Our College House
Posted in architectural photography, equipment on July 23rd, 2010 by Fernando Gaglianese
Covers of University of Pennsylvania's College Houses catalogs from 1998 through 2009
It can be very rewarding to step back from a project you have been involved with for many years and see how it has evolved and changed over time. Greg has been photographing for University of Pennsylvania’s catalog of College Houses for thirteen years. The designs and concepts have changed over that time. It is fun to see some of the covers together and trace the evolution.
University of Pennsylvania College Houses Catalog 2002-2003 Academic Year
More than just the designs have changed over the years. The cover concept for the catalogs from 2002 through 2005 called for a photograph of one the many sculptures on campus in the foreground and Penn dormitories in the background. The photograph had to wrap around to the back of the book and digital capture technology of the day was not up to the task. These series of covers were all shot in large format film.
University of Pennsylvania College Houses Catalog2006-2007 Academic Year
The redesigned cover for the catalog for the 2005-2006 academic year set a new concept that was continued on until last year’s catalog. Though Greg had already been shooting digitally for some assignments before this, it is during these years that the studio saw less and less of a necessity for shooting film. The day that marked the final transition to fully digital for all assignments was somewhere in the middle of 2007, and by the end of 2008 Greg’s large format and medium format cameras had found homes outside of the studio.
Not just University of Pennsylvania, but all of our clients’ needs continue to change and evolve. Our tools (not longer just cameras, lenses, and lights; but now also computers, software, and hard-drives) continue to change and evolve at an accelerating pace.
After about one hundred years of slow to little change, right now is a very exciting time to be a photographer and embrace all the new possibilities. But, it requires that one is willing to continue to be a student.
