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The farm sign finally got put in it's final spot today. After much debate and lots of input from family members and friends the sign was finally deemed perfect It got turned and twisted numerous times before a final decision was made. The landscaper was handy with the bucket of dirt and it was officially planted. Some green ground cover is still to come but it looks great in it's new home.
And just for fun I include a shot of the last sign which identified the farm...
On to the next in Yarrow...
-grampa dan
[ March 19, 2010, 11:58 PM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Dan. Absolutely superb. Not sure if I'm inspired or whether I should give up this signs game altogether. One question I have, roughly how much would you get for a terrific project like this. I'm not expecting you to disclose your pricing strusture. Here in Ireland, at the moment, while I know I have the machinery and ability to get somewhere close to your quality of work. most of my clients can barely afford correx signs at the moment. Should I move Dan?
-------------------- Kevin Gaffney Artistik Signs Kinnegad County Westmeath Ireland 044-75187 kevingaffney@eircom.net Posts: 628 | From: Ireland | Registered: Oct 2003
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Thanks for the kind comments. Hopefully the sign inspires you Kevin. For those who missed the other thread. It shows the building process, breakdown of time involved and discusses the price we got too.
The sign commission came about because I spent time building an elaborate display featuring the type of work we WANTED to do. A landscaper saw our display at a local trade show and then recommended us to the farmer. From here it's our hope that other farmers and property owners see the sign and want something similar for themselves... and so it goes. Build it and they WILL come!
-grampa dan
[ March 20, 2010, 02:41 AM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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Definitely one of the nicest farm signs I've ever seen. Apparently farmers in Canada know how to make a profit so they can afford a sign like that. In my area most of them are barely hanging onto their farms.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5397 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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Just another famous Sawatzky design. Who knew he could do straight lines, too?
One thing that always impresses me about Dan is how his photography adds such a dramatic atmosphere to his work.
My process would probably have been a little different than Dan's - I would have layered the lettering...but I certainly can't compete with the design or application.
Thanks for sharing and inspiring the rest of us, Dan.
-------------------- Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas chapmanstudio@sbcglobal.net Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Raymond's comments about my photos made me want to comment again. Outstanding photos are critical in the promotion of our work. They don't just happen by accident. Each is carefully planned to make it so.
In this case I planned the install when I knew the light was going to be right right. It saved a trip back to the site. Later in the afternoon the sign was in shadow. The background in the picture wasn't very nice, lots of clutter and I couldn't do anything about that. I took the time to rake the dirt nice and smooth and move the tools and other bits of scrap out of the way.
When I took the picture I actually laid down on the driveway, close to the sign and used a fairly wide angle lens. The owner thought I was crazy but it was the best way to get the shot I wanted. Shooting slightly off center to the left hid most of the background clutter and maximized the sky in the shot. This dramatic angle made the sign look bigger too. I took lots of shots and adjusted my exposure to make sure I got what I wanted. I shot on the highest resolution I could.
When I got home I opened the photos in Photoshop and selected the best one. I cropped it some and then set about correcting the color balance and contrast. I corrected the key stoning in the picture caused by the wide angle lens and low angle of the shot and then cropped the picture to its final size.
Then there was the issue of the power pole - it had to go! Using the clone tool I used bits of surrounding background and sky to take it out. It took about five minutes. While not perfect the shot it is now worthy of being in my portfolio.
Here's the original shot... and here's the final shot for comparison...
-grampa dan
[ March 20, 2010, 02:20 PM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Nice Dan. Out of curiosity, what are you backing your foam with? it looks pretty thick. We've been using 3/4 MDO behind our 1.5" signfoam and have been suddenly having problems with the sign foam cracking. This being on it's own and not getting hit. We're not sure it the MDO expanding/contracting and causing the cracks or a foam problem.
-------------------- Bruce Evans Crown Graphics Chino, CA graphics@westcoach.net Posts: 911 | From: Chino, CA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Great looking sign Dan as always, its been fun watching the step by step, send abit of that BC sunshine our way, snow's starting to melt here after a long winter, looking forward to longer days and blue skies.
Are you using an SLR camera with interchangeable lenses?
If so, you might want to look into Tilt-Shift lenses. They allow you to correct for the converging lines right in the camera before you take the shot. You can also go the opposite way and enhance them for artistic effect. Also, you can actually change the focus plane of the lens itself which can produce some interesting F/X, like making a "live photo" appear as if it's a photo of a highly detailed miniature scene.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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