Tim Engle 3/1/23 Tim Engle 3/1/23

February 2023 cover for Sacramento Magazine

As an artist, there's nothing quite like seeing your work featured in a publication, especially one as prominent as Sacramento magazine. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to create the cover artwork and interior feature image for this month's issue, which focused on local art galleries.

In the process of completing this assignment, I had the pleasure of visiting several of Sacramento's most renowned art galleries, including Elliott Fouts Gallery, Archival Gallery, Axis Gallery, Blue Line Arts, The Brickhouse Gallery and Art Complex, Kennedy Gallery, Latino Center of Art and Culture, and Twisted Track Gallery. Each visit was a unique experience, and I was struck by the incredible range of talent and style on display. It was a powerful reminder of the thriving arts community that exists right here in Sacramento.

For the cover image, we decided to photograph the exterior of Elliott Fouts Gallery. This required a bit of preparation, including the setup of four lights and some creative thinking to add some extra visual interest. I also enlisted the help of my trusty assistant, Kevin, who was kind enough to fetch countless buckets of water to create the perfect wet sidewalk effect.

Working with the Art Director, Gabriel, we were able to recruit the one and only Phoebe Verkouw (IG: thedressfiend) and some of her fashionable friends as our cover subjects. Phoebe is a true professional, and I always enjoy collaborating with her.

All in all, it was an incredible experience, and I'm grateful to Sacramento magazine for giving me the opportunity to showcase my work in such a meaningful way. I hope this issue inspires others to explore the rich and diverse arts scene that can be found right here in our city.

Tim Engle 7/20/19 Tim Engle 7/20/19

An afternoon with some amazing history

Recently I was assigned to cover the historic rail yards in Sacramento, which consist of the Railyard, Boiler Shop, and the Erecting Shop for Sacramento Magazine. If you live in Sacramento, then you know this iconic location. Located in downtown Sacramento, it's been a location that I have wanted to explore my entire life. So my excitement, when I learned I was going to shoot there, was through the roof! The short story on why it became possible to shoot there is that the rail museum became the owner of the property recently and the red tape to get in was reduced. It still took a few months of e-mails and phone calls, which I was more than happy to participate in.

Now for the planning part.

I had no idea what I would face in terms of lighting. All I knew was that the windows are big and beautiful. Knowing I would have some good natural light, I planned on bringing reflectors and strobes. Regularly using my Nikon 810 and Nikon D4, I also wanted to add an extra camera to my arsenal for this assignment, so I rented the Fuji GFX 50R. That's a medium format digital mirrorless camera. I had worked with the GFX the month prior in Palm Springs and loved the files it made. Also, the Electronic View Finder on the Fuji allows the user to see the exact image and exposure of the end product before you take it, which was a massive help in this environment.

Now onto the location.

My assistant Skip and I arrived around 8:45 am for the walkthrough. The first thing I noticed was how friendly the workers were. After further discussion, I came to find out that most of the workers are volunteers. These volunteers are there because of their absolute love of trains.

The Railyard Boiler Shop and the Erecting Shop Over the course of many years, California State Parks has worked with the State Lands Commission, City of Sacramento, and Downtown Railyard Venture to acquire the historic Boiler Shop Building and the Erecting Shop. On Sept. 8, 2017, the Public Works Board approved the acquisition of the Boiler Shop Building and secured a 30-year lease, with an option to acquire, the Erecting Shop, which closed escrow in early 2018. These buildings could also one day serve as an ideal venue for exhibits and hands-on activities that actively demonstrate how transportation, industry, technology, agriculture, business, and diversity shaped our past and continue to be a part of our vibrant future. . . . . #Sacramento #railroads #trains #workshop #fujigfx #sacmag #californiastateparks

The next observation I had was how there is a vast amount of trains in the two buildings. As I looked around, I was a bit awestruck by the amazing history that surrounded me. It's tough to do the description justice (which is why I shoot pictures), but everywhere I turned I, saw part of our American history and learned how without the rail system we would not be the nation we are today.

It's time for the images.

We ended up shooting from 9am to noon. I could have gone all day, but our agreement was only for that time window and I never want to push it on these kinds of deals (I want to be invited back!). I made around 550 images and used the GFX for about 80% of those shots. I didn't use any strobes and only used the reflector a little; the light was that good!

Lastly, if you have never been to the main Rail Museum in Old Sacramento, then I suggest you go! And if you have been, then go again. They have some new items that are worth learning about and be sure and talk with the volunteers; they have some fascinating stories to tell.

Tim Engle 4/16/19 Tim Engle 4/16/19

Photo Day - Early Session

Sunday marked another great outing at the Preston Castle this was the first of three photo days this year. This one took full advantage of early morning light which is always spectacular.

For this session, I was joined by model Julianna Steel. She and I have been friends for many years, and she’s always wonderful to work with, she also provides a vast collection of vintage outfits. For this outing I had two goals, one was to take full advantage of the existing light in the morning and the second was to make images at midday which is the hardest time to photograph.

Another challenge was one that Julianna brought forth. She said she could provide three different outfits for under $25. Sure enough, she came up with fantastic looks that came in at about $24.50.

All of the interior shots I used my Nikon D810 and switched between my Sigma 35 mm and my Sigma 85 mm. These lenses are so sharp and have such excellent color rendition.

Here are some of the sample images from the morning.

