Brian Peterson Photography

Wedding, Portrait, and Commercial Photography in Northern California

Lou Mars Goes for the World Record

Jan 16

Posted by Brian Peterson in Uncategorized

A friend of mine, Lou Mars, not only operates SmartWebSales.com, but he also is a professional drummer. In fact right now, he is attacking the world record for marathon drumming right here in Chico, CA. You can follow his progress and cheer Lou on here; http://www.ustream.tv/channel/lou-mars-world-record

Or check out some pics of his continuing attempt:

http://www.brianpetersonphotography.com/Client_Proofs/Lou_Mars_Record/

The drum set on the right (the gray one) will be raffled off at the end of the attempt. Tickets are only one dollar and all proceeds will go to the charity Little Kids Rock, an organization that gives instruments and music lessons to needy children.

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Spotlight on Solar

Jun 17

Posted by Brian Peterson in Commercial

Solar arrays continue to pop up throughout the Northstate. I was commissioned to shoot a series of images for Chico Electric and Mitsubishi Electric today of two new arrays on the Butte College campus.  This campus is now the most solarized community college in the state.

petersonphoto_090617_0892

As the panels below are mounted on an angled scaffolding that is already about 8-feet off the ground, this shot required the use of my 21-foot camera crane to get an angle that showed off the project.

Butte College water treatment facility solar array

Butte College water treatment facility solar array

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Solar Energy News Series Hits the Air

May 26

Posted by Brian Peterson in Commercial

During the past couple of weeks I had the pleasure to again work in news with ex-colleague and friend, Debbie Cobb from Action News here in Chico. I produced a short three part news series from the footage I’ve acquired during the past 18 months documenting solar installations here in Northern California, the main one, of which was the record-setting rooftop array installed at the Sierra Nevada Brewery by Chico Electric. The first part aired tonight and the following two nights will feature parts two and three.

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Solar Array Aerial Photography

May 9

Posted by Brian Peterson in Commercial

Solar energy projects have been popping up everywhere. I recently was hired to provide aerial photography for five new solar arrays; one here in Chico on top of the Sierra Nevada Brewery installed by Chico Electric, two in the bay area, one just north of Bakersfield and one near Los Angeles by Perpetual Power. It’s really hard not to love your job when it includes grabbing quality images while banking hard turns a mere 1000-feet above the ground. Usually, I hire small Cessnas like 172’s or 162’s because they can fly nice and slow and two of my favorite pilots are Jimmy Bryant who flies air attack missions for CDF during the fire season and Amy Ellis of Bridgeford Flying Services. However,  for the trip near Bakersfield, no regular fixed-wind aircraft were available, so I flew a little after midday in a very cool small ultralight.  Now that time of day is when thermals make for a pretty bumpy ride in a regular plane…so I was very, VERY,  glad to have fast optically stabilized lenses with me!

Ultralight
Bay Alarm building

Markstein building
Limoneira solar array

Sierra Nevada Brewery
Perpetual Power array


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My take on being a professional photographer

Apr 20

Posted by Brian Peterson in Commercial, Portrait, Weddings

The word “professional” can mean many things. As a professional photographer, I believe it must include:

  1. Being courteous.
  2. Being creative. But remembering it’s always your wedding, your session, or your company; not simply an opportunity to create “art” (the anti-Prima-Donna clause).
  3. Taking the time to understand and exceed your expectations for fine photography.
  4. Representing my abilities faithfully. This includes knowing when to refer you to another photographer if my abilities won’t meet your expectations.
  5. Not just being on time, but a little early.
  6. Maintaining primary photo equipment.
  7. Maintaining backup photo equipment for when the unexpected happens.
  8. Living a healthy lifestyle to allow for work at the peak of my ability.
  9. Charging a fair price for my services.
  10. Remaining a student of photography. Keeping current on industry trends and techniques along with regular upgrades to improve imaging and service
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Barbarba Norman Stained Glass

Mar 9

Posted by Brian Peterson in Commercial

Not only is local artist, Barbara Norman, getting a reputation for creating unique stained glass art pieces, she is also in demand for larger projects like this entryway she recently completed for a Forest Ranch couple. It looks wonderful during the day, but at twilight with the lights on inside, her work really stands out.

Stained Glass

Stained Glass

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Lou Mars goes to Hollywood

Feb 9

Posted by Brian Peterson in Commercial

I had to break out of my still photography role today and play video producer for local up and coming drummer, Lou Mars. Lou recently came in first place in the national, Drum Your Way to Hollywood contest. From the notoriety gained from that exposure, Lou was asked to provide a demo tape to see if he would be a good fit for an upcoming Hollywood music video with a 1950’s feel. Instead of simply doing a straight drum demo, Lou and I decided to go one (make that five) steps further and create our own music-video-within-a-demo-video.  I brought in my 21-foot camera crane to provide cinematic opening and closing shots, used my broadcast HD video cameras, and used lighting that mimicked that of a Hollywood set.  Short story is, Lou’s incredible talent and showmanship got him the gig and the “demo” video was deemed so good, the producers actually cut many shots into the final music video. Check it out!

Lou and Brian

Lou and Brian

Lou Mars

Lou Mars

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Chico Bridal Fair

Jan 18

Posted by Brian Peterson in Weddings

I just returned from what has to have been one of the best organized and well-attended bridal fairs I’ve ever attended. Class Act Entertainment always does a great show. I was fortunate to have time to meet and speak with several new vendors and colleagues. It still surprises me that Northern California is home to such a robust professional wedding community. Since I’ve relied on mostly word-of-mouth advertising, I haven’t done a show for quite some time; certainly a lot of work, but more than worth the effort. If I had a chance to speak with you briefly and you have more questions, please give me a call this week.

Brian Peterson Photography Booth

Brian Peterson Photography Booth

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Preference Chiropractic

Dec 2

Posted by Brian Peterson in Commercial, Portrait

It’s not everyday that I get to go into a doctor’s office and not have to either wait, or be nervous. But  today, I got to shoot all the interior images and portraits for the team at Preference Chiropractic. In fact, I learned that even if I had been a patient, rather than a photographer, I had nothing to fear as they specilize in new or apprehensive clients. Getting to know Dr. Candace, I would certainly trust her to fix me up if I do something stupid again, like NOT using a hand truck to move my large lighting kit.

Preference Chiropractic Team

Preference Chiropractic Team

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Savannah James

Nov 18

Posted by Brian Peterson in Commercial

Up at 5:00 this morning, loaded all the photo equipment and was on the road down to Chico by 6:00am. My shoot was at a very cool furnishings and interior design boutique called, Savannah James. I was glad to again be working with graphic design firm Farrell Design Group on this project to caputre the unique charatcer of this downtown upscale shop. Some of the lighting challenges here were to photograph products near the large store windows before I had to start competing with direct sunlight. I got most of the products shot but later did end up having to do a fair bit of flagging of the windows.

Savannah James in Chico

Savannah James in Chico

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