JC Photo Blog

The Biltmore Towers

admin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:07:57 +0000

I shot this listing last night, it is at The Biltmore Towers on 24th street and Camelback. The rooftop terrace and pool/ jacuzzi is sick. Most rooftop decks I’ve been on only take up about a third of the buildings’ footprint. The Biltmore Towers rooftop takes up the whole building, so there’s a ton of space and areas to relax or hang out. It is very forward thinking on Optima’s part. It is also entirely landscaped, which is very different for people in Phoenix to see . The views are perfect. I love the exterior design of this building and think there needs to be many more like it in Phoenix (maybe next boom in 10 yrs). This condo is listed at $325K by yours truly. (I moonlight as a Realtor) 2 bedrooms 1.75 bath, 1361 square feet. Sold for $606K the first time around! (Plus about $16K in upgrades) Bank is very easy to work with….

North Scottsdale Luxury home

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:57:23 +0000

This home made me want to cry. I love it. I shot it for a website two weeks ago. I want to own something this grand at some point in my life time! The home is in Troon North. Killer , killer views.

Ralph Haver custom home

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:50:48 +0000

Oh this just may be my all time favorite to date as far as homes I’ve shot. This is a Ralph Haver home built in the 60′s, but remodeled recently by a lovely couple who have great taste. The kitchen is perfect. I am a huge fan of vaulted wood beam ceilings, and block construction… This house also has a pool and guest home, which is crazy for an MCM’er!

Enjoy:

Scottsdale Waterfront

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:37:32 +0000

I love this condo… in the Scottsdale Waterfront development. I shot the Listing photos a few weeks ago and thought I should post them:

Troon Modern remodel

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:51:30 +0000

This is the home of an architect, which is why it is so splendid. The kitchen is incredible, it is Poggenpohl. (I may or may not have mispelled Poggenpohl).

London Town

admin — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:00:23 +0000

My London adventure consisted of 3 days spent mostly partying in Soho, around my hotel at The Sanderson. I was with a group so it was hard to bounce around as much as I normally would. I did luck out with the weather; on the day I visited the South-bank of the Thames it was 78 degrees and sunny all day. Some of the things I learned on my first visit to the U.K. are; The British are much more cordial, polite and genuinely happier than Americans. Their English is much more formal. Londoners party way harder than we do. They can drink all day and night. It seemed to me that London still views America as their “Colony’s” to some degree. Their news is about 40% concentrated on American goings on. London was much cleaner than any city I have ever visited. The city is not very tall but is still perfectly dense. I’d take a city of 4 to 5 story buildings that is properly planned and naturally evolved over a city of skyscrapers any day. Narrow roads, old buildings and high design consideration makes London my top city of record, if you remove weather as a factor. Even public facilities have superior design, as it seems that architecture and design are very important to Londoners. The tube has a neon blue light shining below the train at all times. There are moving advertisements as you ride the tube on brick tunnel walls, which consists of probably a few hundred programmed and synced televisions. The London- Heathrow airport is incredible. The majority of my pics are from the South-bank of the Thames. And some night shots of Soho and the Piccadilly Circus area:

^ This guy stared at the tv watching soccer for 2 hours in this same position.

First class Lounge at London Heathrow airport:

When in Amsterdam…

admin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:17:38 +0000

24 hours in Amsterdam spent boozing, smoking (legally of course), photographing and awestruck for a town that is in my opinion very far ahead of the curve. Everyone should want to live in a city that is pedestrian friendly, where you can walk or bike to 90% of your every day needs. Most of Amsterdam is no taller than 5 stories but you still feel the density. Coming from Phoenix where we tear down any building older than 30 years, it always amazes me to see complete blocks of buildings that are all hundreds of years old and in the same state they were in when they were built. I made it my mission to capture the Red Light District and surrounding Canals so that I could paint a good picture to my friends back home. The Red Light District got its name from the late 19th Century where railway workers would hang their red lanterns outside the brothels. The District evolved to the point that now most of the windows emit red lights where Prostitutes dance or smoke and lure in bystanders. The women are quite pretty, particularly in the “prime time” of the night. Attractive levels drop off sharply after about 4 AM. Amsterdam was a perfect blend of filth and beauty.

^ shot of Absinth mmm ^

Portland 38, Downtown Phoenix

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:11:38 +0000

Portland 38 is located in The Garfield District of Downtown Phoenix, a short hop from the epicenter of First Fridays along Roosevelt. The project was designed by Michael Underhill. I shot these for JAG development. They recently completed the Sales model and needed some images for their website and marketing. I really like the Modern simplicity of these townhomes. The raw materials make a great canvas for your furnishings, art work etc. I have seen some of the buyers in JAG’s other projects do some really cool things to their units. Prices are really cheap right now!

