I was recently contacted by The Vinton Wine and Food Festival Committee and invited to be the featured artist for their event on May 15th, 2010. They told me they were familiar with my work and were interested in having me produce a photograph that would represent my hometown of Vinton, VA. We discussed several possible landmarks and decided on the town’s local clock. I am honored to be chosen as the featured artist for The Vinton Wine and Food Festival and to have the opportunity to capture a stunning image of the clock for the event. The shot you see here is so far my favorite one. The image will be for sale at the event along with some of my other work, so come on out and support the town of Vinton and yours truly. I could not resist giving you a sneak-peek, so enjoy!
Bob.

I remember the Old Flour Mill on Jefferson Street! I happened to be driving by one day and saw that it was being demolished and could not help be drawn to beauty of the ruins. I went home and packed up my camera gear and headed back down to capture an image of the remains a few days before it was leveled. I shoot several different angles, but none seem to capture it’s beauty. Frustrated, I walked back to my car. I looked back one last time before turning the corner onto Reserve Ave. and there it was, the angle I wanted. By this time it was a bit dark so the exposure needed to be quit long. This was all a blessing in disguise because the long exposure allowed several cars to move through the shoot while the shutter was open adding some nice light trails to the shot. This just goes to show you that sometimes the powers that be know what they want even when you don’t. I recently had the image printed by Marco Fine Arts and am happy to say they are available for purchase. Contact me for print sizes and pricing.
Bob

Commercial work is something photographers love to do. I would not say it is easy work, but it is an environment where you are able to have complete control of all aspects of the shoot. Most photographers would place the jewelry form on a tabletop and arrange the jewelry upon the form. Then it is lit to showcase the product. The problem, in my humble opinion, is the image is somewhat boring. Below you will see what I am talking about. First we will look at an industry standard shot and then I will show how this style does not have to be the only way to showcase a piece of jewelry.
Ginger Mumpower, whose head shot I recently did, was kind enough to hire me to shoot several pieces of her jewelry collection. She is the owner of Ginger’s Jewelry and has some amazing jewelry for sale in her online store. During our initial consultation she requested I shoot the industry standard shots for her to use on her website. We then discussed how we could take the photographs to the next level using atmosphere and mood with lighting design. When we meet again, after I had completed the jewelry shoot, at my studio to view the images she was very pleased with the work. We then looked at some of the more artistic shoots I did, she was amazed at how incorporating dynamic lighting into the image can take a photograph to a whole new level. I can not stress enough to fellow photographers that light is everything in image making.
Take a look and decide for yourself which style is more appealing, the standard or the “not-so-standard” style of commercial photography?
Enjoy!
Above The Standard Jewelry Photograph…
And Below The Fun Stuff!







Thanks again Ginger! It is always a pleasure to work with you!
Bob
Ginger Mumpower has her own jewelry business and came to me recently to have a head shot done. She needed the head shot to use for website and promotional materials. She wanted something different than the normal head shot most photographers offer their clients, so I suggested we do a circa 1940-50’s Hollywood style lighting used a lot by George Hurrell. He is one of the photographers from throughout the ages that I look up to and his lighting design is amazing. Once you see one of the images lit in this manner you are immediately reminded of the golden years of Hollywood. Ginger was blown away with the final results and I was pretty happy with the photographs myself. This style of lighting is one of my favorites to use and I so rarely get the opportunity to do so. Thanks again Ginger, you were a dream to work with. Here is one of the keepers from the session!!!

Here is a shoot from this weeks session with attorney Quentin Emick. The idea was to make him look strong and personable. Quentin was great to work with and was not afraid to step outside the box when it came to doing a portrait of him for the Law Firms website.

Bob Cranwell Photography is offering you a Valentine’s Day Boudoir Portrait session! The package includes a one hour photography session, hair and make-up by by Make-up Artist Kelly Coleman, one free 11×14 glossy print retouched of your choice from the session, and a CD with 5 retouched photographs of your choice with all rights to print. Hurry and book your session as time and space is limited! The cost is $250.00. Give him a gift he will not forget and make this Valentine’s Day one he will remember forever!
Recently I was contacted by Sherry Frantz, owner of Frantz Diamonds & Jewelry, to create some shots for her new website. I was thrilled to get the opportunity to step out of the Wedding game and shoot something a little different. Sherry requested an exterior shot, a group portrait of the employees, a panoramic of the interior, and a few shoots of the new chandelier that will be kinda like their trademark. It was a great time and all the girls were fabulous to work with. I think Sherry and the girls will be happy with the finished product. I hope you enjoy!
The Frantz Diamond Girls
Exterior One
Exterior Two
Interior
The Chandelier!
by Bob
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