SugarHouse Casino, Philadelphia - North Entrance

The SugarHouse, Philadelphia’s very first casino, had its grand opening at the end of September. The casino sits on the former site of the Jack Frost Sugar Refinery and is appropriately named. We were lucky enough to be some of the first to see it from the inside.

We were chosen by the construction company, The Keating Group; and the architects, Cope Linder Architects, to document the casino.

SugarHouse Casino - Bar

Once operational, the casino would be open 24 hours a day leaving only a narrow window of time to photograph the interior spaces. Construction would be completed just before the grand opening. The timing was tight, but more importantly this would be the last time that the interiors would be fully empty of patrons.

SugarHouse Casino - Craps Tables

The casino interiors feature many different types of light fixtures. It was necessary to carefully add our own additional lighting in ways that would not dilute the mood and atmosphere of these spaces.

SugarHouse Casino - Slot Machines

SugarHouse Casino, Philadelphia - Main Entrance

The New York Times’ Bits blog ran an entry showcasing a recent finding by Jakob Nielsen that web users completely ignore “generic” looking images. Nielsen, a Danish researcher, has been studying usability on the web since before anyone seemed to care or have noticed that the user experience affects the success of a website.

Ted Abel (foreground), and Ted Huang (background). Researchers at University of Pennsylvania.

Using eye tracking technology to measure the amount of time the user spends looking at various parts of the screen, Nielsen has managed to show that stock images go largely ignored. The Times concentrates on what this means to e-commerce sellers like Amazon and Pottery Barn, but it affects the impact and value of images on any website.

"Female Scientific Research Team Using Microscopes in a Laboratory," from iStockPhoto.com

Nielsen sums up his findings simply:

“Invest in good photo shoots: a great photographer can add a fortune to your Web site’s business value.”

Stock photography carries a very low cost, but it also brings a very low value. And THIS is a scientifically proven fact.