Jeff Herr Photo

Decatur Farmer's Market

2012-01-21T15:12:00.002-05:00

Stopped in to the Wednesday Decatur Farmer's Market earlier this week. If you live in the Decatur area you should make it a point to visit as there are locally grown vegetables, grass feed beef, cheeses, pasta and many other items. Duane Marcus is the manager and local farmer as well - check out his website -

Barcelona Wine Bar Atlanta

2011-12-27T15:14:00.015-05:00

Recently I was hired by Square Feet Studio and the owners of the Barcelona Wine Bar to shoot the new Barcelona Bar in the Inman Park neighborhood here in Atlanta. I shot on a few different days and evenings covering everything from formal interiors and exteriors to behind the scenes in the kitchen and food to shots of the restaurant with dining patrons. Here are some images from the shoot.

Paris

2011-10-20T09:36:00.015-04:00

I have really neglected this blog for awhile I know, so thought I would post something from my recent trip to Paris with my wife for our 10th anniversary. We both love Paris and a chance to visit is a special treat for us - the food is so amazing. On this occasion we decided to check out Pére Lachaise Cemetery since we have never been. It is quite an extraordinary place for sure. Early on I walked up to one of the mausoleums and attempted to peer inside between the heavy decorative iron work of the door. It was very dark inside with only a tiny amount of light coming through the small stained glass window on the back wall. I decided to crank up the ISO and bracing the lens on the iron work for stability took an exposure then looked at the viewer to see check the exposure. I was amazed at what I saw - beautiful! I decided to shoot more of the interiors of what must be thousands of mausoleums in the cemetery as we strolled along taking the Rick Steves walking tour of some of the notable people over the centuries who are buried there. Below is the first interior I photographed.

Here is some shots I took that I like during the week we spent there. We did not visit the museums and other historic sites this trip as we have done that in past visits. This time it was more about just wandering around and finding a nice place for lunch and of course dinner. Having no real agenda in Paris is a good thing!

I love how all the cafes, bistros and restaurants have these wonderful cards they hand out with the L´Addition (bill).

And of course the beautifully hand written chalkboard menus -

Paris at night from Pont Neuf -

I passed this place several times while walking back to our hotel - gave me a chuckle every time - "eat as much as you can" - funny translation to our "all you can eat" - no we did not eat here!

Paris style even while riding a bike - need to see more of this type thing in the U.S.

It is always a pleasure to get a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower from various locations around the city -

Tripod Laptop Platform

2010-03-02T11:17:00.005-05:00

I shoot tethered to my laptop most of the time and usually on location. I have various equipment to hold my laptop and depending on the assignment my monitor as well. Often I use a Multi-Cart with the table top accessory attached - especially if I am using the laptop/monitor combo. When I shoot editorial and sometimes catalog, I also have a table that the legs screw into the bottom and can extend to various heights. It is made by a company called Da-Lite and it is named the Project-o-Stand. Very compact and light - great for getting in my car with all my other lights and gear.

In addition to the above mentioned techniques I also have used and worked with other photographers that have fashioned a wooden platform and attached it to a tripod utilizing the quick release plate from the tripod head. I am very surprised that the major tripod manufacturers have not jumped on this considering how many people shoot tethered to a laptop. I think Bogan and Gitzo both have some sort of lame platform for their tripods - both very inadequate from what I have seen. The platform is only as big as the laptop itself - no additional room for a mouse, layouts, gray card, iPod speaker etc.

So, as with other photographers I decided to make a tripod platform myself. A great tripod head for this is the Bogan 3047. What makes this a good tripod head for this is the quick release plate. There is a few existing holes in the Hex-plate design that allow for easy attachment to a wooden platform. I don't believe Bogan still makes this head but I picked up one on Ebay for cheap and it was basically brand new.

This is my first one to build and although it seems to be adequate enough I will probably make another one soon and will use a bit thicker wood. I don't want it to be big and heavy though as I will be shipping the thing out via FedEx for assignment or stuffing it in my vehicle with all my other gear.

Anyhow, here are a couple photos of it. I made it to the same dimensions as my project-o-stand and as you can see there is room for a mouse and an iPod speaker. I'm sure I will be putting some layouts and gray card on there as well, probably under the speaker. Next week I leave for an assignment in California and will be putting it to the test. My last time out there I was using a Magline cart from the grip truck. Way too big and bulky - it was a two person job to move my system. There was of course plenty or room for stuff so it gets even heavier as the cart becomes home to all kinds of various things of my own, the assistants and the stylists.

I'll post a report later on how it fared on the job - in use with computer - thrown into the grip truck and shipping to and fro.

Catalog shoot in Santa Barbara

2010-02-09T15:30:00.002-05:00

Just returned from shooting in Santa Barbara for an outdoor furniture catalog. Everyday brought another beautiful location in this amazing town. The mountains raise quickly from the Pacific and the homes, built on the hillsides, have wonderful views of both ocean and mountains.

There was of course a lot of work to go along with the scenic beauty and I am thankful for the great crew assembled - including my assistant with the handlebar mustache, Travis Dorn.

This shot is from one of my favorite locations - it is the homeowners view from their master bedroom - window walls slide open giving way to the infinity pool and the Pacific beyond.

I'M WITH COCO

2010-01-15T12:01:00.002-05:00

Just in case you were wondering.....

Thanksgiving Farmer's Market Run - Final

2009-11-25T11:33:00.003-05:00

The day before Thanksgiving will surely be a crazy day at the Dekalb Farmer's Market, but I need to get some wine. My favorite way to get there is on my bike, which I have outfitted with a milk crate to carry my purchases. One of the best things about riding a bike is that parking becomes a non issue - which at this time of year at the Market is a total pain. Also, riding a bike forces me to use a basket instead of a shopping cart thus making it much easier to move about inside among the crowds of people using carts. Sometimes it is literally a gridlock of carts not moving.

So, if you live fairly close to the Market as I do - consider riding your bike - it is an all around better experience for your body and mind.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Metropolitan Home Magazine Closes - Sad Day for Lovers of This Fine Shelter Mag

2009-11-12T10:13:00.003-05:00

Recently I had the honor and pleasure to shoot a couple features for Met Home magazine. Both assignments were great to shoot- fast paced, creative and fun. Working with Linda O'Keefe from the magazine was a great experience and both shoots went well, but I am sad and disappointed to say that they will most likely not appear in print as Hachette Filipacchi the publisher has decided to close the magazine.

Thanks to G & G Architects the homeowners and architects of the last project for all their help and hospitality. Here is one of the shots from the story - hopefully it will get printed at some point.

Hopefully soon this economy which has been devastating to all shelter magazines and forced several great publications to fold will heal itself.

Metropolitan Home Shoot

2009-10-12T16:35:00.001-04:00

Last week I shot a story for Metropolitan Home Magazine of a great house out on Lake Oconee - about an hour and a half East of Atlanta. The homeowners were also the architects and were wonderful to work with. Here is a shot of Linda O'Keefe from Met. Home and myself working on a shot of the rooftop patio.
Photo courtesy of my assistant Travis Dorn - www.dornbrothers.com

Arch. Digest Shoot in Jackson, MS

2009-10-06T09:54:00.002-04:00

Last week I had the pleasure of shooting a story for Arch. Digest magazine in Jackson, MS featuring the work of Architect Ken Tate and Interior Designer Ann Holden. It was my second time on assignment with Ken and Ann for the magazine. These two make a great team and are really fun to work with. We did some beautiful shots of course - keep an eye out for them in an up coming issue!

Here is a shot Travis Dorn my assistant took as we work on the details of a shot of the loggia.

First Tomato

2009-06-21T11:19:00.003-04:00

We just picked our first tomato of the season and look forward to enjoying it soon! Also, this is the same tomato as pictured in "Early Garden Growth" - a few posts back.

Arch. Digest July 2009 feature.

