Avista Energy Conservation

Avista Utilities has a responsibility, and a mandate, to encourage and provide ways for their customers to use their product (energy) most efficiently. Not wasting energy is the best way to have enough, and more, to use for other good purposes. This campaign was developed by Avista and creative agency helveticka, to demonstrate specific possibilities in the effective use of energy. A variety of incentives and specific suggestions go along with this campaign to get people and businesses tuned-up and efficient in their power use. LED lighting, insulating windows and high-efficiency furnaces are featured in this campaign.

Spokane Roofing

Spokane Roofing, a venerable Spokane roofing company came to us with the need to document some of their recent projects. I asked if they wanted to see the actual roofs and they said "no- they get dirty right away". Good point- they are mostly white membrane roofs. This made our task much more simple, too. 

Leviton: Spokane Commercial Photographer

Leviton Company brought us in to help illustrate a case-study of Spokane's Davenport Grand Hotel's many uses of Leviton products. I guarantee that you have used their electrical switches and components. The Burson-Marsteller PR agency in Boston actually asked us to photograph this project for Leviton after looking at regional photographer's websites. We must have walked six miles in the half-day we spent at the Hotel. Walt Worthy's electricians were super helpful and stood in as installers for several images. Best of all, they were the actual installers. J. Craig Sweat Photography, Inc. got a preview of the Hotel before it opened and then right before the grand opening. It's really big and very luxurious.

Kaemmer "Vail" Poster

Gary Kaemmer, artist, is a relative of mine who, upon retirement from a successful career as a design agency and illustrator in Denver, Colorado, moved to East Hope on the north shore of Pend Oreille Lake. This is a guy who is past 80 years old now who goes to a small art studio he built next to his home every day, regular working hours, and does art. No phone, no TV, just art, all day, all week. Just because he loves it. Kind of a Renaissance man, he can use just about any medium (oils, acrylics, watercolor, sculpture, charcoal, pastels, scratchboard, graphite...) and does it all very well. Back in the 1960's he helped his brother, a founder of Vail Colorado, to promote the winter resort with a large poster. Maybe ten years ago, Gary found a faded, folded copy of the poster in his archives and he asked me to copy it, clean it up, and make a print of it. The original art was long gone. This turned out to be a considerable job- I copied it in three sections to gain resolution, then stitched those pieces together, then had to correct all of the flaws of a 1960's press run further abused by the ravages of time. Yellowed paper, all of the hundreds of printer's gremlins, the creases and folds and scratches. The large black "VAIL" title font was unusable (not real sharp, not real black and full of spots) and I rebuilt it from scratch. I then made a print at approximately the original size on a beautiful Somerset Velvet watercolor paper and it looked great (after lots of color management). Gary framed and matted it carefully, crated and shipped it to his brother Johnny, who placed it in the window of a small toy store he still has (after a career of several very successful restaurants in Vail). They began to sell right away, and for a good price. This has gone on for several years and I am always surprised when he calls me for five or ten more prints. At this point he has sold many dozens of them and they continue to sell from that one display print. As a retired artist, it helps his budget a lot and I make a few dollars too.

Avista Lineman Print

A friend of Chris, studio assistant, asked if we had any utility "lineman" images. As I have done a great deal of work in the utility/industrial areas, we showed her what we have.  After looking at stock images all over the internet she chose one of ours. Her significant other is a lineman and she wanted it for him, and to show what it was he did on the job. We went over matting and framing with her, made the print, and finished it out, complete with hardware and now resides in their home.

Bouten Construction, Kadlec Parking Garage: Spokane Photographer

Bouten Construction hired us to update their library of "process" and construction images. They use these images in proposals as well as in their broad marketing efforts. We were in Yakima on another job and stayed overnight there so we could be in the Tri-Cities, at the project, at 6:30 am the next morning. These guys start early and move fast. The parking garage is a substantial structure- five stories of heavy concrete. It was a routine day: re-bar install (getting ready for a large cement pour), form setting and removal, concrete finishing, crane work, and a dozen other tasks that are impressive in both scale and skill. 

Spring Tool: Spokane Product Photographer

Eric Thun, owner and inventor at Springtools asked us to photograph a few new tools and tool sets for advertising and promotional purposes. It helps that they are nice quality products. We brought them into the studio, talked over the art direction and he left us to our task with the help of his marketing and sales guy, Marty Parole. These spring tools are a great idea, in all of their variations, and Eric has had great success with them in national markets. I began working with this product many years ago with the previous owners of the company. I like it when a company stays with us as their photographer even through a change of ownership and management.

SCS Bike Rack Product Photography

We photographed a new bike rack design invented and developed by my good friend Neil Johnson. SCS Racks is his company's name and he has really thought this through. It is a great, simple, easy to use, and very secure design with a beautiful finish and look. He even has a new lock design that will conform to certain car brand key patterns. Then you can use your car key in the rack lock to access your bicycle. A real entrepreneur, Neil has been a realtor for many years.

You can view the website and other images here: http://www.scsrack.com/

Spokane Steam Plant Celebrates 100 Years!

In 1986 I was at the steam plant just before they shut down the last boiler and, along with a group of five or six of us- me, several dejected steamfitters, and Steve Blewett  (of WWP), we each, in turn, pulled the lanyard on a huge steam whistle, charged by that last boiler, as the dying bellow of that huge old machine just before they shut off the (by then gas) fire on the last boiler for good. It was great- the sound was so deep, loud and rich as to take your breath away and it bellowed and echoed all over town for twenty seconds after sounding the whistle. I am sure that everyone within a mile, at least, inside or out, heard the seven or eight times we fired that whistle and wondered what the heck was going on. At one time in Spokane's history that whistle was blew every day at noon and sent all of downtown on their lunch breaks. When I say "whistle"- this thing was three feet long and took two people to carry safely. It was beautiful- heavy brass and built like old stuff was- to last forever. It may be around there still. The steamfitters at the plant ran a steam line way across the room and out the window on the train deck, installed a 90º elbow, screwed on the whistle and valve, and gave it steam pressure. We had to stand on a ladder to reach the lanyard on the valve and it took all you had to pull it, unsteady as the ladder was. It wouldn't sound until we were almost hanging from the rope, forcefully letting off a huge cloud of steam with the raucous sound. I couldn't believe how it resonated and echoed off of various downtown buildings. And such a hearty organic sound. Like the old steamship whistles- real bass and very loud. A good memory except that I went in for hernia surgery at 8:00 am the very next morning! I was very happy to have this photo project to distract my thoughts that day. To learn more about the Steam Plant visit: http://www.steamplantspokane.com/history

Avista Gas Project: Spokane Commercial Photographer J. Craig Sweat Photography

When Avista wanted to increase awareness of the benefits of natural gas, helveticka and J. Craig Sweat Photography stepped up to the plate to produce a new print ad.  We scouted locations, ending up choosing my friends Pat and Janet Smith's kitchen, then considered various "lifestyle" scenarios and looked for fitting talent. As the idea became more refined we assembled food and props for a summer "dinner party" and finally went to shoot. Several hours later, we had our shot, with outside light variations through sunset. For a large-set shoot it went well and we got good advantage of the fine summer evening. It was a fun session and we did no damage to my friend's home, happily.  

Avista Wind: Spokane Commercial Photographer: J. Craig Sweat Photography, Inc.

Avista Utilities has taken a financial interest in the Palouse wind farm that you will see as you drive from Spokane, Washington to Pullman, Washington. While they do not own the wind farm, they have a deal wherein they will buy all of the power generated by the turbines for thirty years. The Palouse has been one of my favorite subjects for many years and this addition has caught my eye more than once. I made a few images of the site at a good time of day on my own one day and eventually was asked to show them to one of Avista's marketing people for a specific ad. As we discussed the use of my image it became apparent that they had little or no great photography of this site, even with its sweeping and extraordinary location. We arranged that J. Craig Sweat Photography, Inc. would go there at the right time, on the right day, and cover it for them in as many ways as possible. J. Craig Sweat Photography, Inc. delivered a gallery of 284 images and they made a number of selections right away. 

Spokane International Airport Fire Station: Architectural Photographer J. Craig Sweat Photography, Inc.

Here are some images of the Spokane International Airport Fire Station, courtesy of US taxpayers and Integrus Architecture. J. Craig Sweat Photography, Inc. was asked by Integrus Architecture to photograph the structure; both interior and exterior. Be glad these folks are here for us. Nice people, great building. The facility has a workout room where the Fire Fighters can maintain a healthy fitness level. The main bay of the building houses three serious fire trucks, two that are each capable of holding 30,000 gallons of water as well as a fire deterrent foam. The new building was moved to near the center runway to help with speed of deployment and allow greater access to the whole airport. A first class facility that we all hope is never needed for its greatest purpose.

Bouten Construction, Spokane Commercial Photographer Craig Sweat Photography

Bouten Construction is a well known and respected name in Spokane. You cannot look at a view of our city without setting your eyes on Bouten projects. A high level of craft and a quality finish are what they are known for and they haven't been afraid to take on some of Spokane's largest building projects. Very nice, very sharp people was the impression I was left with after the entire office staff came through our studio, one at a time, giving us a chance to converse and get to know them just a little. These are people who really live their work. They know what they're doing and approach a project with a healthy and productive attitude. We worked with helveticka to create images that really spoke to the brand of Bouten. Read helveticka's blog here: www.helveticka.com/news/

Helveticahaus, Craig Sweat Photography, Inc., Spokane commercial photographer

These last few months we had the honor of working with design agency "helveticka" on a new and separate venture they have started. The idea; to create a Scholarship fund for area design students based on the culture around the font "Helvetica". CK and Linda like the font well enough to have named their design business after it, almost. The font is timeless in its simplicity and grace but feels modern. The new site and scholarship fund are under the name Helveticahaus. Below are some of the images we produced for the site as well as one behind-the-scenes shot of one of the sets. CK's is a great idea which should grow with a thousand heartfelt "thank you"s. 

Med Esthetics Magazine: Spokane Photographer J. Craig Sweat Photography

Inga Hansen, Exec. Editor of MedEsthetics (and other) magazines saw our website and, according to her, "really hoped we could do this project". She and I went over the job, settled on a budget, then we made our arrangements with Spokane Dermatology Clinic. Jayce Charlesworth helped us greatly from inside the practice and we took the better part of our day there, shooting in a dozen different areas. It is an impressive, brand new, except for the basic structure, building and houses Dr. Werschler's research company as well- a growing and sizable operation itself. The work was published as a three-page story and the magazine cover art in this month's issue, and online, of course. The good Dr. Werschler was a pleasure to work with. 

Read the issue here: medesthetics.epubxp.com/t/22937-medesthetics

View Med Esthetics website: medestheticsmag.com/

Spokane Dermatology: spokanederm.com/

helveticka, Spokane Commercial Photographer Craig Sweat Photography

For many years we have worked with helveticka (formerly Anderson Mraz Design) on many client projects as well as directly with CK Anderson on their own public presentation, including samples like this. The tactile aspect of good print media is best represented by showing the real publication as an object of beauty. The use of consistent backgrounds and fairly organic lighting has been successful in showing projects on their web site and their other project presentations. This simple, modern approach suits the helveticka aesthetic and feel, giving credence to their range of skills and the level of design at which they execute. Complexity is the trend in our culture, simplicity is harder (and better). CK (and his retired partner John Mraz) have built a top-tier design firm in a relatively small market. We wish CK and his crew more success and will continue to bring our best game to our collaborative projects. The sample in this image was photographed (cover and content) by Jim VanGundy, another friend and great Spokane photographer. You can view the image in use here: helveticka: NOVAGOLD 

Avista 125 years, Spokane Commercial Photographer Craig Sweat Photography

Two projects: The Avista 2013 Annual Report and Avista's 125th Anniversary book. First, we spent many hours poring through our archives to find a large number of images done through 25+ years of our working with Avista Corp. on every kind of project. With Spokane design firm Klündt Hosmer at the design helm and Jessie Wuerst as our client, we supplied many legacy images for print advertising, large display panels, and web use. A beautiful book was eventually published with many of the same images. 125 years is a great run for any company and Avista deserves great credit for nurturing deep roots in its civic involvement in our area, and for keeping the lights on.

You can view the video filmed by mojolab and put together by helveticka below.

Damon Orthodontics

Damon Orthodontics connected with J. Craig Sweat Photography a while back to update their staff photography and refresh their website. We worked at their well-appointed offices with the idea of keeping each person in their regular work context to better represent the patient expectation and to keep the staffers comfortable for their session. We did some lighting of each individual, given the awful light quality of overhead office lighting, and used some of the ambient and the window light. This required paying close attention to matching the color of our lights to the rest to avoid real problems with color-divergent sources. This was a full day of production, working fast, including the group image which was fully lighted. Dr. Damon has a great crew and they were very hospitable to us. They

Sandpoint Idaho, "Starry Night"

I spent last weekend with some friends at a family cabin on the river outlet of Lake Pend Oreille. It was late at night, perfectly still and very clear, the sky rife with stars. Orangy lights from LaClede, a few miles away, are touching the thin cloud cover with Sandpoint's lights off in the distance. With a big bonfire burning down, it was a sublime evening. 

View fullsize

Englander Mattress [Market Vision]

Scott Sloan of Market Vision invited us to go to Portland and set up for a day at the Englander Mattress factory showroom to photograph a brand new line of mattresses. About 30 mattresses later and another session for mood and detail images, we flew back to dear old Spokane. Not a bad way to spend the day. We rented lighting gear in Portland at Pro Photo Supply and produced the work at the factory showroom.