Tilt-shift makes a resurgence

We are all loving this miniature tilt-shift photography resurgence which you may remember seeing back in the Tom Cruise film Minority Report (2002).The images are described as using "tilt-shift", but the term is something of a misnomer because shift is seldom involved and is usually unrelated to the effect produced. However, not wanting to be left out, we got the app and did some of our own! (TiltShiftGen for those interested)

But if you want to see how the pros do it check out some of the work by Keith Loutit.

Keith Loutit

Four Seasons dynasty arrives in China

We have just completed an epic 16 month project for the soon to be opened Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou at Westlake (October 2010).

Westlake, with its famous freshwater lake is located in the historic centre of Hangzhou, in the Zhejiang provence of Eastern China. A popular haunt since the Qing Dynasty, it was inevitable that sooner or later it would get the 5* treatment.

Our role was to capture the essence of the property and its surroundings, from its beautifully landscaped gardens to opulent dining experiences. Simplicity was the key. Lotus ponds carpeted the lake which we took as the focal point for the collateral. A series of full colour photographs of lotus flowers were applied to guest collateral, while a simpler graphic was developed for smaller items. Four restaurant identities were also developed for the properties food and beverage outlets along with their respective restaurant menus.

The challenge with these projects is always the ability to coordinate the feedback from various key decision makers around the globe as well as ensuring timelienes are met. 16 months may seem a long time but with each key change came its own set of challenges. Working alongside world renowned interior design agency Spin (http://www.ds-spin.com) also ensured we were kept on our toes without standing on any others!

A thoroughly rewarding project. Some of the samples can be seen here, or you can visit our main website to view the complete set.

Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou at Westlake

Migrating to WordPress

We always seem to be in a state of flux at Qube, ever evolving our digital presence. Our old site was cumbersome and needed a tech wizard to update most of the time, so after much thought, we decided to migrate the site to WordPress. Although, to begin with, getting to grips with the user interface was a little challenging, it was worth the pain. Once mastered we then went about deconstructing the theme to make it Qubesque.

www.qubestudio.com