Pics:

Old Town Scottsdale remodel; AKA Dirty Harry condo

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:25:30 +0000

This is Ashley’s bachelorette pad; it’s a 2 story, 2 bedroom townhome in Downtown Scottsdale. I wanted to shoot this place for two reasons; one Ashley asked me to after admiring some of the recent posts, and two, it is my favorite personal remodel that I wanted to document in case I ever want to get back in to Design. Before the housing market went sour I picked up this puppy for a very good price. I had shown it to about 5 of my friends, all designers and remodelers. Nobody wanted it. Everyone said it required too much work or that they weren’t feelin’ the same thing that I was. Disclaimer: It was pretty gnarly back then. The walls were covered in a whitish yellowy paint and it had ceramic tile flooring and a 70′s kitchen, the staircase was carpeted. Anyways, on the last showing I said, “If nobody wants this friggin place I’ll buy it and prove you all wrong”. I had my buddy Ben help me with the remodel and he is an extremely talented architect/ contractor! But other than not doing much of the labor, it was pretty much planned and designed all by myself. I originally wanted to cut out the entire kitchen wall but there was all sorts of electrical junk in that wall, so I said to myself, “if that wall has to stay it has to be the coolest wall ever so I won’t hate it”. Then came the bubble wall idea and bar area. The bubble panels are a cheaper version of modular arts panels for those of you that are in to design. I also added the whole color changing lights effect because I saw that at Tower 23 in San Diego and wanted to bring it here. The Dirty Harry door idea was kind of stolen from Ben’s previous remodel that I was envious of, where he did a Charlie’s Angel type of door (which is posted in an earlier post), I wanted something equally as cool in mine. So, we scoured the web for something as effective and stylish but it had to be a tall image. Ben and I knew right away that Dirty Harry was a dead ringer, being that we figured the buyer would be a twenty-something guy! (little did we know) And the funny thing is, Ashley hated that door at first. I think she has since learned to respect it. Ashley is an interior designer and hence the wicked cool furniture. She has great style. An earlier post of a very similar condo is from the same development, it is actually the condo next door. My friend Mack helped Summer design hers. Summer and Ashley are buddies. It’s a very incestuous complex I guess! When I was doing the remodel, it was kind of creepy; the neighbors would lump together and peer inside the windows, kind of like in the ending of “Field of Dreams”. They were astounded by the changing colors coming out of it I guess. I finally had to tape off the windows. So, I guess the moral of this story is, never judge a book by it’s cover so long as you have sandblasting capailities. Anyways, enoughof the interlude, here are the pics:

Parting quote:

“I know what you’re thinking, punk. You’re thinking “did he fire six shots or only five?” Now to tell you the truth I forgot myself in all this excitement. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and will blow you head clean off, you’ve gotta ask yourself a question: “Do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya, punk? “

4020 Old Town Scottsdale Lofts shoot

admin — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:05:11 +0000

I shot these this week for the new owner and listing teams’ website. I prayed for a good sunset and hallelujah, it worked out. Ironically, I had bought the corner unit and sold 6 others as a Realtor back when the market was hotter, circa 2006. We all had to cancel because the developer would not lower the prices to reflect the much shittier housing market of 2007. Anyways, I heard the new owner is much cooler and is easy to work with. These are listed for rent and possibly for sale. I would love to live here; it is just my style, just my location… How cool to live above a Bank of America (which happens to be my bank), Daily Dose and Ice Tango? And not to mention across the street from Grimaldi’s, Sugar Bowl, Ra, Buca di Beppo and you’d never need a cab again after the bars! I had tracked this project since it was in conceptual stages in 2005. Funny that the extent of my involvement would only be to shoot the marketing photos:(

I gave them two versions of photos, edited and massively edited. I believe the owner will prefer the minimally edited ones. I have a unique style with my photography editing, I like to “over-do” it and exaggerate the details to reflect more of the feel that I saw with my eyes. A lot of little things get lost in the exposure, for example it is tough to get the exterior to pop from windows when shooting inside. I usually wait until about 6:45 to shoot Real Estate (in summer time anyways). The lighting is perfect from 7:20-7:45. So, I shot two units at 4020 and was running around like a mad man trying to document everything in the narrow time frame I had of good light. I had to do interior, balconies and rooftop decks! -Was a good workout.

Hope you like the pics: