A Stanford Education

There is an energy about the Stanford campus – a sense of liveliness and excitement. I think they call it “college”.

I had gone to photograph Stanford University with a fellow photographer and family friend Andrew. I had spent the previous night and all morning looking at Andrew’s distinct black and white close-ups of nature and architecture, which in turn made me focus more on contrast and details on my visit to the campus. I had to photograph the location in harsh afternoon light, which casted harsh shadows and overexposed highlights. Although it is not the best light for images, I’m not always able to avoid photographing outdoors at high noon. In this case, I played up the contract of shadows and light. I also enjoy shooting against the light and spent most of the afternoon creating sun flares.

The more I visit California, the more I’m realizing that the overcast fall and winter in Toronto has made me want to photograph less. By the nature of being a travel photographer, I prefer to shoot in natural light, and the lack of it in Canadian winter is slowly eroding my creative soul. Hopefully, when we get more snow up in the true North I’ll feel more inspired. Until then, I’ll always have California.

I am told that long shots of these hallways are the hallmark Stanford shot.