Julie Barrett is a freelance writer and photographer based in Plano, TX.

Monday Photo Shoot

Fresh when it gets here from Julie Barrett
Monday, February 4, 2008


Show us something made of glass.

Well. This is certainly a challenge. It's not as though I don't have anything made of glass. The problem is that the best camera I have right now is a little pocket digicam. It ain't bad for snapshots, but it really doesn't do the job for the type of photography I like to do.

Paul suggested that I should use this as a chance to get to know my pocket camera a little better, so I decided to take the kind of picture I would have taken with the DSLR and see what I get:

Dr Pepper

Oy. It took a lot of work in Photoshop to make it look even that good. Well, the one thing I do like about the picture are the "gels" that I cooked up. I used a red plastic carry bag for the left side, and cut apart a blue translucent plastic envelope for the right side. I use full daylight spectrum CFL bulbs for my tabletop photography and have no gels for those lamps, so I kind of improvised.

So I guess I should explain this, huh? That's a 110th anniversary Dublin Dr Pepper bottle in retro styling next to a glass brick from the old Dr Pepper HQ in Dallas.

For a long time, Dublin, TX was the last place (on the planet, as far as I know) that produced Dr Pepper with real sugar as opposed to corn syrup. And yes, it tastes so much better! As I go through all of my old negatives I'll have to scan in a shot of the interior of the old Dublin plant. Used to be one had to drive to Dublin to get the stuff, but now some local stores carry six packs. They're $6-7 for a half dozen 8 OZ ounce bottles, so it definitely falls in the "treat" category for us.

Dr Pepper had its headquarters on Mockingbird Lane in Dallas in a wonderful Moderne building. After they moved to larger space, the building sat vacant until developers decided to raze it. The company actively worked to help preserve the building, but it was demolished anyway. A shopping center now stands on the site. Some enterprising soul salvaged the bricks and sold them. A friend gave me four as a birthday gift one year.

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Filed under: Pictures   Monday Photo Shoot         

  6  Comments
 

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Karen Funk Blocher said:
That's seriously cool on a couple of levels. 1. I don't know how you did the "gel" effect, but it's awesome! It may not be a dramatic as you might have gotten with the equipment you crave, but it's not deficient in any way that I can see. 2. The Dr. Pepper story is cool. I saw something about that plant in one of those cable history of fun food shows with a Mason Adams voiceover, maybe five years ago.
Date: 2/4/2008 7:48:39 PM Date: 2/4/2008 7:48:39 PM

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kiva said:
I used to fly through Dallas airport all the time. One of the staff at the AA Admirals Club found out I loved DP. He gave me a Dublin bottle and I was hooked. I still get my fix by buying it online. Expensive, but worth it. I remember the old headquarters. I'm glad that at least there mementos left. As for your picture, I really think the gels are very clever with a point and shoot. I gotta give it a try.
Date: 2/11/2008 12:24:20 PM Date: 2/11/2008 12:24:20 PM

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Martha said:
I think the photo came out quite nice!
Date: 2/11/2008 4:49:08 PM Date: 2/11/2008 4:49:08 PM

Gravatar
Karen Funk Blocher said:
That's seriously cool on a couple of levels. 1. I don't know how you did the "gel" effect, but it's awesome! It may not be a dramatic as you might have gotten with the equipment you crave, but it's not deficient in any way that I can see. 2. The Dr. Pepper story is cool. I saw something about that plant in one of those cable history of fun food shows with a Mason Adams voiceover, maybe five years ago.
Date: 2/4/2008 7:48:39 PM Date: 2/4/2008 7:48:39 PM

Gravatar
kiva said:
I used to fly through Dallas airport all the time. One of the staff at the AA Admirals Club found out I loved DP. He gave me a Dublin bottle and I was hooked. I still get my fix by buying it online. Expensive, but worth it. I remember the old headquarters. I'm glad that at least there mementos left. As for your picture, I really think the gels are very clever with a point and shoot. I gotta give it a try.
Date: 2/11/2008 12:24:20 PM Date: 2/11/2008 12:24:20 PM

Gravatar
Martha said:
I think the photo came out quite nice!
Date: 2/11/2008 4:49:08 PM Date: 2/11/2008 4:49:08 PM





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