Costco-Oxnard is famous now. ADAY.org book inside spread. Photo: Stephen Schafer. On May 15, 2012 a non profit organization, Expressions of Humankind based in Sweeden, set out to document the world by encouraging photographers of all skill levels to document a 24 hour period on one day, May 15, and upload the photos to be included in a online documentary project and book; the largest single-day photographic documentation of humankind that has ever taken place. Almost 100,000 photos were submitted, from over 160 countries; taken by professionals and amateurs alike. ISBN 978-91-7126-257-8 A Day In The World I'm honored to... Continue reading

A couple of nights ago I had the privilege of doing architectural photography for Ventana Magazine in Ventura's historic Hobson Heights neighborhood. Historic buildings are my favorite subjects but they often need a little help in Photoshop before they are ready for a centerfold. On this night I was fortunate enough to have clear skies, wispy clouds and a pool reflecting the whole scene... While this image is cropped top and bottom, it is completely unretouched! No color correction, or dodging and burning in Photoshop or Lightroom. I love it when a plan comes together. -Schaf Continue reading

The Christmas Spirit was high, Double-decker bus high! Usually my architectural photography is all about holding very, very still. Not this time. Continue reading

"I'll fix it in Photoshop™,"  This quote is usually loosely translated to: "I'll screw it up in camera." Client: Cardkey, Model: Brian Kent, Photograph by www.schafphoto.com Continue reading

HABS of the Blue Wing Adobe in Sonoma... Again? Historic American Buildings Survey Roger Sturtevant, Photographer Feb. 12, 1934 VIEW FROM NORTH-EAST (FRONT) - Blue Wing Inn. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, HABS CA-1438-1 Last month we had the pleasure of documenting Sonoma's Blue Wing Inn Adobe. It was officially an addendum to a historic photo documentation from 1934. It's fun to think that the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) program is the only New Deal program still in existence and many of the historic buildigs that were photographed in the infancy of the HABS program still exist.... Continue reading

Macs are from Mars and PC's are from Venus, so it's no surprise they don't speak the same language. Every time I send Jpegs (.jpg files) to clients on PC's between Mac Mail and Outlook or even Earthlink's e-mail service the photos appear embedded and can only be seen as Bitmap (.BMP files). The 5 second solution rename the Continue reading

While the rest of the visitors to Sonona taste wine and cheese, we're surveying the Blue Wing Inn Adobe to add to the HABS documentation from 1934... Continue reading

11 things a still photographer found out about the Nikon D800 and/or D800E when it showed up yesterday. And a link to full size photos on Flickr showing uncorrected D800E moiré. Continue reading

Bixby Bridge HAER... This photo speaks a thousand words, (it's two 5x7 negatives, so maybe 2000 plus a couple hundred to descrbe the itching and the perfect weather conditions) and it's a panorama though not quite 360 degrees. I think the photo title should be 1000/360. Continue reading

Architectural photography in Southern California allows for a lot of sun-lighting variation but inevitably the south facing buildings are finished in summer and the north facing ones are ready in winter... Must be Murphy's Law of solar frustration. Continue reading

One of the most interesting HABS photography projects in a while took me to the bottom edge of America last week to photograph the San Ysidro Customs House in San Diego at the Tijuana border... a cram-me-into-a-corner-with-a-camera affair. Continue reading

A year ago I spent a drizzly couple of December days doing a HABS-like documentation of a handsome brick building on Natoma Street in Downtown San Francisco... The brick buildings are gone, the bus ramps are gone, the Pfleuger Terminal is gone and construction proceeds day and night; but opium pipes and porcelain doll heads from the 1880s keep telling stories. Continue reading

This week my photo assistant Dave Sanchez and I put in three long days in the Sierras above Bishop, California photographing a Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) documentation of some hydro-electric powerplants. Continue reading

I'm excited to be one of twenty photographers chosen... for the seventh annual Best of ASMP 2011... (and the first HABS photographer). Continue reading

...Mnemonic to remember the seven aspects of integrity... MaD FLAWS... Materials, Design, Feeling, Location, Association, Workmanship, Setting... this is the 46th time I've looked this up... Continue reading

These final images capture a Nordhoff High School concert in the bowl, and details of the sun-dappled outdoor venue which was built between 1954 and 1957. Continue reading

The most amazing place to show off Hollywood, the American Dream, the desert landscape, and Native American Culture is the Antelope Valley Indian Museum State Historic Park...Schaf Photo was commissioned by architect John Lesak of Page & Turnbull to photograph the site and show the thoughtful stabilization of the building. After a four-year rehabilitation... Continue reading

With the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite and Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis-Brown House in Los Angeles, 2010 proved to be a great year for HABS projects. Continue reading

I thought I'd share the moment when the sun crests Halfdome and lights the east side ofthe Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, The site of my latest HABS project. Click the arrow and see the sun come up... Continue reading

In this case the two words were U-Turn, because when I saw the two words on this sign, I was compelled. 2 Words (One arrow). ( 900 East Baseline Road, Claremont, CA ) Continue reading

"Everyone has a photographic memory... Some just don't have the film." – Stephen Wright Continue reading

So I thought I would share a few views that were "off the list" on some of the HABS and HAER and HALS jobs I've been doing lately... Continue reading