Ed Hoppe Studio
Ed, in one of his two shooting bays. The total space of his studio "B"in the above photo is 32x40 feet, 11 foot ceilings, plus a full kitchen, bar, and office. Not shown; is a computer area, prop room, full bath, art area as well as an old darkroom now been used for poster inventory.
There are double doors in the studio that lead to the yard and to the woods. Check out our Wisconsin gallery for the hunting & chainsaw photos as well as others, taken just a few feet from the studio door.
Ed's residence is in the upper level of the studio, & has three bedrooms, a kitchen, two fireplaces and a large deck overlooking the woods. The high deck is sometimes used for photographing wildlife late in the evening or just a place to relax after a days work.
One of the rooms with a fireplace has wooden floors as shown to the right. I have made many photo illustrations using the fireplace as a set; Sears blankets or a hunting lodge scene with models dressed in camo clothing; "or the guys relaxing after a hunting trip". In addition, the fireplace has been used for product photography and still can be, but today with our stock photo files and digital images, I would almost prefer to work in photoshop to come up with the perfect final image - using the fireplace as the background and shooting a product in the studio, then stripping the two together.
The above shot is a view of the studio & house; clients loft above far right structure. There is a "cat walk" connecting the studio to the guest loft. The loft (Apt.) is also a weekly rental for tourist who visit our area - In most cases it is reserved for clients for the duration of their photo shoot, but available the rest of the time.
The image above is one of two fireplaces in our house. The other fireplace is in a carpeted room; both have been used as backgrounds for assignments. The fieldstone fireplaces are-18' high with native fieldstone, and can make a good natural "set". The above kitchen is located in studio "B" on the lower level. Hey, not many people see the deer looking into the window for a hand out! We had a hill just outside of the kitchen window and deer always come in the morning for a visit. We found it more convenient to have a working kitchen right in the studio for food photography or to have a quick lunch when working or with clients.
Left aerial photo: View of our studio location and the surrounding woods, home & clients quarters. A little different from our loft studio in Chicago, but we love it here. Private and yet only three miles from the town of Boulder Junction. The apartment is ideal for a client to stay in when shooting here; other times we rent it out to tourists.
This is great location for shooting outdoor lifestyles, people using some kind of product; hunting gear, clothing, etc. There are about 194 lakes within nine miles of my studio. Great fishing - Boulder Junction is famous for it's Musky and Walleye fishing as well as good hunting or camping and let's not forget winter related sports and gear.
It's strange, but when I first relocated to the North Woods from Chicago, I was seeking clients with "outdoor products to photograph. But, ironically, our first client in our new Wisconsin studio was a large food company out of Chicago. We shot food for them for over four years until they set up an inside photo studio in their company... It was a pleasure shooting for them...We still photograph food and other products in our new location, but with more of a rustic look to the image. Lots of Cheese products, gift boxes, chainsaws, etc. Other food shots may be a campfire cookout, or a hunting group as it relates to nature and the lifestyles of this area. We photograph product photography for both Ads, brochures, calendars... If we can be of service in anyway, please feel free to contact Ed for your advertising images; stock photography, assignments or a combination of the two. We have also done image alterations for clients in photoshop; they bring their files to us and we can alter them as needed; retouching, adding backgrounds, etc.
Boulder Junction is the location of our Wisconsin Studio; our "Base". But during the late winter we travel the island of Puerto Rico to visit our clients and develop new ones. In addition, we are always updating our stock photo files of Puerto Rico. Please send us your "want list" of subjects in PR, we may shoot on speculation if time permits. See our Wisconsin and Puerto Rico Galleries of people, food, as well as nature.