Fresh Views by Jumping Rocks Photography: Interiors, Architectural and Food Photographers

A Look Back at 2011 in Jumping Rocks Pictures

2012-01-17T10:04:00.000-08:00

2011 was a great year for us--and our best year ever. We traveled from Maine to Florida to Southern California and lots of places in between....and even squeezed in a long-planned vacation to France. We are some lucky lads! Thank goodness we like to TRAVEL!

Check out this video with some of our favorite pictures and a few behind-the-scenes moments.

Thanks for all your support, hope to see you this year!

Be sure to watch it FULL SCREEN.

New Food Shots and A Winning Winter Recipe from One of New England's Best Inns

2012-01-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

We had the pleasure of shooting for Hartstone Inn this fall. Innkeepers Mary Jo and Michael are friends, but this was the first time we'd worked for them. It's a world-class country inn just steps away from Camden's picturesque harbor. Owner-Chef Michael Salmon's food at the inn has received lots of regional and national press--and with good reason. We were pretty excited to sample the 5 course dinner after a long day of shooting (I know, tough job, huh?) We experienced memorable food and warm, elegant service. While there, we shot some images for his next cookbook. Here are a few dishes we captured for Chef Michael's upcoming book:

Michael has already published two cookbooks. One recipe I HAD to try is his Sticky Toffee Pudding--an English classic and not really pudding as Americans know it, but more like a super-moist cake. I made this for my family for Christmas dinner and it was a huge hit. This recipe is from Hartstone Inn Cookbook- you can buy it on their website.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

serves 9
2 cups dates, pitted and chopped (11 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups boiling water
2 Tablespoons rum
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, soft
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 batch Caramel-rum sauce (recipe below)
vanilla ice cream
whipped cream
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan.
2. Combine the chopped dates and baking soda together in a small mixing bowl. Cover with boiling water, rum and vanilla and let set for 5 minutes.
3. In another bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and mix well. Add flour and date mixture and stir until well incorporated.
4. Pour into the prepared baking pan and place in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes.
5. To serve, cut the pudding into 9 pieces (3 inches by 3 inches) and serve drenched in Caramel-rum sauce with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream on top.

Caramel-Rum Sauce

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark rum
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Bring all the ingredients, except the vanilla, to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce for 15 minutes over low heat. Stir in vanilla and keep warm until serving.

8 Photo Styling Tips for Guestrooms: Balancing Appeal and Honesty

2011-12-16T06:33:00.000-08:00

Cotton Exchange Suite at Azalea Inn in Savannah GA

(Click here to see a larger version of this image...without the numbers.)

Truth be told, Matthew usually writes these posts, but to answer the perennial question "what the heck does MARK do?" I thought I'd dissect a photo from our last shoot to show you how I style a typical guestroom. It's a balance between keeping it real (i.e. not overselling) and making a room as visually appealing as possible. We do lots of furniture re-arranging and tweaking, but large-scale changes are taboo. The number one comment we hear from Innkeepers after the shoot is "I love how you changed the room--I'm going to keep it that way!" That might be the ultimate compliment.

The Porch at Azalea Inn

A room like this poses special challenges--and opportunities--for the photographer. Many of the challenges can be alleviated with a few styling tricks. In addition, mood is greatly enhanced with the right styling. In this beautiful suite at Azalea Inn and Gardens in Savannah, we added, moved and subtracted our way to a pleasing image, while still honoring what potential guests will see when they arrive. Here's what I did:

1.) I added a table (actually an upside-down garbage can) in the foreground on which to place the champagne (sorry, ginger ale). When using champagne or white wine, it is best to keep it in the foreground; it gets lost in the background. Also, when pouring "champagne" for a close up, it is best to use a funnel rather than pouring directly from the bottle, as bubbles tend to stick on the glass, creating a sloppy look which detracts from a clean appearance.

2.) Always turn on the water or the jets when photographing a whirlpool tub to add a sense of life to the photo. In this shot, I opted not to turn on the jets because I liked the serene reflection in the blue water. And the water spout was so nice, it was just the ticket.

3.) Always light the fire in the fireplace, assuming it is a working fireplace. How do you get that soft glowing effect? Matthew says it was accomplished by using a long (about 1/2 second) exposure.

4.) Since the mantle is in the middle-ground rather than the background, I definitely needed to prop it. Because middle-ground is not that close to the camera, the forms need to be "readable", so it is best to use items for the mantle that are bold, like a great silhouette, candle sticks, books, etc. Avoid numerous small items or dark colors if the mantle itself is dark. In this case, a reindeer provided a great shape and created some interest. (For an ideal silhouette, it could have been moved 4 inches to the left.) Books are used to balance the space; turning the books more towards the camera might have been an improvement. It is always a balance: you want the items to read for the camera, but you also want them to be in a natural state, logical and not completely unreal-looking.

5.) I added a small, but taller round table, because I knew that the tulips would work great next to that window. That particular table, borrowed from another room, was perfect: I love the way the silhouette of the legs plays against the wall. I wanted a tall vase for drama, but the tulips were not long enough, so I dropped a small ramekin inside the vase to elevate the flowers and make them more substantial.

6.) A throw is added to the chaise lounge, again to add life to the scene. A light colored pillow from the bed brightens the chaise. As we said in an earlier post "Getting Ready for the Photographer" - pillows and accessories can really make an image.

7.) I tilted the desk towards the camera to add some dimension, and placed more books on top to bridge the gap between the height of the lamp and the desktop. Matthew and I debated removing the desk chair from the room to space in the back of the room, but opted to keep it--a desk without a chair just wasn't real. It's always a delicate dance between making a great photo and showing a potential guest what a room looks like, what it actually contains. The shot would be better without the chair, but hey.... the goal here is not to make the perfect picture, but to make the very best picture of THAT SPACE.

8.) The large tropical leaves were picked outside (with permission!) and placed in a vase to add another organic element to the scene. Don't underestimate the importance of including organic elements when styling a space. They also serve to brighten the otherwise very dark side of the desk, which is too prominent to be so dark next to the white of the tub.

Voila! A very pretty room photo, full of mood...and honestly portrayed. Employing tips like these will make your room photos much more pleasing and add to the experiential feel of a photograph. These simple techniques go a long way in getting a potential guest to say "I want to be THERE!"

Playing God: Turning Noon into Night

2011-11-19T10:22:00.001-08:00

November has been a crazy month for Jumping Rocks with (literally) coast to coast photo shoots. We apologize for the less frequent posting.

Every now and then, we find ourselves playing God a bit and turning day into night. I thought I'd share why and how we do it with a recent example from Old Monterey Inn in Monterey, California. We love shooting at twilight--it can be very magical, and hide a host of "issues"--but there's a short window of opportunity and it happens only once a day (at least here on earth). What if you want that twilight look but can't do it during "the gloaming" (check Wikipedia).

This particular guest room is one of the smaller ones at this fabulous inn but has some super-charming exterior features we wanted to shoot. The private entrance, dutch door and stained glass creates a fantastic first impression for this room and we thought it would help sell the room on the website. We pictured a glowing interior, lighting up the room at twilight...but we had another vital shot planned for the gloaming hour that day. So we had to shoot it mid-day. What to do??

Here is our recipe for getting that evening feeling in broad daylight...

1) We put a powerful strobe inside the guestroom, and covered it with a cinema-style gel (called a CTO gel) that changes the strobe's color temperature to match interior tungsten lighting. (All strobes are, by design, actually set to match daylight color temperature--much bluer than lamplight.) Adding the gel warmed the color to match the interior light source.

2) We set the White Balance on our digital SLR camera to match that interior light (the "tungsten" setting) and that makes it "go blue" outside. But it still looked a little weird because it is too darn bright outside and does not look like evening. To rectify that, we dropped the shutter speed a couple of stops and BINGO!

Here is the result - shot at 1:00 in the afternoon:

ISO 800 f/6.3 100 second exposure camera set to WB "tungsten" 3200 degrees

Here is the same shot without the "Day into Night" technique:

ISO 800 f/6.3 60th second exposure camera set to WB "daylight" 5500 degrees

I like the inviting feel of the "fake-night" shot over the bland day shot. What do you think??

A few caveats and tips....

This was a somewhat shady nook, which made "overpowering" the sun easier.
Understanding the manual function of your camera is required
Our strobes are powerful...you need that kind of power to kill the daylight.
If you are an amateur photographer, learning the basics of color-temperature will really improve you photos, especially if you want to tackle interiors.
The "CTO" warming gel is cheap. It only cost about $7 for a large sheet from a photo supply house

Making the Most of Those "Small" Rooms at Your Inn

2011-10-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

When we entered the Inn business in 1999, the general consensus was that larger, pricier rooms booked first and the smaller rooms booked last. With the recession and these challenging economic times, that rule has been turned on its head. Many of you are telling us that your smaller, less expensive rooms are now booking FIRST.

In our last post, we diagrammed how we photographed and styled a small guest room to best effect. We thought we'd elaborate on the small room topic in this post with some decorating tips and best practices to make the most out of a small room.

Before we get to the tips, though, just one bit of advice: invest some money in your smaller rooms. Just because they are small, don't make them DOUBLY unappealing with drab, uninspired decor and then clutter them up with the leftover, "nobody-wants-it-stuff" from the inn's basement or attic...Small rooms can be challenging, but making them appealing and precious can really pay off.

1) Think Cruise Ship
Ever taken a cruise? If you notice how they approach laying out a small cabin you can learn a lot. Bedside tables double as dressers, shelves are open, and strategic lighting hidden away in alcoves and nooks. Those gargantuan dressers we encounter in many guest rooms are taking up valuable floor space and are just "storage overkill". These guests are not living at your inn!

One of the eco-friendly rooms in the earth-ensconced honeycomb rooms at Inn at Honey Run in Ohio.
Note the open shelves, lack of dressers and bedside tables.

2) Focus on the Bed
In a smaller room, the bed becomes more of a focus and is of utmost importance. Upholstered headboards (NO footboards) are one of our very favorite solutions for smaller guest rooms. They are generally more affordable than a traditional headboard/footboard, more comfortable and feel luxurious. Best of all, silhouettes and fabrics can be customized to your inn's unique style. Splurge on quality bedding--not the "cast-offs" from your other more expensive rooms...Extra sleeping pillows and an enticing bed design (think sculpture) can make a small room feel luxurious.


The white-on-white color scheme makes this room at The Inn at Sunrise Point look larger. It's even carried through to the upholstered headboard.

3) Go light
As you see in the photo above, lighter colors can "open up" a small room. You can still use bold splashes of color to add character and interest. A room with a slanted ceiling (like the one above) also really benefits from a lack of contrast between the wall and ceiling. You don't want to "feature" low ceilings. Dark carpet and a light color scheme on the ceiling and walls will really make the room feel tiny. Avoid extreme contrast between the floor, walls and ceiling.

4) Nooks...
Nothing says "country inn" more than an inviting window seat or reading nook. They can fit into a place where furniture might not, and offer an opportunity to go for a custom feel. They really add color, pattern and interest to a "boxy" room. You can also use the space under the window seat for guests' suitcases or other storage.

Window Seat at Inn at Whitewing Farm in Pennsylvania's Brandywine valley

5) Add a sense of DRAMA
Smaller rooms can be dull. Try using oversize artwork, dramatic headboard silhouettes, unique lighting or unusual ceiling treatments. Adding elements such as these takes the focus away from size and makes the space more appealing.


This lamp at The Hotel' d'Paris in Sete, France added drama and interest.

Dramatic headboard at Mt Merino Manor in Hudson NY livens up a smaller room

In Conclusion...Pulling It All Together

Guests need places to put their personal belongings. At Ledges Hotel in Hawley, PA, their smallest room (below) has plenty of surface space with the built-in side tables, the windowsill and the small desk (not pictured) for guests to use. The bold artwork, built-in furniture and lighting, simple window treatments and low-contrast color scheme all contribute to a perfectly-executed small guest room.

This room at Ledges in Hawley PA is pretty small....but it works!

The Recipe for a Great Interior Photo...Valuable Tips and Techniques

2011-09-22T10:04:00.000-07:00

The Victorian Room at Tower Cottage B&B

Earlier this week we photographed Tower Cottage B&B in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. It is a recently and BEAUTIFULLY renovated Victorian, a couple of blocks from the beach. Innkeepers Maureen and Tony have done an exquisite job restoring this mansion and loading it with amenities and special services. Honestly, it is one of the nicest inns we've visited on the Jersey Shore. (You won't find Snookie at this classy inn!)

We get questions all the time from photographers and innkeepers alike inquiring about how we light and put together a typical Jumping Rocks interior photo. Although we do our best to make spaces look NATURAL the process is anything but. Composition, lighting and styling are the main "ingredients"for this recipe and we will cover these points in this post.

CLICK TO ENLARGE..notes on lighting. Exposure info 1/10 sec @ f 9 400 ISO, 28mm, Canon 5d Mark II

Composition Notes
The rooms at Tower Cottage, in typical Victorian fashion, are not large (but they are beautifully appointed). This room was a challenge as a canopy can make a room seem claustrophobic, especially in a photo. We chose to get closer--and under--the canopy to open up the photo and make it more intimate, inviting and romantic. We also chose to include a peek through to the bathroom, which gives the photo more depth and interest. Another device for creating depth in a photo is a strong foreground/middle ground/background, in this case wine/bedside lamp&flowers/bathroom.
Showing just a part of a small room is a good device for making it more enticing, without being deceptive. In a smaller room, a wide angle view is almost always a BAD idea (see what happens to the bed post in the above photo? Yuck!)

Styling Notes
The innkeeper had several more pillows on this bed--great for comfort and style, but not so great for taking photos. We asked permission to remove some of them. The golden rule in styling is...EDIT! The bed became a little "vast" so Mark added the wine and used a napkin to soften the silver tray. Both flower arrangements were placed to reinforce the foreground/middleground/background routine, discussed in the composition notes. The arrangements were designed to match the scale of both the lamp and the bath fixtures. (People often ask why we ask for UN-arranged flowers on our props list--this is why!)

Lighting Notes
To keep the lighting natural and real-looking, our main goal was to balance the ambient lighting conditions with the artificial lights we bring in. We want lamps to glow just enough and windows to emit a natural, pleasant glow. The main light or "key light" in this room is strobe "A" as well as the natural window light. The windows create a soft glow and "A" opens up the shadows and removes the "gloom" factor from a pure ambient exposure. The key light in the bathroom is a small top-of-camera-type flash bouncing off a wall. Strobe "B" is a strobe fitted with a grid-spot to throw a focused beam on the pillow on the bed. All strobes were set off from a pocket wizard radio control from my camera.

There was some strong direct afternoon sun on the right, so we added a large white reflector to reflect light back on the wine and give a highlight to the right of the front pillow.

We choose to overexpose the windows a bit to white-out the windows, because the view from this window was a house next door. The rule is only show a view if it contributes to the story you are telling. Lastly we added a diffusion panel at the end of the bed to soften the light on foot of the bed.

We have shot literally thousands of guestrooms in the last 7 years, but every room has a different set of problems to solve and features to highlight. This collective experience helps us solve the various challenges we encounter while we are shooting on location. People ask what we do...the real answer is that we solve visual problems. Hopefully some of these tips will help you if you attempt to shoot your own rooms or improve your photography. It can be a lot of trial and error, but it is a rewarding and valuable talent to have.

Green Hotel Concept with a View: Ledges Hotel in Hawley, PA

2011-09-09T05:05:00.000-07:00

Waterfall view from the Great Room at Ledges Hotel

View of the waterfall ... the sound is the best part!

You know, I thought I might be surprised when I saw what the Genzlingers (owners of The Settlers Inn in Hawley, PA as well as The Sayre Mansion in Bethlehem, PA) did with an abandoned glass factory in Hawley...but after working for them a few times in the past, we know what to expect: quality and great taste.

They have truly outdone themselves with Ledges Hotel. It is quite a departure from nearby Settlers Inn, where everything is steeped in the arts and crafts style. Ledges is a unique boutique hotel, directly below…next to…practically ON TOP of a gorgeous waterfall. It is simply spectacular.

The hotel was designed by renowned architect Peter Bohlin of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, designers of, among MANY other notable buildings, the coolest Apple stores (the 5th Avenue New York and Louvre, Paris stores, to name but two). The result is a sleek, but comfortable hotel, which maintains much of the great architecture of the original building, including the gorgeous HUGE windows, while making the interior spaces very contemporary. Few places we have seen have been so successful at bringing the outside IN.

Bedrooms feature beautiful custom-made headboards and sleek design

A bath with a view of the waterfall, bringing the outside in

The décor is appropriately modern, fresh and uncluttered. Much of the beautiful furniture is built-in and made from old beams salvaged from the nearby silk mill. Read more about how they creatively incorporated various elements into their green design.

Kudos to the Genzlingers for a great adaptive re-use. Recycle, re-use…renaissance!

If you are a member of the press and want to see or use any of the 89 high resolution images from this shoot, just email us for the password to the Jumping Rocks Media Bank page for Ledges Hotel.

People in Pictures...and Other Highlights from Ohio

2011-08-30T05:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple of weeks since we returned from a nearly two-week Ohio photo shoot at four inns: The Inn at Cedar Falls, Hideaway Country Inn, Inn at Honey Run and White Oak Inn. One theme that ran through the shoots was PEOPLE. All told, we shot over 25 different people during our time in Ohio. There were times when it felt more like a movie production, less the giant crew, of course. Exhausting, but very rewarding. If you are interested in using people in pictures, you might want to read this post we wrote on the topic.

FYI...At the end of this post we have a behind-the-scenes video from these shoots.


Two couples, "traveling together", enjoying the fire pit at The Inn at Cedar Falls. We've noticed such fire pits are springing up at a lot of inns...another clever amenity.


Couple in a hammock at Hideaway Country Inn


Chef Marc's cooking class at Hideaway Country Inn

The Inn at Cedar Falls uses the honey it harvests on property in their spa treatments

Mark atop a rock at Ash Cave in Hocking Hills State Park, near The Inn at Cedar Falls...who knew??


One temperamental model at The Inn at Honey Run

We wrapped up our Ohio adventures at White Oak Inn. No models (it was about time for a break) but a bucolic, peaceful setting to finish up 10 days of very hard work.

Ellen Grinsfelder at The Inn at Cedar Falls captured a short, behind-the-scenes video of us hard at work on three different images. I hope our energy level can live up to the music! The finished photos are at the end of the video.

The Hammock...a love story

2011-08-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

Mark "hammock-ing" over a stream in NY

If we've been to your inn to photograph your property, you may have heard us say "you should hang a hammock THERE" or "have you considered adding a hammock?" Yes, perhaps we are hammock obsessed. When we owned The Woolverton Inn, we constructed an entirely new building around a $100 hammock that would be the key feature in the bathroom (yes, indoors). In the video we have posted here, we've included the hammock we installed 10 years ago at Woolverton in The Sojourn Loft as well as dozens of others we have photographed during the last decade.

The video also features a few shots from our hammock-focused vacations in The Adirondacks and Mexico. We recently purchased a wonderful portable hammock you can take along when you hike. Mark strung it over one of the beautiful mountain streams at Elk Lake Lodge in New York state. "I'll take that hammock--to go!"

A hammock is one of the most inexpensive amenities for a hotel or inn to add--can you think of another amenity that says "relax" for less than $100?? One of our very favorite applications of "hammockry" is at Shiloh Morning Inn in Oklahoma. They have acres of beautiful rolling countryside and have hammocks hidden in several of the secret spots on the property. They encourage guests to take a "hammock safari" as a unique property-focused adventure. What a clever idea!

1. Enjoy the video, 2. Buy a hammock, and 3. Relax and enjoy the rest of the summer!

Culinary Adventures with Kathryn at Beechmont Inn

2011-07-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

We recently returned to shoot some more photos for Kathryn White, innkeeper extraordinaire of The Beechmont Inn in Hanover, PA, just outside Gettysburg. It was really great to be back. Kathryn is a die-hard foodie and takes all things food-related very seriously at her inn. She is a part of the Bed and Breakfast Foodies group, a collective of eight Innkeepers (AKA "8 Broads in the Kitchen") who share their love of food and great recipes on their popular blog.

We kept things a little messy and "real" for some of the shots and also shot some classic "cleaned-up" versions. The Foodies group is working on a new cookbook and I think some casual "in progress" shots will be great for that project. These types of shots are actually particularly appropriate for inns, where there is an emphasis on "authenticity" and home-made food; they are very effective at telling the story. Not shown: the drool coming from the mouths of Jumping Rocks as we were shooting these incredible sticky buns!

Kathryn's killer cinnamon rolls in progress

Kathryn's egg baked in ham with local heirloom tomatoes and biscuit

We also shot some cookies at the Beechmont....yum!

And...I could not resist shooting the 145-year-old Magnolia tree (the centerpiece of the Beechmont Garden) early the next morning. Although the sun was not cooperating that morning, we were able to light the tree artificially with a large flash...but it looks pretty natural, I think!

The Beechmont's 145-year-old Magnolia tree at dawn

If you are a member of the press and want to see or use any of the 63 high resolution images from this shoot, just email us for the password to the Jumping Rocks Media Bank page for The Beechmont Inn.

Travels to Hermann Missouri: The Splendid Inn at Hermannhof

2011-06-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

We just completed one of the largest--and one of the most complex--photo shoots in quite a while: The Inn at Hermannhof in Hermann, Missouri. The Dierberg family owns the Inn with 28 luxurious rooms, suites and cottages...but there's more...there's Hermannhof Winery, a local Brewery and they're also developing a 160 acre living history farm. Exhausting just thinking about it, right? Oops--I forgot the tasting room and fully-stocked deli for your wine picnics! Help!

The inn includes an in-town historic building with 8 very upscale suites and a nearby hillside with 20 deluxe suites in "Haus Winery" historic stone structures, all relocated here and painstakingly reassembled. Our shoot focused mostly on the Inn and it's "fully loaded" accommodations. We hear lots of talk about "antique-filled rooms" but these rooms really deliver, with just about the most stunning antiques collection we've encountered in guest rooms in our 7 years of shooting inns and interiors.

The challenge here was to come up with a way to simply and effectively communicate what this place is all about, in pictures. The accommodations are housed in 7 different structures with expansive views, and are adjacent to a German-style outdoor festival space (the "Hofgarten"), the winery and a meandering stream. Our thanks to Scott and Allison Crumpton of White Stone Marketing (web site designer and marketers extraordinaire) who were on hand to assist and came up with some solutions for capturing this multi-faceted property. We're looking forward to seeing the White Stone website that measures up to this gorgeous inn!

View overlooking courtyard towards Haus Winery hillside suites

Interior of Brahms Suite in one of the hillside Haus Winery structures - beautiful stonework.

View over Hermann's towers and steeples from Champagne Suite on the hillside

Cupola on top of Hermannhof Winery cellars and Tasting Room overlooking the Missouri River

Beautiful suite in the main inn building

Each door in the main inn is unique - - featuring faux wood grain finish

f you are a member of the press and want to see or use any of the 153 high resolution images from this shoot, just email us for the password to the Jumping Rocks Media Bank page for The Inn at Hermannhof.

Agua Fresca: A Healthy and Refreshing Summer Drink "de Mexico"

2011-06-16T07:07:00.000-07:00

Enrique and Ramiro, partners in Tacolote (Juan not pictured)

We just photographed a new taqueria owned by our friends Juan, Ramiro and Enrique in Milwaukee. It's called Tacolote, which we are told translates to "owl" in Spanish. Everything is very fresh, authentic and delicious! The restaurant and the food are vibrant and colorful, which make a photographer's job a lot more fun! While shooting, I was gulping down their Agua Fresca (Spanish for "fresh water") which is a simple, refreshing beverage made with water, fruit and a little sugar, then liquified in a blender and served over ice. Simple, healthy and exotic (at least to me!)


3 Agua Frescas: Cucumber, Watermelon and Cantaloupe

Here is the recipe from Tacolote...best of all, it's really hard to mess it up!

Tacolote's Agua Fresca
Puree 3 cups of fresh fruit, press puree through a sieve and discard any solids. Mix the sieved puree with 2 cups of water, 2-4 tablespoons sugar and some lime to taste. Serve over ice.

These guys whip up other wonderful taqueria classics such as burritos, chilaquiles and inventive homemade salsas.

Here are a few other goodies from Tacolote:


Chilaquiles - the ultimate hangover cure

Carne Asada Burrito with homemade guacamole and salsa verde on the side

Getting Ready for the Photographer: 15 Tips for a more Successful Shoot

2011-06-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

We've heard it from countless hoteliers and innkeepers: along with a smart and sensitively-designed website, professional photography is one of the most important investments you can make. Like many investments with a high (and almost guaranteed) rate of return, it's not cheap...so here are some thoughts to help you make the most of your photography investment.

1. Look at the big picture: what are your goals? Many innkeepers want to shoot every space in the inn, but sometimes this is not the most prudent course of action. Taking the time to photograph every space often precludes getting a few of those "signature photos"--the ones that become THE images of your inn. Don't get caught in this trap. Spending valuable time on a ho-hum bathroom or common space means less time developing signature or "killer" shots.

Lookout Point Inn, AR from the back

2. Speaking of signature shots, how do you identify those?? What makes your inn unique? We find many innkeepers think very literally, but literal images tend to be BORING.Think of concepts to illustrate your unique selling points and bring those to the photographer. Often the best view of a building is from the back. You can't believe how many properties we've shot--NOT featuring the front of the inn--that become their "signature" shot. Perhaps your front porch could become your signature shot? Leave time on the shoot schedule for the photographer's creative juices to flow and discover unique ways to TELL YOUR STORY.

3. Be like the Boy Scouts: Be prepared! Make sure things are ironed, windows clean, bedding looking great, flowers bought, props ready. If you're using models, line them up. If you're doing food, get it ready--get the most beautiful produce and products you can find (go to farmers markets). Deep cleaning is not that important, but neat beds, clean place mats, ironed napkins...these things will show up.

Couple at Iris Inn, VA

4. Shots featuring people...Some pictures are much more captivating with people in them. When selecting people to use, think "casting". Think of who your target guest is ( 45 y/o suburban couple, young hip urbanites, seniors, etc...) then cast people they would either relate to or aspire to. Models might be a little younger, skinnier and...less bald...REAL, but not TOO real. We have resources for casting talent or you can cast from your friends, family and staff. Having talent available during the "magic hours" of dawn and dusk is important. One bit of caution: you might not want to feature people on your first shoot as it adds to the shoot time, adds stress and may not be fundamental in delivering your primary marketing message.
Read our blog post about using people here.

5. Linens speak volumes about your property. Bedding can make or break a bedroom shot. This is very important. Have options available for the shoot--you can always return them if you do not use them. If you've been thinking of replacing bedding, pillows, etc. DO IT NOW.

6. The forgotten wall: the floor. Seriously, the floor is an important space to consider. An area rug brings unbelievable warmth and interest to an interior photo. We often hear "we've got beautiful wall-to-wall carpet"...well, expanses of monochromatic carpet can make for a dull photo. You can always lay a patterned carpet for accent over the wall-to-wall carpet.

Great flowers ready to arrange found on-property at Woolverton Inn, NJ

7. Great natural elements or flowers can quickly take a shot from good to awesome. Whatever is native to your area is always best... preferably what's growing in your garden! What reflects your style and property best? Are you contemporary or artsy (calla lily or orchid) or uber-romantic and traditional (pale pink roses in a bunch) or country (Queen Anne's Lace or daisies). If you don't have these growing on property, purchasing some is a great investment for great pictures. We provide detailed guidance on what to buy on our prop and prep list.

8. Let your website structure drive your shoot list. This is huge! You need a killer shot for each tab of your website, but too many shoot lists focus on literally every space and corner in the inn. Activities, Directions and Dining pages are always overlooked. Common spaces are often over- emphasized (how many of these photos can you actually use?) Meet with your website designer and get a plan of action for photography. A basic layout of a new website is an invaluable tool to help a photographer get the right pictures for your site.

9. Make a shoot list. Include the concepts you want to convey and inform the stylist and photographer. Prioritize the list by "must-haves" and "like-to-haves". Leave extra time so that the photographer can explore and find hidden gems and unexpected moments. Many of our clients' favorite shots were NOT on the shoot list but "found" opportunities early in the morning fog, or the sun hitting the stone building just right.

Signature dish- shot "recipe style" at Inn at Hermannhof, MO

10. Many travelers today "travel on their stomachs". In this day of social media and recipe sharing, food photos are a very powerful tool. We always recommend at least two hours for food or dining on a 16 hour shoot. Grabbing shots at breakfast time just doesn't cut it. We will need the attention and cooperation of the chef and most of the dining room in order to light and style great food shots. Having guests actually dining is a really bad idea while the food shoot is going on...we usually schedule mid-day so we have the full attention of the chef and plenty of time. By the way, one of the most requested types of photos by the press are food photos.

11. Your involvement: a delicate balance. Please have the innkeeper or owner reachable and nearby during the shoot. Inefficiencies are created when we cannot locate the decision-maker. Walkie-talkies or cell phones are great tools to keep connected during the shoot. Also, the innkeeper can be too present during the shoot (fewer people "on set" makes it faster and easier for the photographer, and gets better results). This can really slow down the process and also render the product less effective.

12. Keep revenue flowing during the shoot. Yes, an empty inn is great for expediting a photo shoot. But hey, you gotta pay for it! Block very important rooms off, especially if they are view-dependent. If you have rooms you book but would like to shoot, just ask permission from guests and get information on times that work for them. Reward/bribe them with a bottle of wine or a plate of cookies. 99% of guests are "cool" with that and are excited to be part of the process.

13. Your photo shoot should not be thought of as a one time event. Many folks have us out and expect everything to be shot in one fell swoop...professional photos: done! Over-investing initially in photos is not always a great idea. Things change, the marketplace changes. Budget for photos every year and have a photographer on property every two years or so during different seasons. Schedule it far in advance--for example, during certain seasons, we are often booked a year advance.

View and fireplace rooms take longer to shoot, The Inn at Sunrise Point, ME

14. How long will it take? We usually tell folks to schedule about an hour a room or space so about 7 or 8 a day. A suite with 2 rooms and a photogenic bath could easily take 2 hours. Rooms with views take longer. Properties made up of multiple buildings take longer. Fireplace rooms also take a bit longer. Spacious rooms with clean, crisp decor are usually a little quicker. Unoccupied rooms are faster than occupied rooms.

15. Photograph the photogenic! Some spaces are intrinsically not photogenic. They can be shot, but it takes longer and the result will always be somewhat mediocre. Work in partnership with the photographer to decide what makes sense to shoot. Trust us, we've been in your position (we owned an inn), written those checks and have a good idea on what makes sense to shoot, and what does not!

A New Start for The Inn at Whitewing Farm Inn

2011-05-26T08:48:00.000-07:00

We were very excited when we got a call from the new owners at The Inn at Whitewing Farm in Kennett Square, PA this winter. The Inn had been closed for several years and now was under new ownership. Mark and I used to sneak away to this property adjacent to Longwood Gardens when we owned The Woolverton Inn to shop the area for furnishings for our new cottages...and to recharge our batteries away from the Inn. We fell in love with the Brandywine Valley area on those trips. On a recent trip, eating at our favorite local restaurant, Sovana Bistro just down from the road from the Inn, we got to know some of the neighbors when they sat next to us--none other than Joe and Jill Biden! Off topic here, but pretty funny!

Congratulations to new Innkeeper/Owners Lance and Sandy Shortt on this exciting new venture. They have years of experience running a VERY successful local restaurant so I know they can handle this. These guys are energetic and incredibly warm people and I can't wait to see how the first year goes. It is a spectacular property.

The Inn also just launched a new site, designed by local Brandywine web guru, Seth Fox at Unica Multimedia. Some of the photos on the new site will be replaced when we visit again sometime this summer or fall.

View of the rolling hills out the dining room window of the breakfast area

The rooms have an equestrian theme and all have bookshelves stocked with hundreds of books - lots of them have one of our favorite amenities, WINDOW SEATS!

Sandy and Lance updated the linens and soft-treatments throughout the inn to freshen up the look

If you are a member of the press and want to see or use any of the 48 high resolution images from this shoot, just email us for the password to the Jumping Rocks Media Bank page for The Inn at Whitewing Farm

A Visit to Block Island Inns - Before and After Images

2011-04-22T06:04:00.000-07:00

Exterior of Avonlea Inn at dawn

We just returned from working at an inn comprised of two buildings and several cottages on lovely, dramatic and remote-feeling Block Island, Rhode Island. This property is one of the few inns right on the water and features lots of great views. Avonlea and Blue Dory are the two main lodging buildings.

I have to admit it's fun to shoot properties when their existing room photos are rather poor. These are the folks we get GREAT fan mail from after a few months, once the pictures are live, raving about the return on their investment on professional photography and styling. That feels good! We like to help people make money!

On this particular job, styling was a really big part of the project. We were moving beds, armoires, dressers, pictures...We often move stuff, but don't usually move beds to an entirely different part of the room! In another room, one of the concerns of the owner was that the slanted ceiling made the room look small and uncomfortable--and didn't showcase the amazing view. We get this comment all the time and have lots of solutions--from styling to lighting to composition--in order to work out this problem. Here is a room with a "slanted" ceiling - we also included the "before" image:


Moonstone Room at Avonlea, the "after" shot featuring the view. We also got a wider shot.

"Before" image with "slanting ceiling" and no view

Styling is huge in this shot. We rearranged the sitting area, brought in a smaller table, added the white hydrangea. You cannot find lots of fresh flowers on-island, off-season, so we brought in lots of props from our props collection. These hydrangea are are top quality silk. I love, love the quality of these silk flowers--you can see it in the translucency of the leaves . They are not cheap, our last wholesale flower bill was about $700. Ouch! We source them from NDI.


"Before" of room in Blue Dory (obvious, I hope!)

Another view of the room before styling

This is the room in the Blue Dory Inn (the more Victorian-styled building) where we moved the bed. There were several reasons for this: we could not capture the view with the bed in the original position...and also that darn slanted ceiling made the room feel claustrophobic and small. Also, you'll notice an unsightly AC unit directly over the bed in the "before" shot. You could remove that in post-production (wallpaper makes this tricky, but it is possible) but that strays into the "gray area" where you are removing an element from the room that exists, and is apparent.

I hear they are planning to keep the bed this way.

"After" image, after moving the bed. We included one of the hats from the inn's collection of Victorian hats.

Christy, the innkeeper was a delight to work with. She gave us complete freedom to "do our thing" which is, quite honestly, a dream. She also makes a MEAN pumpkin muffin.

Christy's pumpkin muffins at Avonlea

If you are a member of the press and want to see or use any of the 72 high resolution images from this shoot, just email us for the password to the Jumping Rocks Media Bank page for Block Island Inns

A Southern California Romantic Oasis: Casa Laguna Inn and Spa

2011-04-10T05:46:00.000-07:00

We recently returned from California and finally completed the editing of the nearly 1,300 pictures shot at Casa Laguna Inn and Spa in the colorful seaside artist community of Laguna Beach, just south of Los Angeles. The Inn has a great reputation (well-deserved) under the ownership of Francois Leclair as well as the ever-present Innkeeper/Manager Kathyrn Mace and her husband, Henry.

Casa Laguna is a charming and rambling property, comprising a number of Mediterranean-style buildings, and seems very much like a small, enclosed hillside village. The simple experience of wandering around the property is a treat for all the senses, with mature exotic garden plantings, fragrant flowers and bubbling fountains. The word "romantic" is overused--but at Casa Laguna, it's actually an understatement!

We shot way too much over the three days to share only a FEW pictures, so we created a short video slide show (be sure to check HD so you can get the full experience...)

(If you'd rather watch a conventional, non-video sideshow of a small selection of images, click here)

Rolling out pasta for breakfast service

Another thing that really stood out as very, very special at Casa Laguna was their breakfast, which was OUTRAGEOUS. The breakfast menu includes 7 or 8 options and reflects a decidedly California flair, featuring lots of fresh and organic produce from the local farmers' market. If only every inn had access to the produce you can get in Southern California...Henry Mace, the Inn's social media guru put together this video featuring Casa's chef visiting the local market. Check out the video here. I think this type of targeted video is really effective. Great job Henry!

The Inn is a two-time winner of the Select Registry Inn-Credible Breakfast Cookoff. It's easy to understand why! Where else can you walk into a inn's kitchen and see fresh pasta being rolled out for breakfast service? All we can say is...wow.


	An ordinary omelet is anything BUT ordinary, when prepared by the chef at Casa Laguna

If you are a member of the press and want to see or use any of the 135 high resolution images from this shoot, just email us for the password to the Jumping Rocks Media Bank page for Casa Laguna Inn and Spa.

Attention All Cookie Monsters: White Chocolate Toffee Macadamia Cookies

2011-03-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

Our job shooting Inns, B and Bs and restaurants is definitely fun, but it has it's dangers--and one of them is that there are piles of cookies at every turn, calling out to us. Before we started Jumping Rocks, we baked literally thousands of homemade cookies as owners and innkeepers at The Woolverton Inn. I guess you'd say we are cookie connoisseurs!

Now we have fallen in love with a cookie available at the Whole Foods bakery. Everyone we have introduced this cookie to has kind of "freaked out" about it! I searched online and could not find a cookie recipe in the universe (the web universe anyway) that had all of these components. So we did what innkeepers tend to do--we experimented. And after some trials and errors, we came up with an almost perfect match!

I hate to admit this, but hope a see a plate of these on our next job...

Get the recipe here.

Toffee White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie photo ©Jumping Rocks

Unveiling the New Look for Chestnut Hill Hotel

2011-03-22T08:05:00.000-07:00

Just a few days ago we had the pleasure to photograph The Chestnut Hill Hotel (a new website coming soon!) in Chestnut Hill, near Philadelphia. Ron Pete and his wife Abby purchased the property a few years ago and are now making a major investment (it's still going on) in upgrading and redecorating the rooms, baths, common spaces and the event space. Ron and his team including interior designers K2 Design of Scottsdale, AZ did a great job of integrating the hotel's circa 1864 history with a decidedly stylish and sophisticated boutique hotel aesthetic. The beautiful marble baths and snazzy lighting fixtures somehow feel vintage and contemporary at the same time. The Bombay Room, the elegant event space at the hotel, has a beautiful lighting scheme and a high-tech AV system hidden in the ceiling when it's not needed.

Ron and Abby also own the adjacent space occupied by the Chestnut Hill Farmers Market, an indoor European-style market with fish-mongers, butchers, prepared foods and fruit stands. We've been stopping by the market for years - it's a great amenity for hotel guests.

We look forward to seeing what else Ron and Abby have in store as they complete the exciting transformation of this historical hotel.

If you are a member of the press and want to see or use any of the 31 high resolution images from this shoot, just email us for the password to the Jumping Rocks Media Bank page for Chestnut Hill Hotel.

Beautiful room re-design

Newly-renovated stunning floor-to-ceiling marble baths

The Bombay Room event space set for a dining event. A projector drops out of the center ceiling fixture and screen drops down between windows for meetings.

New Photos for The Addison on Amelia Island

2011-03-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

Innkeepers Bob, Shannon and Lee

We just returned from Amelia Island on the Northeast coast of Florida, a return trip to shoot more at The Addison on Amelia. It has been fun to see them grow and develop--the last time we visited (3 years ago) they had just purchased the Inn. Since then, they have taken the inn to new heights: they were just named one of the top 10 bed B&B's in the USA by TripAdvisor in their 2011 Traveler's Choice Award. The Addison was one of three Jumping Rocks customers in the top 10; we are so happy for our clients.

There is a cheery, sunny, warm quality at The Addison that is definitely welcome if you live in the still-stuck-in-winter Northeast! We did run into a very, very large alligator, on a short hike after the shoot was over. That was exciting and a little scary!

If you are a member of the press and want to see or use any of the 103 high resolution images from this shoot, just email us for the password to the Jumping Rocks Media Bank page for The Addison.


Dining Porch at The Addison


Light-filled guestroom at The Addison

Stuffed French Toast on that sunny porch

"Happy Hour" bruschetta and wine at 5 pm - the photographer never missed the Addison Happy Hour!

Morning coffee after a night on those excellent sheets

A Quiet Place to "Recharge Our Batteries"

2011-02-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

Beach at Sunrise in Zipolite, Oaxaca, Mexico

Just in case you wondered why you have not heard a peep from us in the last few weeks, we just returned from Mexico, where we fled the snowy Philadelphia winter and spent a couple of weeks on the Oaxacan coast--specifically the tiny beach-side village of Zipolite, where the lifestyle is mellow and the ocean is treacherous. Just for fun, we thought we'd share a few pictures from the trip.

Accommodations were one step above camping (no triple sheeting here), but the price is right and the ocean is a few steps away. One afternoon we got to see a GIANT gray whale breaching just off shore - very cool and a first for both of us. The morning we left, we were lucky enough to encounter some just-hatched sea turtles scurrying down to the water for their first swim. As luck would have it, we did not have our cameras on us!

It was a wonderful trip but we were ready to come home and get back to work. We loved the down time, but we also love what we do and that makes coming back to work--with our batteries recharged--a pleasure of a different kind.


Overview of the one-mile beach in Zipolite


Our Cabana home right off the beach in Zipolite

Cocktail Hour

12 Important Things We Learned about Inn Marketing in 2010

2011-01-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

It's been a fantastic year for us, mainly because we learned SO MUCH! Here are our top 12.

1. Email Marketing, Vampire
Just when you think email marketing is dead--it comes back to life! Email marketing is still very effective--and the numbers bear this out. Statistically, conversion rates for marketing messages are much higher when delivered via email as compared to social media. Everyone seems to be a bit social media crazy--and with good reason--but that does not mean eliminating email marketing. True, many companies like Ben and Jerry's have recently abandoned email marketing, BUT they have over a million Facebook fans...do you? Emails contact many people who are NOT participating in social media. This is a demographic still very important to our industry--do not leave these folks out! Read this interesting post comparing effectiveness: http://www.ironmonk.net/email-marketing-vs-social-media-marketing/
We love the easy-to-use and great reporting that Constant Contact offers, and we are happy to share what we know about effective email marketing. Click here for a free Constant Contact Trial

2. "It's All About ME"

You know we love you and your inns, but sometimes innkeepers can be too property-focused. Be sure to visually represent things to do--at and around--your inn, especially if you are not in a "destination"! This will increase length of stay and enhance the guest experience (then they'll come back!) Using stills converted into video or live-action videos highlighting area activities are two great ways to do this. Include the video link right on your home page with some copy like, "What do ya wanna do here?" After seeing lots of videos, we think this is the BEST use of video, rather than a property video or commercial. The nice folks at American Bed and Breakfast Inns have an affordable solution to turn your area activity stills into video.

3. Food is Big!

The big guys in lodging know the secret: marketing breakfast and food sells rooms and helps support higher rates. Holiday Inn Express uses food photos on almost every billboard and ad--have you tried their breakfast? Let's just say we know you all can do better. (Understatement.) It is shocking how many inns tell us "we don't need breakfast shots" even though they prepare beautiful, fresh food for their guests daily.
Food is becoming more and more important every day. Include photos of your food on your website, blog, facebook, etc. Your food photos might be just the thing to put a prospective guest over the edge! Chambered Nautilus Inn in Seattle is a great example of an inn that uses breakfast to sell rooms right on the homepage. Also if you do local or organic, let guests know that! Here are more thoughts on food from a earlier post.

4. Don't Discount Discounts!
Contrary to conventional wisdom in years gone by, discounting became a necessary evil for many properties in 2010. We've been impressed with the incredible exposure and visibility that a promotion like SniqueAway offers. Think about the pure advertising benefits when considering the deep discounting you must offer to participate. Photography is KEY if you invest in promotions like these. You simply must have killer professional still photos. Here are a few other opportunities for discounting with strong brand-awareness benefits:
LivingSocial, Groupon. We also love the TripAdvisor's Special Offer program - a benefit of their business listing program. Here is a post about this program

5. Don't Put a Pearl Earring in a Hog's Ear
Please don't invest in a video when your website and still photos are TERRIBLE! We know of several properties that have spent $10,000 or more on pro video, but still showcase poor amateur photography and a terribly designed website. This is a colossal mistake! Video is a great tool, but remember--right now great photography is FUNDAMENTAL and proven successful to booking.

6. Your Best Facebook Friend: Advertising

Facebook advertising is a very powerful tool - read some case stories here. Does your inn offer something unique?? Disc Golf? Yoga Workshops? Alpacas? Find new guests using this sophisticated targeting too.

We loved Jay Karen's blog post on this subject. It's a must-read!

7. Show it All!
We are continually bombarded with the fact that the inn experience is just that--an EXPERIENCE! When we are on property working, we keep that in mind and it informs all that we do. Your inn is so much more than rooms--be sure to show that in your visual marketing. Be sensitive to what guests really love about being there and show it in photos! In 2010, we spent more time and effort than ever in expanding the scope of our photos of inns, to really convey what it is like to be there. This mindset dovetails very well with the fabulous "Better Way to Stay" campaign, which we believe is one of the most exciting initiatives to be undertaken ever! It is the experience that our competitors cannot match--we need to sell it! Read more about PAII's better way to stay campaign.

8. "That's SO 5 minutes ago..."
Internet marketing is changing faster than the speed of light! What was true 6 months ago may be totally obsolete today. If you do not have a dedicated marketing professional or organization on your team keeping up with these changes, you would be wise to do so. We get great reports from our clients on the services of White Stone Marketing and Acorn Internet Services.

9. On the Move...Better Get in the Groove!
Mobile Searches grew 130% in Google. Is your site optimized for mobile and tablet devices like the ipad? If not, you're losing business.

10. Know What You Don't Know!
We are repeatedly shocked soon after arriving at the annual Innkeeping Conference, thinking we knew so much, and quickly realizing that things are changing so fast, we've been left in the dust! There are many folks out there who say, "What could I possibly learn at the PAII conference...I already know it all!" Our advice: know what you do NOT know, and find someone who can help!

11. Oversell = TripAdvisor hell!
Overselling has always been dangerous, but it's suicide in these days of Trip Advisor's online reviews. Keep guests' expectations in check, and focus on your positives, but do not sugar-coat your drawbacks...or you'll suffer--in front of the whole world! We do our part by shying away from super-wide angle rooms shots and styling with props indigenous to your inn's culture and theme.

12. Soft Sell, Hard Number

We too made a video, and thanks to Tim Brady and Brand Pandemic, changed the focus from selling Jumping Rocks services, to teaching others how to take great photos without us! This type of "soft selling" is really effective. We learned from Tim that when you present information that is helpful and meaningful, it takes on a life of its own and videos go viral. That is exactly what happened with our video - we had over 5,000 views in just a few weeks after its release. This has great applications for innkeepers...for example in a video, rather than an innkeeper talking about the armoire in the master bedroom, do a video of the 10 best things to do in the area as recommended by the innkeeper. That way, you sell your area, but in the process, you sell your concierge service, and...your inn!

What Do Cher and Rabbit Hill Inn Have in Common??

2010-12-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

We believe that reinvention and change are keys to success and longevity in business. Madonna, Betty White, Cher and Arnold Schwarzenegger are not the only ones reinventing themselves. We just got back from a shoot at Rabbit Hill Inn to re-shoot a room they had redecorated, the "Tavern Secret". Maybe redecorated is a bit of an understatement!! When they shared their plans for redoing this room with us about a year ago, I must admit I was a little nervous about the approach. Leslie and Brian wanted a totally contemporary theme for this new redo. That might work for some inns but this property has been hosting guests on this site for almost 200 years. When I think quintessential country inn, I think Rabbit Hill Inn. Contemporary at this inn made me a bit nervous!

Well, they did it. And it worked. Beautifully. Why? The honey tones in the wood-paneled walls and the wall color make an oftentimes "cold", contemporary approach much warmer. The ambient lighting in the room is beautiful, sensitive and warm. Mark also found some very special contemporary stemware in our props collection for the champagne glasses - they take the form of those vintage champagne glasses, but with very contemporary styling. There it is again--tradition with a twist!


The New Tavern Secret Bedroom

New Fireplace sitting area in Tavern Secret


View from Bathroom to Bedroom Fire in the New Tavern Secret

Before of Bath, Tavern Secret

Before of Bedroom, Tavern Secret

Quite a difference, eh??

The Culinary Twist at Rabbit Hill

Chef Matthew helping us food-style a shot

A couple of years ago Leslie and Brian brought in Chef Matthew Secich. Chef Matthew, an alumni of Charlie Trotters and The Inn at Little Washington, also brings a contemporary breath of fresh air into Rabbit Hill's cuisine. As a photographer, it's a blast to work with Matthew. He gets very involved in the process, cares deeply and is incredibly creative. Check out a few shots from our last shoot:

1000 Acres in Three Days

2010-11-18T08:29:00.000-08:00

We just returned from an extensive shoot at a lovely property, Selah Inn at the Ranch in east Texas. We had the enormous (but fun!) task of trying to get a photographic overview of this property for a upcoming new website...in just three days. That ain't easy when you are dealing with 1,000 bucolic acres, 14 lakes, a full disc golf course, 12 rooms and suites, 3 cottages, incredible grand common spaces and a large separate event facility. Good thing we had 6 or so golf carts at our disposal to get around.

They say everything's bigger in Texas. It is not a myth.

We shot all of the above as well as some great family and couple shots. Whew! World Championship disk golfer John Houck was on the property helping them develop their course, so we photographed him in action too (for those who ask...what is disc golf??) When this project is complete, they will have 2 championship 18-hole disc golf courses. John says it will probably be the best of its kind in Texas.

2nd grader and budding photographer James Hickerson, grandson of the Owners of Selah Inn, gave us a hand in shooting a few of the fire-pit pictures....you can see his handiwork in the short -Phone video Mark captured below:

Exploring Vancouver Island - Excursions from Two Great Inns

2010-10-29T09:35:00.000-07:00

Mark and I have done much travel in our 20 years together - but it really doesn't get much better than Vancouver Island in British Columbia, off the west coast of Canada. We were working at several properties in the Pacific Northwest and two on the Island. The two properties we shot in Victoria are excellent: Abigails Hotel and Abbeymoore Manor Bed and Breakfast. But don't take it from us that these are outstanding properties--both are rated #1 (in their respective categories, Hotels and BandBs) in the super-competitive Victoria lodging market on Trip Advisor. Many of you know how important this distinction is.

Abigails Hotel

Abbeymoore B&B

We took a "mandatory" break between 2 big shoots to explore the Island and stay out of the Inns' way during the busy Canadian Thanksgiving holiday (they eat turkey too!) If you have not visited, put it on your short list. It's gorgeous, wild and interesting in any kind of weather. Victoria is a delightful city...much more beautiful than I expected and very European-feeling. Start your trip at Abigails or Abbeymoore then spend a week or more exploring the island. Some of these spots are an easy daytrip from Victoria such as Sooke or The Juan de Fuca Marine trail (see captions in the gallery).

I posted about two dozen pictures in a gallery on our website
View all our Vancouver Island pictures.

FOOD ... a trend we like

2010-10-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

There's a new trend we've noticed in shoots the last 6 months or so: innkeepers wanting great food shots. Even properties where food is not really a "big deal" seem to now want to focus more on this aspect of their business. This new trend delights us because we've always felt that food pictures really help the "sell the experience" and speak volumes about an inn. Believe it or not, when we first entered the hospitality business 10 or so years ago it was rare to see a "breakfast" page on an bed and breakfast website. Kind of funny when you think it is "Bed and BREAKFAST"!
This new-found interest coincides with the general fascination with food and cooking, thanks in part to the success of pop culture phenomena like celebrity chefs, The Food Network and Top Chef. No longer are just the elite interested in gourmet cooking; it's trickled down to all of us.

At Chambered Nautilus B and B

When a client asks us for food shots, usually we begin with a series of questions to get an idea of what type of shots they are looking for. You can take an more abstract "fantasy" approach" (see the soup from L'Auberge Provencale) or show food being prepped (see Chambered Nautilus shots), or the "real" approach. If a property offers breakfast served in-room, we like to show it "in context", thereby selling the food as well as the great service. Sometimes you really want to get a potential guest's mouth to water about the food in particular, so you get really close (the Swann House fruit or the Abbeymoore B and B omelet). These days, lots of folks (especially ME!) care where the food comes from. I love the Brampton Inn shot, showing Danielle, the innkeeper, harvesting blackberries from their garden. Of all the hundreds of properties we've focused on, no one is more true to THE COOKIE than Danielle and her team (Hi Carol!) at Brampton. The beautiful variety of totally homemade cookies we shot this late summer was not just prepared for the shoot--it was just another day at the inn, photographed exactly how I saw it in their guest den. Yum.

Here are a few shots from the last 3 months....

Breakfast entree at Abigails Hotel, Victoria BC

Soup course at L'Auberge Provencale, White Post VA

Signature Hummus at Hummus Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA

Fruit from the buffet at Swann House, Washington DC

Blueberry Muffins from Swann House

Innkeeper harvesting blackberries from garden, Brampton Inn, Chestertown, MD

Brampton Inn's cookie spread

Lobster Chowder at The Settlers Inn, Hawley, PA

Joyce at Chambered Nautilus serving up spiced peaches, Seattle WA

Different approach to shooting food at Chambered Nautilus

Breakfast in Room at Abigails Hotel, Victoria BC

Salmon wrapped omelet at Abbeymoore Manor, Victoria BC

How-To Video for Innkeepers on Getting Better Photos

2010-09-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

We done lots of talks over the years on photographing your hospitality property and in conjunction with our talks we always provide tips for innkeepers on shooting there own photos. Some magical moments happen the 364 days a year when you DO NOT have a pro photographer on property! We've always felt innkeepers should get involved in the act of visually representing their Inn. We partnered with the brilliant and energetic Tim and Amy Brady from Forty Putney Road Bed and Breakfast in Brattleboro, VT to produce this video version of our tips and trick for Innkeepers. Tim produced this for us through his outside-the-inn venture Brand Pandemic.

We are hoping to do more do-it-yourself stuff for innkeepers in the next year.

A couple of innkeepers who are excellent photographers as well Linda Bortis of Lodge at Moosehead Lake and Mike Amery from Inn at Bowman's Hill contributed photos to the video, thanks guys!!

We'd love to have your feedback or comments here on the blog on other topics you would like to see covered. Enjoy!

Bufflehead Cove Inn: A Truly Special Spot

2010-09-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

Just back from a shoot at Bufflehead Cove Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine. We loved the Inn, the great sense of service and personality, and the wonderful positive vibe. Thought you might like to see this video slideshow of a few of the images. Bufflehead Cove is a super special spot.

Click here to see a high-def version of this video

A Fresh, Multimedia Appoach to Innkeeper Portaits

2010-08-30T04:44:00.000-07:00

Innkeepers are a fun group of people, and many times they are one of the key reasons guests keep coming back (or don't!) Why is it that their portraits so many times do not reflect the unique and idiosyncratic charms of the Innkeeper?? At a recent shoot at Mount Merino Manor we shot a quick sequence of portraits of charming hosts Rita and Patrick in hopes that the web developer could do something visually interesting with it on their site. InsideOut Website Solutions ran the sequence in flash on the "Innkeepers Story" page. I think it's fun and effective--and gives potential guests a preview of the kind of easygoing innkeepers Rita and Patrick are.

Check out the "Innkeepers Story" page on the Mount Merino web site.

We are always looking for opportunities and new ideas to make still photography more engaging in this new world of multimedia - I think this one hits the nail on the head. If you are interested in multimedia, check our post from last spring when we wrote on the subject.

Where the heck have we been??

2010-08-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

It has been an incredibly busy summer for us - lots of travel and interesting projects. We thought we would catch you up on a few visual highlights from the last few weeks...

We paid a visit back to Goldmoor Inn in Galena, Illinois to get some pictures to promote their story-book weddings and newly-opened restaurant. Patricia and Tom, the owners, were jazzed to have us back. We soon learned that they had a HUGE huge return on the photography and web investment they made last year promoting their lodging.

The magical setting for weddings at Goldmoor


Tomato Mozzarella salad at Goldmoor's new restaurant

We also did a shoot for Thomas Shepherd Inn in Shepherdstown, WV. Thomas Shepherd Inn is a sweet property right in the middle of everything in the vital and charming town of Shepherdstown. They were recently just chosen to be included in Select Registry.


Breakfast Room at Thomas Shepherd Inn

Thomas Shepherd Inn's back porch

We also visited Brickhouse Inn in Gettysburg for the second shoot this year. This immaculate Inn is great because you can pretty much see many of Gettysburg's sites within a short walk from the Inn. Another unique feature is their stunning garden out back with a pond and waterfall. They serve breakfast in the garden in the warm season--delightful! On this shoot, we focused on outside shots and area pictures. You can't tell from the photos that it was about 900 degrees...

The Battlefields - Just a five minute walk from the Brickhouse Inn


Brickhouse Inn's front porch

It was great to return to L'Auberge Provencale in White Post, VA. Was it our 4th or 5th visit? Celeste Borel the Innkeeper is a fantastic creative collaborator and it shows in the pictures. We always say that in her next life she should join our team!! For L'Auberge we shot some video clips for an upcoming project, new food shots and area activities. The Borel's son, Christian, just got married and we used Christian and his bride Ashley in some of the activity shots. There is so much to do around there!

The stunning cuisine at L'Auberge Provencale


Christian and Ashley grabbing a kiss during a shoot in L'Auberge's orchard

Incredible tomatoes from the L'Auberge Provencale kitchen garden. Celeste gave us a basket of these to take back to the city. Amazing treat!

Excellent Article on Woolverton Inn (brush up on your Italian!)

2010-07-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

Another extensive and beautiful article (they also covered L'Auberge Provencale Inn a while back) in Italian home decor magazine Casa Chic on Woolverton Inn featuring lots of Jumping Rocks photos. Congratulations to Carolyn and Bob, the current owners/innkeepers. We were part owners of The Woolverton from 1999 until 2004, when we left to start Jumping Rocks Photography--so we are proud too!

See a PDF of the article here.

Annarita, the editor of the publication told us that she decided to cover Woolverton after reading a blog post we wrote about returning to the Inn in December, 2009. For those of you that think blogging is a waste of time...maybe not!

The Casa Chic photo editors sourced all the images from Jumping Rocks Media Bank, our press relations/photo storage tool.

Select Registry Cover Stars

2010-07-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the new Select Registry guidebook?? It's very handsome! If you are familiar with the SR books of the recent past, you will notice a marked change in the format--the new edition is larger, with larger images and a fresher design. We both really like it!

Congratulations to the inns who made the cover--all four were Jumping Rocks clients:

Upper left is Arch Cape Inn and Retreat near Cannon Beach, OR
Upper right is the Settlers Inn in Hawley PA. Read a blog post we wrote about Settlers.
Bottom left is Berry Manor in Rockland, ME
Bottom right is Lake Pointe Inn in Deep Creek Lake MD.

Pictures were selected from Jumping Rocks Media Bank, our publicity and press photo service that now contains over 12,000 images.

Excellent Summer Cocktail from Squam Lake Inn

2010-07-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

We happily returned to Squam Lake Inn in Holderness, NH to get some summer shots and photos of their new fun dining space - a rustic, porch-like dining room. It was great returning and as we've mentioned in a previous post, we love the vibe Cindy and Rae have created--unique, warm and special. To get Mark motivated to style this new dining space, Rae whipped up a cocktail we'd never had: A St-Germain Cocktail. If you have not tasted St-Germain Liqueur, it is a not-too-sweet concoction from France (in a gorgeous bottle!) made from Elderflowers. It is fabulous!

The Recipe:

2 parts	Brut Champagne or Dry Sparkling Wine
1½ parts	St-Germain
2 parts	Sparkling Water or Club Soda

Method: Fill a tall Collins glass with ice. Add Champagne first, then St-Germain, then Club Soda. Stir completely. Garnish with a lemon twist, making sure to squeeze essential oils into the glass.

We love the relaxed charm of the decor at the inn...simple, straightforward and comfortable...especially the front porch.

My Favorite Camera

2010-06-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

I love all my wonderful camera gear: the state-of-the-art digital sensors, super-sharp lenses, lights and strobes of every size. Sometimes my back does not like the 150 pounds of equipment we haul from Seattle to Maine to Texas! All this great stuff tends to make me forget why I fell in love with taking pictures in the first place - the way you begin to look at the world anew when you have that camera in hand and the joy of creating something new. Celebrating the beautiful or the ordinary or the odd.

About 6 months ago I became an iPhone user - and my favorite use has been as a camera! I primarily use it on the streets of Philadelphia and while traveling. When we are not away working on a Jumping Rocks project, I am usually shooting iPhone pictures. All the limitations the camera presents make it much more fun to use on a creative level. The lack of features (zoom, sharpness) somehow forces me to focus on things like color and composition, and is frankly really refreshing compared to all the options on my pro DSLR camera.

I just added a gallery to our website of these iphone images. These images are obviously much less commercial and I think reflect my background as a painter. Check out the iphone gallery on our website.

Part of what inspired me to use the iPhone camera as a creative tool was the excellent Seattle photographer Chase Jarvis. He has written a fantastic coffee table book called "The Best Camera is the One You Have with You" featuring his iPhone photography. Chase is also behind my very, very favorite iphone application, "Best Camera". The app has 10 or so simple filters to help "goose-up" your shots and features an easy way to upload those pictures to all the various social media sites. Another REALLY cool thing is that you can upload your images to a special website Chase has created, called thebestcamera.com right from your phone. Chase describes the website as "a living, breathing gallery of iPhone photography from around the globe". Pretty interesting! I like to pull up the stream on my phone and watch what is being uploaded in real-time.

Even after a grueling several day photo shoot encompassing 4:30 am sunrises and 8:30pm twilight shot plus hours of air travel I find myself, without thinking about it, pulling out my iPhone and...taking pictures.

Putting our Money Where our Mouth Is: BIG PICTURES

2010-05-07T06:17:00.000-07:00

Often, our final words as we leave a hospitality property after a photo shoot are - please, please use the images as large as you can on your website. It's incredibly simple: the larger images create a impact that translates into reservations. It may be the easiest cheapest tip out there! Web pages are growing wider and wider, high speed internet access is more common, screen resolution on consumer screens improves every year and very large monitors are becoming more and more popular. If you do a slide show of images on your site, be sure that slide show image fills the page!

I have never someone say of a website, "those picture are too big and look too good".

We finally put our money where our mouth is and increased the size of the images throughout our site and especially on our home page. We went with full page, single images on our homepage at a whopping 1920x1200 pixel size. Each time you refresh the page, you get a new image. We also updated and enlarged our portfolio images on the site. Believe it or not, this giant homepage image translates beautifully to the web browser on my Iphone. The image is scaled depending upon screen size so it looks great on anything from a 26" display down to my tiny phone. How cool is that??

Check out our newly renovated website.

Here are a few inn web sites with nice, big images:

http://www.lodgeatmooseheadlake.com/

http://www.westwyndfarminn.com/rooms.html

These two sites above by the fabulous White Stone Marketing

Image on Jumping Rocks Photography homepage is The Inn at Gothic Eves in Trumansburg NY, a lovely inn we just shot near Ithaca.

Underselling Your Property: Mount Merino Manor

2010-04-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

Many innkeepers ask us about the dangers of "overselling" your property on the web, but the biggest problem we see--by far--is properties that are vastly undersold, especially when it comes to imagery.

A perfect example of this was our recent shoot at Mount Merino Manor in Hudson, N.Y. This is a gorgeous and truly special property in a great up-and-coming destination town.

Innkeepers Rita and Patrick Birmingham (pictured left) have exquisite taste and a wonderful and fresh sense of design--clean lines and a nice mix of contemporary and traditional furnishings. This aesthetic fits in perfectly with the robust and happening Hudson antiques and design community and design-conscious tourists.

Diamond Street Suite (after):

Diamond Street Suite (before):

Photographing the property was tricky, in that lots of the rooms have views and several of the room layouts are quirky and challenging to express visually.We often rearrange furniture to make a more compelling photo. In this case we moved the chaise lounge under the window to create a focal point. I would say about 90% of the time, the property owners keep the furniture in the photographed position! Funny!

The other thing we tried to accomplish was to communicate the beautiful sense of LIGHT at Mount Merino. We loaded up the room with big strobes and used longer exposures to fill the room with light. Look how the colors pop and sparkle when a room is lit sensitively and dramatically.

Rip's Room (after) :

Rip's Room (before):

Rip's Room is another L-shaped room. In the "before" shot, a dark dresser and roman shade hid the view over the mountains. We raised the blind and moved a smaller table to replace the dresser, opening up the space. We re-arranged an existing rug and added some wine to give the scene a sense of life. A longer focal length lens helped to compress the elements of this scene and makes the view "pop" photographically. It will be exciting to check back with the innkeepers to see what these photos do for occupancy.

Lastly, another terrific selling point at Mount Merino is the decked-out bathrooms in almost every guest room--over the top luxury! Sadly, none of these are pictured on the existing site!! Showing these spaces will surely have an impact on occupancy and rates going forward - exciting!

Blue Mountain Room's Bathroom:

Welcome Home to Rabbit Hill Inn...the book

2010-03-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

For all you Rabbit Hill Inn fans out there...we recently published a coffee table book of pictures we shot over the last few years (and some heartfelt copy written by Mark), entitled "Welcome Home to Rabbit Hill". This is a great country inn and it has been a pleasure working with Leslie and Brian over the years. We are happy with the result and think it captures a little of the taste, sights and moments we've encountered at this exceptional inn.

View Preview of inside of Welcome Home.

If you are a true Rabbit Hill Inn fan, you can also buy a copy of the book in hardback or paperback here from the Blurb online bookstore.

We do produce projects like this on a limited basis. Let us know if you are interested.

Putting a "Toe in the Water" with YouTube and Multimedia

2010-03-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Video and multimedia are quickly becoming an important part of a hospitality property's marketing mix. At the recent Innkeeping Conference conference in Austin we talked about how innkeepers can "put their toe"in the water of multimedia without making a huge cash outlay associated with a big professional photo or video production. Are we trying to put ourselves out of business?? Nope - we just have a passion for using what imagery YOU ALREADY have, squuezing the most out of your photo investments.

Here are a few thoughts on this:

You can produce a professional video about your property using just still images and professional voice-over. You can target a specific concept or you can produce a overall property tour. American Bed and Breakfast Inns headed by industry professional Michael Pinkston can produce this for you for for less than $400. You'll be up on YouTube in no time (YouTube is now the second largest search engine after Google - do YOU have a YouTube presence?).
Sample from American Bed and Breakfast Inns (Woolverton Inn, the inn we used to own)

Use your images LARGE on your website. This might seem obvious but you would be surprised how many make this mistake. Large photo make a larger impact, more engaged website shoppers and in return a better "look to book conversion".
Large image Sample by White Stone Marketing

....that brings to mind .....We offer a quick and easy slideshow solution from Jumping Rocks Media Bank for leas than $100. What is unique about this show is that the images are displayed in very high-quality and are scaled to each screen they are displayed on full-screen size. Getting more our of image displayed LARGE!
Slideshow from Jumping Rocks Media Bank

Think about how an image tells a story. You can use video productions techniques like the "Ken Burns" effect to animate a still image are help tell a story. Think about this as you develop flash presentations on your site. Using this technique will give your photo a whole new life and tell a story much more effectively. The Arch Cape Inn website using the "Ken Burns" effect nicely and helps tell a story. Below are two stills, bottom is Chanticleer Guest House and the top is Elizabeth Pointe Lodge. Watch the video to see how employing a little cinematic animation can help tell the stories of these properties.

New Trends in Visual Marketing at the Innkeeping Show, Austin

2010-03-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

Are you going to be attending the Innkeeping and/or Select Registry meetings in Austin Texas next week? If so, please try to attend our informative and entertaining workshop called: "New Trends in Visual Marketing" scheduled for 4:00 pm on Wednesday March 10th.

Mark will be giving this talk - anyone who has seen Mark speak before will remember that he makes this stuff FUN.

Some of the topics covered:

Low-cost solutions to turn your still photo collection into engaging video slide show presentations
Fun ways to add a kick to your website through animation, time-lapse photography, HDR, photo sequences and humor
Strategies for creating a video of your inn: What style, what budget, documentary versus aspirational/inspirational mood videos, and video "do's and dont's"
SEO implications of multimedia and video in the hospitality and travel marketplace
Relationship between video and still photography - using the right tool for the job
Lots of great sources for professional help and lots of sample videos and techniques

Hope to see you in Austin!

Should People be in Our Photos?? Our Thoughts Part One

2010-01-20T16:45:00.000-08:00

One of the most frequent questions we hear is "should we include people in our shots?". Depending upon where they “are” with photography – we make different recommendations. Hiring a professional photographer is a substantial marketing investment and return on this investment for our customers seems to come quickly--that is when the photography includes great room photos and general property photos. After these bases are covered, then it's time to consider getting photos with people in them. Using people can make a powerful statement and bring a sense of warmth and excitement to the images. But this does not come without cost; producing a shot with people--"model style"--typically doubles the shoot time and therefore increases the cost. Here is our our priority list:

great room photos
exteriors
food/common rooms
area/setting shots
people as “props”(not focused on face, gender or race)
people shots--candid or "photojournalistic style” (actual guests actually enjoying themselves)
people shots using models

We don't recommend incorporating people into images until a property has good room, exterior, food and "setting" shots. Actually, shots without people can be very effective in creating the sense that a person has just left the scene, with props and styling still in place. Even with no people, this approach can warm up a room and help the viewer or prospective guest connect with the property, saying " I can see myself here!

Often, we will include people-in-photos as part of Phase II, at a second shoot after the important basics are covered. This has worked well.

As listed above, I think of “people” shots as falling into 3 rough categories:

1. People as “props”, i.e. feet in hammock, silhouette of couple on dock, hands pouring syrup, etc.

2. People shots-- candid or "photojournalistic style” i.e. real people doing real things at the inn--having tea, out on a canoe, breakfast experience, etc. (We have been asked repeatedly by the press and publicists for these types of shots. These can be useful and sometime be captured "on the fly". This can be tricky as we like to respect the privacy of paying guests--we have to play it by ear on site and be very charming! Another potential stumbling block is when you encounter unattractive "real people" that are guests--it's difficult to un-invite them from a shot!)

3. People shots using models--hired or staff models or “advertising style”. This is the toughest to pull off, but if you get a great authentic-feeling model shot, the media will use it. Often though, if you hire one couple, the whole site starts to focus on these specific individuals, their age, race, etc. These shots can often date the photos too, as fashions in hair and clothing change quickly. Casting these models is key: you will see their faces, and these faces will become the faces of your product! We are not fans of the "Way Too Happy Stock Photo Couple" look in hospitality-type photos. We think that authenticity is important; these shots can feel really fake.

We'd love to have your thoughts or share your experiences using people in photos.

We will follow this up soon with more on using people in pictures - specifically staff and innkeepers.

Extravagant Press Coverage for L'Aubege Provencale in Italian Home Decor Publication

2010-01-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

PDF of article

Jumping Rocks customers Celeste and Alain Borel, owners of L'Auberge Provencale Inn, recently snagged what we'd call an "extravagant" spread (11 pages) in an Italian Home Decor publication, Casa Chic. The pictures were downloaded from Jumping Rocks Media Bank and culled from several shoots at this exceptional Provence-themed inn in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The stellar quality of the experience that the Borels deliver at L'Auberge make it a great fit for this upscale publication.

Lotus publishing loves the ease of Jumping Rocks Media Bank; we plan to work with them on more features in 2010. If you think your property is a good match for this publication, let us know and we will put you in touch.

Perhaps the next time we are back at L'Auberge Provencale we will hear the exotic sound of the Italian language amidst those smooth Virginia accents!

View the article here - and read (if you read Italian)

Seems Like Old Times: A Visit to Woolverton Sheep

2009-12-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

Just over five years ago we were feeding the sheep at Woolverton Inn as owners - now we find ourselves shooting the sheep! Carolyn (our ex-business partner) and Bob, the owners of Woolverton Inn were kind enough to invite us back for a few holiday pictures and some fresh "sheep shots". We are not crazy about shooting outdoors this time of year - it can be very drab in New Jersey in December - but we got a perfect, clear, crisp day at our old stomping grounds.

The place looks great and sheep seem very happy under Carolyn and Bob's care!

Swift House Inn : Behind the Scenes Staff Photo Animation

2009-12-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

We recently returned from working for Dan and Michelle Brown at Swift House Inn in Middlebury Vermont. While we were there shooting some rooms, Dan and Michelle asked us to shoot some photos of the staff to use on their website to help cement the relationship between staff and guests. Swift House is a larger inn, and although few innkeepers are more hands-on than Dan and Michelle, the staff plays a vital role in guest satisfaction and repeat business. We produced this unusual music-video style photo animation that we think conveys what a fun, interesting team Swift House has "behind the scenes". Middlebury is a college town - we think this form of media will especially appeal to a younger audience. Check it out...we would LOVE to get your feedback.

Unique Photo-Driven Themes for Websites

2009-11-24T08:36:00.000-08:00

We just got back from shooting a truly special small full-service Inn, Squam Lake Inn (this website does NOT do this Inn justice!) in Holderness, New Hampshire. What really charmed us was Rae and Cindy's successful mix of clean, contemporary decor with great functionality in smaller rooms, along with some homespun elements thrown in. I guess you'd say they've really nailed a mix of comfort and warm charm all wrapped in a very affordable package - the rates do not exceed $185 a night (that is a HOT pricepoint these days!) They call what they pulled together "New England Vintage" - cool!

On every door throughout the inn they feature vintage postcards of area tourist spots. These are the faded hand-tinted type you sometimes see in dusty antiques shops. That gave us an idea....

Here is our after/before version of Squam Lake Inn as a vintage postcard:

Rae and Cindy have signed up with White Stone Marketing to redo their website. We are always looking for unique photo-driven themes for the website designers to employ to make a site "feel" like the property and help it stand out. Sometimes websites can look alike--there is only so much you can do, right? We ran the vintage postcard idea past the innkeepers and they loved it. We shot all the door postcards so they may be integrated into the specific room page designs. It is important to develop these kinds of themes before or during the photography phase so you can catch the right images.

To simulate an old worn photo, I manipulated an exterior evening shot in Photoshop using the poster edge filter, monochromatic noise and a blending of unsaturating and over-saturating various parts of the photo. I think it turned out great.

Last but not least, one thing that we will never forget is Cindy's incredible macaroons, which we photographed both in a room, i.e. as a prop, as well as in the kitchen where they were fresh from the oven--a good technique for showing the "real-ness" of what inns do. . It was hard to keep my hands on the camera and off these cookies!

Those famous macaroons! :

2009 Conde Naste Travelers Readers Choice

2009-11-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

Long-time (and much-admired) Jumping Rocks' client The Swag near Waynseville, NC was selected by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler as the number two small hotel in the USA! The small hotel category was new to this year's readers survey. This is a place we always tell other innkeepers to visit for inspiration--there are few inns which can match their consistent quality and attention to detail. Deener and Dan Matthews founded The Swag over 25 years ago and every time we visit there is ALWAYS a new improvement (THAT is inspiration!) See the other small hotel readers choice winners here.

The Swag, Gail's Suite, outdoor copper tub, new renovation 2009, we shot this in spring 09

Another great friend of Jumping Rocks, The Inn at Thorn Hill, in Jackson Village, NH was selected as the number 4 small resort in mainland USA by The Readers of Conde Nast Traveler. Jim and Ibby Cooper's team delivers amazing service - and unforgettable meals - even to the lowly photographer and stylist!
OH- check out their great new website from White Stone Marketing. See the list of the other winning small resorts here.

A perfect morning at The Inn at Thorn Hill, Jackson NH

Memorable meals from Inn at Thorn Hill

Thinking about Holiday Photos...

2009-10-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

The holiday season is approaching, and we're starting to get calls from press folks asking for great Christmas photos. The sad fact is that we don't have many of them. Few busy innkeepers think about getting photos of their inns all decked out for the holidays, but these photos are very press-worthy, tend to generate great coverage and are great for future marketing efforts. So try to get some great photos this year for promotion next year--and the year after that. While we're at it--we encourage our clients to get photos at various times of year to use in promotional pieces, season by season. These photos can be used again and again, and should be provided to press. This is just the type of image they want. For most of these seasonal photos, especially the exteriors, you may not need to hire a professional (although we're happy to help!) However, if you are serious about submitting holiday photos to the press, you'll need professional photos to be successful.
A clever idea for lodging properties is to create a slideshow of moody holiday images to post on their websites in the months leading up to the holidays.
The pictures rotating at the top of this post represent some work we've done over the years for L'Auberge Provencale, Settlers Inn, Saratoga Arms, Brampton Inn and Hamanassett Inn .

Lake Pointe Inn, Mark and Jumping Rocks Makes Washingtonian Cover

2009-09-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

Lake Pointe Inn of Deep Creek Maryland is featured on the cover the September issue of Washingtonian Magazine! We shot the image a couple of years ago - featuring Jumping Rocks partner Mark in a hammock. It hit the newsstands on Mark's 50th birthday - a well needed ego boost on that fateful day. Congratulations to Caroline and Linda from Lake Pointe - I'm not surprised Washingtonian featured this great property.

The editors picked and downloaded the image from Lake Pointe Inn's Jumping Rocks Media Bank press page. The exquisite L'Auberge Provencale in White Post,VA also got great coverage with 3 photos and Hamanassett B&B of Chester Heights, PA has a photo - also picked from Media Bank.

National Recognition for Rabbit Hill

2009-08-01T09:23:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Leslie and Brian of Rabbit Hill Inn in Lower Waterford, Vermont for impressive recognitions this week. Travel and Leisure Magazine selected Rabbit Hill as one of the "World's Best Hotels " for 2009. In the "Inn" category of 40 rooms or fewer, they were ranked #1 in the USA! We are delighted for them. Read all about it on TL Website.

On top of all this, ABC World News with Charles Gibson chose Leslie and Brian for their "People of the Week" segment! ABC was covering their Pink Slip Getaway, where they give away a two-night stay to couples who have lost their jobs in the economic crisis. If you know Leslie and Brian, this totally fits in with their approach towards hospitality and overall generosity. In short, it's a beautiful thing--The Pink Slip Getaway.

See the video(After a short commercial)

10 Things We Love About Settlers Inn

2009-06-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

We just returned from another great shoot at Settlers Inn in Hawley, PA.
Owners Jeanne and Grant Genzlinger continue to do great things there (even after 20 plus years!) It’s truly inspirational. We thought we’d share 10 things we love about the inn. View a slideshow of some of the photos we have taken there, which illustrate some of these "favorite things".

1. The inn has great bath amenities from Thyme. Wonderful products…and best of all they are environmentally so superior to all those little plastic bottles everyone uses.
2. A number of healthy options is offered at breakfast—including their signature oatmeal and home-made granola. Sure, we all love a big bountiful breakfast, but sometimes it is nice to eat light (especially for guests staying more than one or two nights). Offering both options is best!
3. The décor is well-conceived, simply straightforward and very high quality—refreshing, clean and uncluttered.
4. The restaurant serves a lot of local foods—just about everything (if not EVERYTHING) is raised nearby. The best: their Blooming Grove Brook Trout, which arrives at the inn still swimming!
5. Gardens. If you have gardens, you know how hard it is to keep up with this, but they do. Wonderful places to wander and linger and appreciate.
6. They offer some really inspirational creative packages. My personal favorite is their new Woodstock package. No offense, but it is just so refreshing to see something other than chocolate, champagne and rose petals.
7. Water coolers at the ends of the hallways and beautiful carafes in each room to fill with cool spring water allow guests to avoid those famously wasteful plastic bottles.
8. Great design of their smaller rooms. Any innkeeper who has a few small rooms should take a peak at how the Settlers Inn designs and decorates these smaller spaces. This is always a challenge, but Settlers does it so well.
9. The theme of the inn—the Arts and Crafts Style—is so consistently applied throughout the inn. This is a tall order and done so successfully there.
10. Most of all, we appreciate the “make no little plans” approach adopted by the owners in running the inn. Everything they do—from the menus, to the environmentally responsible running of the inn, to the gardens, to the incredible Christmas decorations—all of it is done with passion, flair and freshness. Nothing feels tired or reluctant. As many innkeepers know, this is tough when one has owned an inn for years and years!

Finally congratulations to Settlers for just being named as a Top 10 Historic Hotel by the inspectors at AAA! Read about the 10 hotels at: http://www.hotelresource.com/article39562.html
Settlers was recognized along with The Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, MI and The 5-star Heritage Hotel in Nashville, among others.

Problem Solving and Solutions on a Tricky Exterior

2009-05-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

We just finished shooting Goldmoor Inn (view old website) in Galena, Illinois--a beautiful property on a high bluff over the Mississippi River near one of the Midwest's premier resort towns. Our task was to rethink how they represented the Inn visually and help tell the story of their spectacular setting.

The interior was easy because the rooms are very large with great views and they are beautifully appointed. The exterior was tricky. Since the inn overlooks the Mississippi, it's hard to get a good shot with the grand river views and the castle-like architecture in the same shot. Also, the front of the inn has a expansive circular concrete drive that, in pictures, distracts from the beautiful facade. Also their current homepage image is not very warm or inviting and we thought it was a little "chilly". We wanted to warm it up to match the reality!
BEFORE IMAGE:

We suggested to Patricia (the owner) that we shoot a similar, wider view at twilight to work up the structure and create a mood of warmth and romance. A great solution I think.
After (Jumping Rocks) Image:

To solve the problem of integrating the river and building, Patricia rented a lift to take us up several stories high to catch both the river and the structure (see opening photo). That resulted in a good shot with both the river and the building. I would not recommend they use this as their PRIMARY image as this is not the prettiest side of the building but it gives a potential guest a great idea of how well this property is situated.
Here is the resulting picture from the lift:

Then again, it might be argued that they use a picture that "sells the experience" and is less literal than the facade of the building.
This sunset river shot might be that kind of "experience" shot:

Rainy Day Solutions in Arkansas

2009-05-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

Clients often ask "what if it rains on my shoot??" Great question. After flying us out to your location, sometimes waiting for us for up to a year, it may seem like a disaster in the making. We've encountered dozens of situations like this over the years and we typically overcome the situation through creative lighting and exposure.

Last week we were in Hot Springs, Arkansas working at Hilltop Manor. The inn has a dynamite front porch and beautiful grounds. With a very tight schedule, we had a very small window in which to shoot the front porch - and it was raining with no end in sight. Strobe to the rescue!
We almost always light a porch shot anyway, but this one was a bit trickier because of the gloomy weather and the fact that we could not put our lights outside of the porch due to the rain.
We overcame the gloom by placing one strobe with a 20 degree grid spot off camera right, creating sun-like texture on the beautiful stonework. We had another grid spot on a strobe at camera right creating highlights on the chair seats. Camera left was a strobe firing into an umbrella, lighting up the left hand side of the shot and filling in shadows. All lights were gelled with a filter to emulate morning sun: Rosco Cinegel #3410 Filter - RoscoSun 1/8 CTO.

Propping and styling also played a role in perking up the scene. The evening before, Mark had asked the innkeeper to buy some red napkins - they make for a wonderful and "sunny" counterpoint to the green outside. The porch was also completely re-ordered and re-designed to create this shot to create a pleasant cadence of tables flanking the stone columns.

In post-production (using Photoshop) I used the contrast, vibrancy and selective saturation tools to make the background feel less gloomy.

Presto! From "Stormy Weather" to "Let the Sun Shine In"!

National Geographic Traveler Features The Swag and Blacksmith Inn

2009-03-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to two of our very favorite client-inns for their being chosen as two of the "Hotels We Love" in April's 2009 National Geographic Traveler magazine! The Swag Country Inn (my personal, most favorite inn) in North Carolina was chosen as well as Blacksmith Inn on the Shore in Door County, Wisconsin. Only 129 properties were featured worldwide - this is a special honor.

Both of these were featured in our "Year in Review" Blog--check out what we said!

See the entire List from Traveler

Mark and Matthew on the dock at Blacksmith Inn on the Shore in June 2008:

Beautiful Food - The Art of Food Photography and Styling

2009-03-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

Matthew attended an intensive two-day food styling and food photography seminar with some of the masters of the craft in New York City February 27th and 28th. Delores Custer, a CIA (Culinary Institute of America) teacher and internationally-known food stylist lead the styling section and Lou Manna, a former NY Times staff photographer and world-renowned food photo specialist led the photo section. These guys work on assignments from Food Network commercials to cookbooks to cereal boxes; they've worked with chefs from Lidia Bastiannich to Mario Batali.

It was great catching up on the latest lighting gear, technology and trends to produce mouthwatering food pictures. Don't be surprised next time you see Mark at your shoot pouring motor oil on your waffles or pancakes to represent the most beautiful Vermont maple syrup you've ever seen!

Here are some photos of the seminar - here we are creating the perfect bowl of cereal (thanks to Thom Luce for the use of these photos):

The L'Auberge "Repast" package

2009-02-20T14:09:00.000-08:00

L'Auberge Provencale in White Post, VA offers a great new package called at "Tryst with a Twist" including their famous "Repast". The Repast is a gourmet meal brought to your room on nights when the restaurant in closed. It is spectacular and a great idea for those of you who lose bookings on nights when the restaurant is closed. It includes a nice bottle on wine, a homemade soup, salads, a plate of house-smoked meats and dessert--delicious! And you sit by the fire and enjoy that--who needs a restaurant! Read the details of the package on the website: http://www.laubergeprovencale.com/packages.html

2008: The Year in Review

2008-12-30T11:22:00.000-08:00

January took us to the Berkshires for the tenth time (we still have never been in summer during Tanglewood). We were back with Amy (one of our favorite innkeepers) at The Rookwood Inn. That is a gorgeous part of the country; one day I will see it when there are leaves on the trees.

The Inn at Ormsby Hill was next, a beautiful inn, so nicely decorated and appointed. The inn was closed for the shoot so innkeeper Chris decided to keep us motivated by playing music. But not your typical "inn music"...she blasted QUEEN! "We Will Rock You!", "We Are the Champions", etc. I have been a Queen fan since high school so it was a really fun shoot for me.

In February we headed to Chicago, not for work, but just because there's no place like Chicago in February, right? (If you haven't been to Chicago in the last 10 years, you haven't been to Chicago!)

We then shot a few rooms at The Inn at Turkey Hill in Bloomsberg, PA and had a good time with owner Andrew Pruden, one of the most likable guys around. (That is a great place to stay if you're on I-80.)

The next week we were in DC at Swann House again (must be our 5th time there and we love it!) Mary Ross is the owner and is a total HOOT, and Rick runs the place and he is always upbeat and fun. That is truly one of my favorite buildings. I love the architecture--lots of interesting windows, nooks, porches, just loads of charm. They continue to renovate and make improvements and have just redone a room to make it very "boutique hotel-like". (This seems to be a trend--younger folks especially are opting for these more clean, sleek style rooms.) It looks great and has a fabulous bathroom--check it out!

March...do we have to include March? What began as a nice trip to Florida to shoot more for Joe Finnegan at St. Francis Inn in St Augustine and then to Amelia Island to shoot Addison on Amelia turned very ugly, very fast. Mark started having back pains on the plane and then...fast forward to the ambulance arriving at inn, Mark being carried out on a stretcher in the middle of breakfast (very romantic), lots of screaming, 3 days in hospital...you get the picture. Matthew miraculously got the shoots done however, eventually hiring the assistant from one inn to be "Mark" at another inn, while I lay in the hospital.

Highlight #1: St. Francis Inn has a great social hour out in the courtyard just before dinner. Guests were raving about it (I go undercover as another guest sometimes to get a read on a place...) Many said it was the reason they stay there. Something to think about.

Highlight #2: David Caples, whom I had never met and owns the beautiful Elizabeth Pointe Lodge on Amelia Island, heard I was in trouble and came right to the hospital--while I was writhing in the emergency room, he somehow arranged for me to have a private room. He was a lifesaver. I will never forget that. He is widely known as a consultant in the business--a wealth of knowledge about innkeeping, and can help you when selling your inn. Elizabeth Pointe was just ranked by Conde Nast as the #2 hotel in all of America!

Highlight #3: Getting out of the hospital and on a plane home.

I had back surgery 2 weeks later. All went well.

In April, we returned to one of our favorite inns--The Brampton Inn in Chestertown, Maryland. (It is more like visiting family, really.) We photographed the first of their over-the-top luxury cottages. Best features: outdoor shower, outdoor Japanese soaking tub, front porch swing, screened-in porch. See their slideshow

I love The Brampton because they truly make everything from scratch--no shortcuts and that is the authenticity that I think inn-goers deserve and appreciate. It is not as common as it should be.

Later that month we photographed The Edward Harris House in Rochester, NY. This is a great example of how decor is so important in "making" the guest experience. They have done a great job there in providing guests with decor they probably do not have at home. More and more I think the concept of "what I do not have at home" is the secret. The inn was just named one of the "10 Most Romantic Inns" buy ILoveInns. Congratulations Susan!

May took us back to Cape May (we should get an apartment there as often as we are there.) We shot at The Fairthorne for Ed and Diane (our 4th shoot there--). I love their front porch--and especially the fact that they serve breakfast out there. So many inns have these gorgeous porches and will not serve breakfast there...even though it is their guests' "dream location" for breakfast. There is always a reason...and I always think the reasons are flimsy.

A week later we were in the land of Huckleberry Finn--Hannibal, Missouri--at The Garth Mansion. It is a truly fantastic piece of architecture in a beautiful setting, and they have added cottages as well, with views of their llamas (or are they alpacas?). As usual, the cottages are extremely popular. It would appear that the privacy aspect and having lots of space is what people crave nowadays.

Since we were in Missouri, we headed to Hermann Hill for our second shoot there. Owners Terry and Peggy Hammer truly have one of the most well-run inns around. Their rooms all have views of the vineyard or the river, whirlpools, big showers, fireplaces, outside sitting areas, etc. etc. These are the ultimate amenity-laden rooms in my opinion. And the service is right up there too. Case in point: at about 10 pm every night, there is a knock on your door and you hear someone say "ice cream". When you open your door you find a hot fudge sundae there waiting for you. It must be a lot of work, but do you have any idea how any people talk about this one aspect of the inn to just about everyone they know? (Like me right now. ) And that is really just the tip of the iceberg with these guys. They are always improving. (Funny how the inns with the best occupancy are always improving. hmmmmmmm.) Check out their website: www.hermannhill.com

At the end of May we returned to Hamanassett and Fairville Inns, both in the Brandywine Valley near Wilmington, Delaware. This is a wonderful area to spend some time--great art, scenery, gardens, restaurants...and of course fabulous B&Bs! Both of these inns have done new websites by Seth at Unica Multimedia and they both highlight the photos very well. I love Hamanassett--a spectacular grand mansion on a hill, run by owner Ashley Mon, a new Select Registry member. She continues to upgrade and improve her fabulous mansion.

Fairville Inn is just a few miles away and has spacious rooms in three buildings with fireplaces and lots of outside private areas with sweeping views. (www.fairvilleinn.com)

In early June, we flew to Wisconsin to do a big shoot for Blacksmith Inn on the Shore for their new White Stone website, which turned out great. This is another really fine property on the water, quality at every turn, and warm, dedicated innkeepers, Joan and Bryan. Their breakfast is a "continental plus" I guess--but I was struck by how every element was of such high quality--from the coffee to the smoothies to the fresh baked goods. I really did not miss a full hot breakfast. Recently, I have been so turned off by the "throw it out and see what they eat" breakfasts at some places--stale box cereal, canned fruit cocktail, weak coffee, watered down juices, and old bagels. (Do I sound cynical?) This is supposed to be an authentic and wholesome experience! Blacksmith's rooms are beautifully appointed--thoughtfully decorated...and all have porches that face the water. Best of all they have hammocks on the individual porches!

We returned home just long enough to unpack before it was time to leave again! This time we were off to Hershey, Pa. and Westwynd Farm, a horse farm-y kind of B&B near Hershey Park, PA. Carolyn Troxell has really been busy adding luxury rooms as well as a huge bright addition for dining. The place looks great, as does their stunning new Whitestone website (www.westwyndfarminn.com)

We packed up and jumped in the car for Cooks Forest in western Pennsylvania. We were shooting Gateway Lodge for owner Deb Adams who is now working on a new website with Sherri of Dobay Design. The old main lodge there has a wonderful rustic dining room and the rooms in the old lodge are charming (really, really small) but there is a big surprise when you walk into an addition (that you really do not notice from the outside). It is HUGE and the rooms there are very large and have the fireplaces and big tubs that make for romance. They all have great porches too. There is a wonderful common room in the addition as well...the whole place has a great lodge vibe--very "out west" feeling and is a perfect place to stay when exploring the nearby forest. And the forest is so pristine and awesome. Such big trees. It is one of the last primary forests around. Really cool.

In July, we drove out to Lancaster to shoot King's Cottage's newly re-done guest room. Ann and Janis are two more innkeepers who keep improving. They do not have many rooms, but the rooms they do have are very nice. And they keep getting better. We are already planning another shoot there in 2009 to shoot their newly re-done sunporch.

While out there in horse and buggy country, we headed over to B F Hiestand House for another shoot. Another absolutely stunning piece of architecture. She just did a really nice new website with Unica Multimedia: www.bfhiestandhouse.com. Unica is a nice option for website design that does not break the bank.

Later in July we returned to the much-acclaimed Inn at Thorne Hill to shoot mostly food for Jim and Ibby. The chef, John, was GREAT. We work with a lot of chefs (as do many innkeepers it seems) and they tend to be...a little less accommodating and a little more "prickly". Not so here! John was a real pleasure to work with. He runs cooking classes too and just has a wonderful demeanor. It was a totally positive experience and--trust me--I do not always say that! The weather was horrendous, but we got lots of great food shots. They are supposed to be doing a new website this year...a good move.

We also returned to Sugar Hill Inn in Sugar Hill, NH, where Steve and Theresa have just added a jaw-dropping new "Dream Cottage" (great name!) Check out this slideshow:
http://jumpingrocks.smugmug.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=6044693&AlbumKey=vnaUC
They also renovated their dining room and it looks great too. The food is still fantastic as well.

We ended the month back at The Brampton (our home away from home!) to shoot their second over-the-top cottage.

August came and we went...back to the Lanscaster area to the Inn at Twin Linden, a smaller property, but very nice. Great gardens. They were doing a new website at the time which is up now (www.innattwinlinden.com). Unica Multimedia did it--again, great work for the money.

After coming home, quickly unpacking and re-packing again, we were back in the car headed for Saratoga Arms in New York. Amy and mom, Kathleen had us there last year shooting for their new White Stone website .The bottom line is they made back their website investment in matter of weeks! We were just doing some follow up work for them, and some porch shots, which is exactly where Mark fell down the stairs and sprained his ankle. There are some very "lovey-dovey" photos of Mark and Amy on a porch, gazing into one another's eyes. This is funny for many reasons. That Mark really gets around...

From Saratoga, we drove up to Vermont to Swift House Inn with Dan and Michele Brown. Most of you know Dan and Michele. Those guys are AMAZING. After all the growing the inn has gone through, they are still so involved in the day-to-day work at the inn, and still so cheery. I do not know how they do it. Hats off to them. They had just re-done some rooms and we shot them. Dan and Michele invited us to dinner with Michele's parents and their motor-home traveling friends. It was a really good time.

On the way back home we stopped off at Elk Lake Lodge which has got to be one of the most beautifully situated properties around. It is truly spectacular. The lake has 20 + islands in it and it is surrounded by the high peaks of the Adirondacks. You can't beat it. It's quirky though...Contact me if you need details about that.

September we spent most of the month in Spain, mostly Barcelona, where we had rented an apartment and hosted some friends and Matthew's parents. Back in Philly, and barely over the jet lag, we were back on a plane bound for North Carolina. First we shot the new bungalow at WhiteGate Inn in Asheville. Frank and Ralph have done it again--a beautiful new cottage with a couple of different accommodations, created out of an old run-down shack! Ralph's gardens were stellar as always...check out their Whitestone website, www.whitegate.net.

We both love Asheville, but had to hit the road to shoot two rental properties for David Caples (Lodging Resources) in Cashiers, NC. These two lake houses, so wonderfully decorated and such great lake views were a pleasure to shoot. We had a great time there. It is always fun to spend time with David, and Helen Cook was there as well and was so hospitable. We left Cashiers and drove up the mountain to The Swag, my all time favorite inn. (Sorry everyone else, but you have to see it to believe it.) We only had a half day of work to do there, but as usual, Deener Matthews rolled out the red carpet for us. Mindy, the manager there is equally warm and wonderful. I may devote an entire blog entry to The Swag because I think what they do there is very, very special and I think many folks could learn a great deal from them.

We finally booked a shoot on the west coast and shot the Chambered Nautilus in Seattle in October. The owner, Joyce is lots of fun and it was beautiful in Seattle. (I am obsessed with Mt. Rainier, and even climbed on the roof of the Crate and Barrel store to get a better view.) What a special city Seattle is. Joyce will have a new website with our pics in 2009.

We then drove down to Oregon to shoot The Arch Cape House and I finally got to see the Oregon coast everyone is always yammering about. Wow. It is yammer-able! Arch Cape is a really nice place and is relatively new--they are destined for great things. They have a new Whitestone website as well (www.archcapeinn.com) Finally, I must put in a plug here for Portland--I loved it! Great beer! Great bookstore! Great restaurants! Great outdoors!

It was really nice to see so many old clients/friends at November's Select Registry conference in Williamsburg. We booked a lot of shoots and will be traveling in 2009 almost as much as 2008. Williamsburg (aka Disney-burg) was great, what little we saw of it. We were busy most of the time at the trade show, talking to innkeepers about how important photography is for selling rooms. Some people got it.

Late November we returned once again to the Berkshires (still, no leaves on the trees!) to shoot a gorgeous new room at Birchwood Inn (http://www.birchwood-inn.com/room1.html) where Ellen has made this really nice room even better. Fun fact: we actually looked at buying the Birchwood when we were shopping for inns, so it is always fun to go there. Also in Lenox, we shot Hampton Terrace, a great old mansion with more accommodations in the back near the pool. Stan has been one of our biggest fans. Read what he says here on his blog:
http://hamptonterrace.com/wp/198/good-photography-key-to-good-website/
Stan is a perfect example of how good a blog can be for an inn. This guy is a really GREAT blogger. I really like his blogs and learn a lot from them. Best of all, they make me want to visit!
...we are scheduled to go back to Stan's place in September of 2009--maybe finally leaves on the trees! We thank the PR expert Marti Mayne for introducing us to Stan and Hampton terrace.
We also shot Season on Main in Stockbridge. This was our second visit - lovely inn.

The Genzlingers hired us to shoot some rooms at The Settlers Inn in Hawley, PA (the Poconos, sort of) in December. I love the aesthetic of that place. It is so straightforward and unfussy, and this is refreshing. They have a very nice Rare Brick website. We really enjoyed eating there! Everything is locally grown and the food is fantastic.

Our last shoot trip of the year was to Annapolis, MD--another town I have fallen in love with! It is like Williamsburg without the Disney-esque characters and "un-reality". And with lots of Naval Cadets wandering around. We shot The Annapolis Inn, a truly grand mansion...we even shot the room John McCain was going to be staying in a couple of weeks later.

Off we went to another inn we love, L'Auberge Provencale in White Post, Virginia. Celeste is one of our favorite clients (even though every time we go she is "jonesing" for my job as stylist...she gives a run for my money.) The service and the food at that inn is top-notch. And Celeste has such a way with decor. I love her style--the bright colors, cheery decor and really nice artwork. If you've not been, you should go.

That is it for 2008!

Welcome to Jumping Rocks Blog

2008-12-30T11:10:00.000-08:00

Well, I thought it would never happen. Blogs were for OTHER people, not for me. (I said that about cell phones, computers and iPods too.) But then I thought it would be fun to blog about where we have been and what we have seen on our travels from inn to inn--over 130 at last count (and that's a lot of stuffed french toast, folks). Here we can share tips we have picked up, stories from our many clients, and some personal notes too. Maybe even a "Best of" list...I do feel like Matthew and I have a unique perspective: former inn owners, now frequent inn-goers (very frequent) and also vendors, providing a service to innkeepers. We see it all and we wanna blog about it!