiasts that show up as well.You’ll see everything from a motorhome towing a 40’ trailer that holds several cars plus mechanics to a single individual who pulls the car on an open trailer with their pick-up, and single-handedly does all the work themselves.

While it’s exciting to see and hear the cars fly around the track, I really like to walk around the paddock and see the cars and people up close.

I like to see what leads up to and precedes the races. It’s hours of preparation and sometimes inventive home engineering that keeps these old and sometimes finicky cars running.

March 21 2013 // Kasey Huber // Food Photography

Chez Marie

“We wanted the photography for the Chez Marie packaging to mimic all the good things their product has to offer—fresh, natural, top-of-the-line ingredients made with love and care. Steve Cherry is AMAZING with lighting, and Lucy Neilson, food stylist, has never let us down with her gorgeous compositions.

I’ve been working with these two for several years now, and having their help on projects makes my life about a thousand times easier.

Everyone was happy and it turned out to be a really successful project. The photography really made the packaging what it is.” -Kristin Casaletto, Art Director/Graphic Designer with Sasquatch Agency

“Many people want to decrease their overall meat consumption for health, economic, or environmental reasons. They are the driving force behind the growing ‘meat alternative’ category…” - Founder & CEO (Chief Eternal Optimist) Marie Osmunson

“I’ve worked with Kristin at Sasquatch on a variety of other clients. She always has an innovative approach that challenges us to find new directions in photography. Most of all, this was a fun shoot, creating a fun new look.” - Steve Cherry

“During this shoot, we tried to maintain the integrity of every ingredient in a fashion that was in the clients’ best interest. ” - Lucy Neilson

Here at Polara Studio, we couldn’t be happier to represent such a suitable product in the Northwest’s health-food niche. Chez Marie is a brand that has always been recognized as one of the healthiest choices in the frozen food isles.

March 8 2013 // Kasey Huber // Travel

Viva Mexico!

There is an old saying, “The best camera is the one you have with you.”

That’s not always true with being a photographer and in search of that perfect travel camera. It has to be small enough to fit in your pocket and take amazing photographs and videos in the middle of the day as well as the middle of the night. The camera that any helpful stranger on the street can use without chopping your head off. The camera that works just as well in “Manual” as it does in “Program”. The camera that does not scream “Steal me!”. The list goes on and on.

The past few trips I have carried both my DSLR and my mirrorless camera, sadly my DSLR has mainly seen the inside of the suitcase while the mirrorless has seen the world. It has interchangeable lenses and has the option to save the images out in raw image format which is a huge plus. While no one camera is perfect in every shooting situation, the mirrorless camera does stand out with its versatility and size.

Here are a few photographs taken by Derrin Battles with his Sony NEX 5n on a recent anniversary trip to Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico.