Andrew Fritz

Troy’s Roadster

May 14, 2019 by Andrew Fritz

We’ve photographed a few other cars from this collection, but this roadster might be my favorite. It’s nominally a Chevy, and is Chevy powered. It’s based on a 1930s Chevrolet coup… Sorry, I don’t even know the exact year. Does it matter that much? Nope. We love the outrageous flame on yellow point job, the open engine bay and beautiful headers and especially the crazy wide rear tires. On to some hot rod photography.

Virtual rig shots are not something I get to do that often, and frankly, they are a lot of work. This one is a bit of whimsy. We asked about doing an actual burn out. Turns out with those rear tires, even a big V-8 can’t spin them very easily. Still fun to play with the idea.

Classic Chevy Street-rod - Automotive Photography - Streetrod Badge - Automotive Details

Classic Chevy Street-rod - Automotive Photography - Shifter - Automotive Details

This is one of those projects that is all about presence. The owner admitted that it isn’t that fast despite the noise and tires, nor would you want it to be given the total lack of safety gear. There is no roll bar or even a b-pillar to mount a real 3-point seat belt from. Safety in this thing is basically “don’t hit anything.”

Inside it’s basic with analog gauges and chunky toggle switches, both of which fit the streetrod perfectly. A MoTeC electronic dash would be about as out of place as a coil overs on a battleship.

Classic Chevy Street-rod - Automotive Photography - Engine headers and spark plugs - Automotive Details - Hot Rod Photography

Regardless of the “basic” safety gear, this hot rod is definitely not a garage queen. It’s collected it’s share of rock chips, fossilized bugs and road dirt. What’s the point of building something this cool if it just sits in a garage?

A Dodge Challenger in Temple

December 13, 2018 by Andrew Fritz

We are motor heads and we love cars. The rebirth of the American muscle car means it is a great time to be alive as car guys. Dodge is at the forefront of that revival with the Challenger. We recently had the opportunity to photograph one in Temple, Texas. Temple is medium sized Texas town located on the edge of the hill country. It’s a place that is all about cotton and corn. The rural texture was perfect for this working class hero of a car.

Virtual Rig Automotive Photography

We love using the variety techniques that automotive photography requires. Virtual rig automotive photography is one of the more labor intense, but it solves a very specific problem. How do you get well lit, well composed photos of cars driving in interesting locations?

Once upon a time, the way photographers created advertising photos of cars blasting down open roads or around tracks was to bolt a boom to the car with a camera on the end. The car would then be pushed very slowly during a long exposure. The background would blur and the car would *hopefully* be sharp. The boom was then digitally removed from the photo.

That approach has it’s limitations though. Most of us in the automotive photography industry have moved to virtual rigs. Instead of a literal rig (the boom bolted to the car), we now shoot separate photos of the car and the background and then composite them together with a little wizardry to create the background motion blur.

How it Works

Virtual rig automotive photography is much more flexible than traditional rig photography. It allows us to employ more advanced lighting setups and to work in spaces we might not otherwise be able to. We can create motion blurs that are more complex and interesting than a traditional rig creates. It also allows photographers to put a car from one location into a scene from another.

In this case, the Dodge Challenger was really in this ally. All the elements of this photo were from a single thirty minute span with the camera in one fixed spot. We painted the car with light in a couple of shots to get the look we wanted. To get the blowing leaves, we shot several photos of “blowing” leaves in front of the car (tossed up by our crew), and finally moved the car out and shot the background image.

To get an image like this to come together, it takes several hours of advanced post processing. We think the results are well worth the effort.

Fast While Sitting Still

For much of my childhood, American cars just were not that nice to look at. That has all changed. The Challenger, and it’s brother the Charger, both look spectacular. The Challenger has such a menacing look, like it is just waiting to burst into motion.

The old (and somewhat derelict) buildings of downtown Temple gave a nice backdrop for this sunset photo of the car. We moved on to the grain silos at the rail terminal after the sun set.

Showing the Details

For this shoot, details were not our main focus. Still, there were a couple of small vignettes we couldn’t help but photograph.

A Great Dane and a Great Dame

November 8, 2018 by Andrew Fritz

We shoot for ourselves on a regular basis. It is a way of keeping our skills up, pushing boundaries and trying new things. I set out to create grungy editorial portraits that borrow from Dan Winter’s and others’ style. I’ve been on a set building kick recently. I did it for my wife’s Antarctic graduation photos, and again for this shoot. I wanted a grungy abandoned looking room.

Rather than finding an actual abandoned room with the the right look and dealing with all the complications that come with an abandoned building, I built a set using 4′ x 8′ panels covered in ReStore purchased wall paper. A little work with an air brush, some rags and square of cardboard weathered the walls in perfectly. The other props are all items that were around the house. Set building has its limitations, but you can accomplish a lot with a small budget on some projects.

Editorial Portraits With Pets

My vision for the shoot included a tall woman in a gown and a tall majestic dog. One of our normal collaborators, Stacy, fit the bill for the model. One of our favorite hair and makeup artists hooked us up with a friend’s beautiful great dane named Larue. As a bonus, she only lived a few blocks from us simplifying logistics.

The great dane star of our shoot was not a trained performer. She was a pet and definitely a daddy’s girl. Her human father spent quite a bit of the shoot crouched behind the small chair. If he left, she would follow (after all, she is a good dog). She also didn’t really understand that she was a 110lb dog. In her mind, she is a perfect lap dog. Poor Stacy got squashed a few times.

This shoot ended up being mostly about simplification. Building a set let me control what was in the photos, and the condition of the background. I added a hint of a old picture to the background rather than a picture. Working in my home studio gave me the time to setup, and light the set before the talent arrived. And, finally, the controlled environment kept everyone comfortable and safe.

Grungy Editorial Portraits

Once our K-9 talent left, I used the set for a few more editorial portraits of Stacy wearing a couple of different outfits.

The blue sleeveless jumper is by far my favorite subset of these grungy editorial portraits.

Hawkins Furniture – Product Photography of Unique Wooden Creations

September 27, 2018 by Andrew Fritz

Hawkins Furniture is a company we’ve worked with before. Hawkins makes world class rustic furniture that celebrates the character of the wood. He creates pieces from slabs and reclaimed material such as flooring or old bowling ally lanes. When creating rustic furniture product photography, I highlight the beauty of the materials it is created from. The photos celebrate the individual variations in the pieces, the character of the wood and the warmth it brings to any space.

Speed is of the Essence

Many of the finishes are high gloss and that creates an entire set of difficulties with glare and reflection. Solving those issues requires careful positioning of light sources as well as proper use of a circular polarizing filter. I balance that effort with the need to photograph all the desired pieces in the allotted window of time.

Multiple Angles

One of the main pieces we were there to photograph was this beautiful and totally unique mesquite table. Hawkins made the base from a large (and extremely heavy) mesquite stump paired with a large mesquite log and crotch.

There is no way one photo could do a piece like this justice. Instead we start by capturing a photo to show the entire table in context and then drill in on details.

We Love Repeat Customers

We’ve photographed for Hawkins Furniture before. The first time Josh and I spent an entire day at his shop documenting numerous pieces. It was his first time cataloging much of his work. This shoot was much smaller in scope. I worked alone to photography a few items that were unique in Hawkins portfolio of furniture. While I was there I photographed the other items in his shop before they were delivered to the customers.

Rustic Behind the Scenes Photography

I also stepped away from photographing the furniture to capture some photos of Hawkins and his staff working on incomplete pieces.

Blanton Museum: Ancestral Modern Director’s Circle and B-Scene

September 6, 2018 by Andrew Fritz

The Blanton Museum of Art has regular art events for the general public. We’ve been photographing art events for them for a number of years. It is always fun to get a peak at the newest exhibits accompanied by great music and food. This summer’s event was Ancestral Modern, featuring Australian Aboriginal art from the Kaplan & Levi collection.

B-Scene: Summer Down Under

It’s summer in Texas so an event called “Summer Down Under” seems appropriate. B-Scene is the public event open to anyone and they are always fun. Guests can stroll through the exhibits on their own. There are themed food items matching the exhibit: in this case Austin company Boomerang Pies brought a selection of Australian inspired items like meat pies. Kammok, another Austin company, also brought out some of their hammocks so folks could enjoy the breeze in the courtyard. Will Taylor and Strings Attached played a variety of Australian inspired music to set the mood. And of course, the docents are always there to give a little background about the exhibits.

Photographing Art Events

One of the great things about this type of art event is the access guests have to the exhibits. Not only can they see the current rotating exhibit, but the permanent exhibits are open as well. These type of events present some interesting challenges. The exhibits are strictly “no flash” even for us officially photographing art events there. There is a good reason: flash and other light sources eventually bleach out the art. We have to work in very low light. We also have to find interesting ways to show people looking at art against walls.

Blanton Museum B-Scene Guests Viewing the Permanent Exhibit — Guests have the opportunity to see the current rotating exhibit as well as the permanent collection during events.

Docents often give guided trips through the exhibits which provides opportunities.

And of course, sometimes we just see interesting arrangements in the people, art and walls.

Art Block Party

B-Scene art events are half art exhibition and half block party. The Blanton’s main atrium is a great place for live music and some dancing.

1984 Landrover 110 Truck

August 30, 2018 by Andrew Fritz

One of the fun things about being an automotive photographer is getting called out to see fun and funky vehicles like this 1984 Land Rover 110 Truck. They needed some classic truck photography for it as it went to auction. I can imagine this thing driving across the African savanna with the side of the back cover rolled up. Photographers would be hanging their lenses out the sides to photograph cheetahs chasing antelope or a herd of elephants at a watering hole.

The truck version is something I haven’t seen up close before. The basic straight forward design would make this a great vehicle to own as a ranch drive about, whether as a restored classic truck or as an upgraded modern version of the 1984 truck. The light green is even a great color for it.

I love the canvas bed cover and the very basic fittings. It’s from the 80s so the design seems surprising. It date back much further. Land Rover maintained continuity with their early vehicles pretty well still. It reminds me of very early jeeps (they have also maintained a pretty consistent design/build aesthetic). That isn’t surprising since it’s inception dates to just after the birth of the Willys jeep in the US and it is designed to tackle the same sort of problems.

Funky Classic Truck Details

One of my favorite things about this truck are all the simple details, and the patina the truck has. This truck isn’t a frame off restore. It’s more of a “make it nice again” restore leaving all the stories the patina tells in place while replacing worn out parts.

Classic Truck Photography Challenges

The window to photograph this classic truck small. The auction start date was fixed. Like many projects, it was being finished up just before the deadline. A couple days of heavy rain right in the middle of the window didn’t help. We ended up having to shoot just after noon when the available light wasn’t great. Luckily, we have big lights and adding a couple of fill lights allowed us to soften the shadows and make this classic truck pop in the photos.

Springdale Station Grand Opening Styled Shoot

June 4, 2018 by Andrew Fritz

We shoot weddings too and we are around wedding vendors a lot. When Springdale Station had its grand opening, we helped them out with some event space photography while it was styled for the open house. This type of event setup photography is tougher to do well than most people think.

Photographing Tight Shared Spaces

Other vendors are in the space working. The time table is often more compressed than we as photographers would like. Sometimes there is no time when the room is “finished” before guests are allowed in. In many cases the room continues to change while we photograph it. We tend to approach this type of shoot like we would shooting the reception space for an actual wedding. They have the same complications after all: tight schedule, shared work space, and they are usually dense with details.

Shooting an open space like Springdale Station’s main reception hall requires a little more effort than finding the right angle, setting the exposure and clicking. The ceiling was white, but had open dark truss work and streamers hanging from it. Bouncing a light to evenly light the entire room was not a viable option. The schedule was such that we needed to shoot mid afternoon on a clear day. The bank of large picture windows showed a scene outside that was incredibly bright.

All these factors caused us to choose a more labor intensive method of making the photo than we would normally use in a space setup specifically for a photo shoot. We shot and composited it by lighting each table in the room individually. With this technique we can light each table however we would like and with enough light to properly expose the bright outside area. We then assemble the image in post to make a seamless whole. It also lets us remove unwanted elements from the final image like our own light stands and other vendors moving through the room.

Many of the other spaces in the video were simpler. They were more open allowing us locations where we could place our lights out of frame. Using direct light or bouncing light into the ceiling provided the illumination we wanted.

Ballet Dogs – Adoptable Pets

May 25, 2018 by Andrew Fritz

We love pets. My wife and I volunteer at the City of Taylor Animal Shelter. Mostly we walk dogs and help out with pet photography around the shelter. Nothing special. We normally just photograph the dogs around the shelter.

My wife however, has started instigating more elaborate pet photography shoots to raise the profile of the shelter. She gets the credit for producing this shoot. She was also adamant that I credit her for building the dog tutu.

Claire Bear

Claire is a 1-2 year old pittie mix who is looking for a real home. She excels at sitting pretty and waiting patiently! She practiced a lot during her long stay at the shelter waiting for just the right family to find her. Claire loves playing in the water, learning new moves, and snuggling with her favorite people.

Dottie

Dottie is a new arrival at the Taylor Animal Shelter. Her family surrendered her and she just can’t figure out why. Dottie is pretty chill mastiff heeler mix. She loves hanging out with other dogs and humans. Dottie will happily accept a hug from little and big humans alike. She is particularly skilled at cuddling and not drooling while her tongue hangs out.

The Kittens

OMG KITTENS! It’s kitten season and that means that the Taylor Animal Shelter, like most animal shelters, has a never-ending supply of kittens. This time of year folks find kittens wandering on the streets, hiding in infrequently used buildings and sometimes kittens even seem to grow on trees! These two kittens, Prada and Gucci were recently found with their siblings Tic, Tac, and Toe. They have come the the Taylor animal shelter to get fattened up and socialized so that they will be awesome happy healthy pets.

The Cast

This is a ProBono shoot in support of animal wellfare. Everyone that participated donated their skill, time and supplies, all in an effort to get these pets adopted.

Pets: City of Taylor, Texas Animal Shelter (a no kill shelter)
Ballerina: Eryn Hanes
Photographer: Andrew Fritz (that’s me)
Producer/Instigator/Tutu Maker: Adrian Dahood-Fritz
Hair and Makeup: Adrian Hernandez of Revelry Beauty
Assistants: Stacy and Sophie
Location: Mccrory Timmerman Building

Andrew Fritz

Troy’s Roadster