2009-06-16T12:38:00.000-04:00

Check out the July 2009 issue of Arch. Digest with my story of a house in New Orleans by architect Ken Tate and interior design by Ann Holden. Ken and Ann were great to work with and helped tremendously on the shoot.

Metropolitan Home Shoot

2009-05-19T09:20:00.000-04:00

Shot a couple days last week at a house here in Atlanta for Metropolitan Home. Here is a fun shot of Creative Director Linda O'Keefe peering through an opening in a very unique part of the house. Linda was great to work with - we got a lot of beautiful shots!

Early Garden Growth

2009-05-11T11:28:00.000-04:00

Our garden is beginning to show some progress but still has a way to go obviously.
Here are some photos I took recently showing one of our Beefsteak tomato plants.

Tale of Toad Hall

2009-05-06T10:10:00.000-04:00

I am pleased to announce that my feature of Toad Hall - personal residence of Sandy and Kreis Beall, owners of Blackberry Farm in Tennessee has come out in the June issue of Architectural Digest. I am including a link to view the online version of the story - please check it out! Below is a shot from the feature.

Here is the link -click here

Vegetable garden - day 1

2009-05-04T12:41:00.000-04:00

Amy and I decided to build and plant a garden this year. We did some research and it seemed like building a raised bed was the way to go. There is so much information about gardens and such on the internet that it makes things like this go so much easier. Case in point is the bean trellis in the photo. I came across this on a garden site - www.meadowwoodgarden.com - it was super easy to build and amazingly inexpensive using some basic conduit pipe, a couple corner connectors and two "U" type fence posts to keep it sturdy. Then to finish it off, some 5x8' trellis netting which just happened to be the same size as the trellis I built.

The burlap rigged over the top was installed for protection of the new plantings as a strong storm was predicted to move through later in the evening - which it did and I am happy to report did not collapse!

Vegetables and herbs planted include - beans, yellow peppers, cherry tomatoes, zucchini and basil.

Coming Soon!

2009-04-10T13:23:00.000-04:00

My feature story of "Toad Hall" - private residence of Kreis and Sandy Beall in the Blackberry Farm Community in Tennessee will be published in the June 2009 issue of Architectural Digest Magazine.

The project showcases the interior design of Suzanne Kasler. It was a pleasure working with her and homeowner Kreis Beall on the story.

Keep and eye out for it!

New Magazine Features Out

2009-04-10T12:07:00.000-04:00

The new Beautiful Homes and Beautiful Kitchens magazines are out with three jobs I shot recently.

I have two in the Summer issue of Beautiful Homes and one in the Spring issue of Beautiful Kitchens.

Special thanks to Missie Crawford for styling and Lisa Mowry Field Editor on the two Beautiful Homes projects.

Special thanks also to Sandra Mohlmann Field Editor/Styling on the Beautiful Kitchens project.

Here are a few samples from the Beautiful Homes -

Here is a couple samples from the Beautiful Kitchens shoot -

2009-03-26T16:50:00.000-04:00

Aah - Spring is in the air and so is a lot of dog hair! My wife Amy brushing our dog Fasha.

Christmas in March

2009-03-26T16:25:00.000-04:00

Just finished working on an project for Home Depot shooting exterior Holiday decorations. It was all shot at night and we had to lay down boxes and boxes of fake snow to create a winter look here in Atlanta - in March.
Here is a shot of my assistant Travis Dorn having some fun with the merchandise. Travis and his brother Nate always bring a welcome dose of humor and comedy to the photoshoots. Check out their work at www.dornstartv.com

2009-03-14T15:55:00.000-04:00

Here is a recent project I shot for Atlanta Magazine's Home that ran on the cover. This house is in the Serenbe community south of Atlanta. It was designed by Joel Turkel of Turkel Design based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Snow in Atlanta!

2009-03-07T11:16:00.000-05:00

It snowed last weekend in Atlanta - seems like we get snow once a year - usually after everyone thinks Winter is over - including early flowering plants! Anyway, here a few photos of my dogs enjoying the weather.