After we finished, we went across the street from the castle and photographed in an old abandoned house. It proved to be a perfect setting for the looks that Julianna made. For my lights I used my Phottix Indra 500 with the wide angle diffuser. These lights operate on a battery pack and take advantage of high-speed sync. Most of the time the light was at full power or just under that. I’m so pleased with how he’s like to perform. We shot for about an hour, and I still had full power on the battery pack. Average setting: ISO 100, f3.2 and 1/4000 sec

I’m looking forward to getting out and making more images this spring with a similar style.

More of the natural light images below

Tim Engle 6/26/18 Tim Engle 6/26/18

Making The Most Out Of Your Location

For the past few years, I’ve been working with Sacramento Magazine photographing the area's top attorneys. This is a yearly supplement, and on average I have about 25 firms I have to photograph in a 45-day span.

For the past few years, I’ve been working with Sacramento Magazine photographing the area's top attorneys. This is a yearly supplement, and on average I have about 25 firms I have to photograph in a 45-day span. I genuinely enjoy meeting the different attorneys, and visiting their offices. There are several challenges that come with this type of assignment. If it’s a group shot, it’s very difficult to get everybody to one place at the same time for very long. Often I only get about eight to ten minutes with the full group. And in some cases, I have to photograph the group missing someone and add that person in later. If I know this ahead of time it is definitely workable, and I can leave spaces in the group for the missing person.

Another challenge is to find the best location for my client. People are always looking to have a fresh image, and for years attorneys have used their libraries, and bookshelves as a background. This has been done time and time again. I try to steer them away from this, providing them with a background more suited for their personality.

When photographing individual attorneys I try to have two locations I can work with quickly. Again these individuals are extremely busy and I often only get between eight and fifteen minutes with them. You have to assess the environment, and lighting quickly to create your plan. A few years back I started having the images sent to my iPad as I shot. This has been a huge help in selecting the final image, ensuring my client is happy with the product that I’m producing.

This week presented all of these challenges. The attorney I was photographing wasn’t going to be available at first, but then found the time last minute, giving me only a short time to get over to the firm and determine my plan. It needed to be outside at twelve noon, which is difficult light to work with. After walking around the perimeter of their office I discovered a wonderful wall, that had aged black marks on it.

Using my scrim overhead I found it created a very nice light as my base layer. I then added in my Phottix Indra 500 light with the wide-angle diffuser and grid attached.

I got the exposure that I wanted on the wall first. Then I adjusted the output of the light to match the ambient exposure, giving me the illumination desired.

I was able to make 27 images in about five minutes. From an equipment standpoint, having my lights on my portable battery pack is tremendously useful. If I had tried to find plugs for my lights it would’ve taken me much longer, and I might’ve lost time photographing the attorney.

Here is the final image of Sacramento Attorney Eric Ratinoff

Tim Engle 6/4/18 Tim Engle 6/4/18

Cannabis Czar Joe Devlin

Back in November I had the pleasure of photographing Joe Devlin for Sacramento Magazine . He is the chief of cannabis policy and enforcement for the city of Sacramento. This was a fascinating assignment and I learned a LOT about the new cannabis policy. I ended up using one light as a fill. The grow room already had really good light, I just needed to fill the shadows.

Tim Engle 9/18/17 Tim Engle 9/18/17

Top Attorneys

During the hottest part of the summer, I had an assignment to photograph 31 of the top attorneys in the Sacramento region for Sacramento magazine. This is my 4th year working on this project and it has become one of my favorites. This assignment is certainly not without some challenges.

Firstly, trying to schedule that many attorneys is no small task. They are extremely busy and when I do photography them, I often only have a few minutes. I think my shortest session was about 7 minutes long.

Another challenge I have is finding a good spot in the offices to make the images. Often the offices don’t have a lot of light, so I have to bring in lighting and try my best not to disrupt their normal operations. I was fortunate with a few locations to have some really big windows with lots of natural light. In those cases, I only needed a reflector or scrim to control the light.

The last big challenge is one I mentioned earlier and that is the crazy HIGH temperatures this summer! Trying not to show up a sweaty mess was always a struggle, especially when we had 110+ degrees on some days. I packed a few extra shirts to help with this task.

In the end, I was really happy with the style and execution of the year's section in the magazine. Most importantly, the clients were all very pleased with what I made, which is always my goal.

Tim Engle 2/9/17 Tim Engle 2/9/17

Stormy Weather Shoot

I've always enjoyed shooting pictures of the sky when it has lots of cloud textures and shapes. It's always been a goal of mine to make portraits with clouds as the background. It took me a while to work through to the style that I have now. In looking back, I may have over thought how to accomplish my goal

My friend Frederick Van Johnson asked me to make some new portraits of him for his 2017 marketing. On the day we shot, a storm was rolling through, so we took the opportunity to make some dramatic portraits with the clouds as the background.

I used one AlienBee 1600ws with a Vagabond battery. I had a 20 degree grid on some of the shots and strip box on others.

For this image I used my Nikon D810 at ISO 31, F14 at 1/60sec

My approach is kind of simple, I make an image of the sky to determine the correct exposure. Once I'm comfortable with that exposure, then I add in my subject and strobe. I start with the strobe at 100% power and depending on the modifier, move the light to the subject until I get the balance of sky and subject that I want. Once all those elements are set I'm free to move around and find the angles that I like. It's a fun process and I always look forward to when the weather conditions are correct to allow me to do this.