Carlsbad Real Estate and Market Updates → EncinitasCarlsbad.com

Anyone headed to San Diego for the NAR Conference?

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:08:20 -0600

The NAR conference is in San Diego next week, and we thought we would touch base to see if anyone from the photography group was headed out here. My husband John and I live about 25 minutes north of downtown San Diego, and we plan to attend.

John said he was willing to demo his pole camera rig or other camera setup if anyone had an interest.

Let us know if you're coming! We'd be glad to meet up with some of the other people interested in photography (HDR, pole/aerial, etc.) or marketing.

Margaret Hokkanen

Encinitas Real Estate

627 Cornish Ave, Encinitas, CA 92024 - Home Brochure

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:37:54 -0500

Here's our recent listing in Encinitas Highlands in Encinitas, California. It is a super-cute beach home near the downtown, and it's a quick walk to the beach. It's also just a quick walk to restaurants, the movie theatre, and the brand new Encinitas library. We sent out about 15,000 brochures, so most people in Encinitas know about the home. I'm posting it here just in case someone from out of town has an interest.

Address: 627 Cornish Ave., Encinitas, CA 92024

Particulars: 3 beds, 1 bath, 1284 sq. ft., lot is over 9500 sq. ft.

The photos say it all.

Call me if you have any questions.

Margaret Hokkanen, Encinitas Real Estate

www.EncinitasCarlsbad.com

Encinitas Beach Home Showing Pole/HDR Photography

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:16:38 -0500

Our practice has been hectic here in San Diego which is why I haven't posted for a while. Anyway, I wanted to share some of our latest pole photography and high dynamic range blending photos. The home is a little beach cottage across from the library, and not far from the ocean. However, it doesn't have ocean view. So, it was important that we show how close the home was to the water (walk to beach). We also need to present the home in a nice way since it is an Encinitas beach cottage.

First, the front view of the home. We put our Canon 5d with 24mm tilt/shift lens on our pole rig, and it was up about 12 ft off the ground. But the street was also a few feet higher than the front door, so the camera was actually up a bit higher. This is a nice pole shot because it leads into the back yard photo (later in the brochure) of the large back yard. For this photo, it's just important to see the trees and the depth behind the house of where the trees are. Also, this is the cover of the brochure. I wanted to show you the cover so that you could see the fun little map that I created so that we could present how close the home was to all the action and the water.

As we turn to the interior, we have a blended HDR photo of the living room. Two sets of images were taken to create this photo. A color-balanced strobe image which gave a great backdrop, and an HDR image with some local contrast and saturation amped up to really make the picture pop and give it a 3d effect.

Next we have another interior shot (I picked one of the kid's bedrooms). The technique is similar to the living room.

Finally, I wanted to show another pole photo. This is the library just a few doors away. The back patio of the library has ocean view, and I really cranked up the camera pretty high (25 ft) to get this photo. But, it really does show you how close you are to the ocean.

Anyway, I hope those are some fun photos. Feel free to post any questions and I will try to reply quickly.

Margaret, Encinitas/Carlsbad Real Estate

www.EncinitasCarlsbad.com

Barrel Distortion Example - Cannon 16-35mm

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:04:53 -0500

I mentioned in my blog about the barrel distortion that occurred with the Canon 16-35mm lens at 16mm. I thought I would share an actual comparison photo. I don't want to suggest that the 16 is bad. But I would apply correcting software on any of the images as it makes them look truer and better.

So, if you can't "see" the distortion, here's an overlay. I've put a black outline of the CORRECTED PHOTO on top of the uncorrected photo. The red arrow shows where I lined everything up, and you'll notice that the verticals from the two photos differ as you move out from the center of that red arrow point.

It becomes really apparent in a mouseover example, but I don't think I can do that on AR. If you look at the vertical lines around the fireplace in the first photo, you'll see that the fireplace looks more oval than rectangular. I realize that I may be being picky, but I guess I look at photos a lot.

For correction software, I used the PTLENS photoshop filter which seems to do a good job.

Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate

Remote Wireless Triggers

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:02:27 -0500

I've used a handheld remote trigger (with a wire) for a long time on my Canon 5d. However, I am planning on buying the new Canon 5D back, and so I gave some thought to whether I might use my existing 5D back on my pole. (Getting scary!)

I was VERY pleased to find that there are a number of 3rd party companies manufacturing radio/wireless triggers for Canon cameras. Instead of paying $500 for the Canon unit, I got a simple two-stage trigger for $89 at Adorama, and the instructions say it will work up to 100 ft.

We still have not yet implemented any remote viewing capability on our camera, but I don't think we will need it as we've been doing it the "blind" method for years. With the remote trigger, I'll be able to set the 5d on bracketed images and just push the trigger and can take 3 bracketed images so that I can do high dynamic range pole photos!

Once I take some images, I'll try to post them. I've also make some changes to the pole to make things a lot safer for the expensive camera body, and I'll try to take a picture and show those too.

Here's the most recent pole photo with the cheapo camera that we use. I can't wait to see what my old 5d with some high dynamic images will take!

Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate

Canon's 14mm Lens

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:42:00 -0500

The day Canon announced the upcoming release of the Canon 5d Mark II camera body (the new 5d body), we decided to purchase the Canon 14mm lens. We love our 28mm tilt/shift lens, but the processing time for doing high dynamic range photos was simply too much. By moving to the 14mm lens, there is 1/3 of the work because there are fewer images.

Here's an example from the 14mm lens on the current 5d back. This is a blended strobe/high dynamic range photo. As we have continued to do this, our understanding of how to create these images has gotten better and better.

What I like about this lens is that the lines are kept straight - VERY little distortion. Quite amazing, really. However, I've read comparisons with the Nikon 12-24, and that lens is apparently brighter and more vivid. This is less of a concern for us since we are doing overlays with a highly saturated high dynamic range image. Plus, with the new 5D back, I could keep all of my old lenses and get a big jump in resolution. Overall, I think the image makes the living room look pretty nice.

The week before I found out about the new 5D and bought the lens I rented Canon's 16-35mm lens for a photo shoot. Here's a photo at 16mm. This was a nice lens, but, here's a word of CAUTION. There is a LOT of barrel distortion going on with this lens. We HAD to use our correcting software (Ptlens) to remove the barrel distortion as that improved the images a LOT.

How about those reflections in the granite! That's what the HDR blending will give you.

Finally, I should note WHY the new 5D back was the decision to change. The new 5D is 22 megapixels. That means that we will get the same 20 megapixel image with the 14mm lens that we've been getting with the tilt/shift lens, and we have about 1/3 of the post-processing work. So, for us, it was worth the $2100 that we spent.

I'm not getting rid of the tilt/shift lens. I plan to use it when I need to create a giant-sized image (which we sometimes create as posters inside listings). With the new 5d back and the tilt/shift lens, I'll be able to create a 40 megapixel image, which is in the range of the current generation of Hasselblad cameras. Again, the post-processing time will increase, but that's OK as long as I'm not doing it with every single image.

All the best.

Margaret Hokkanen, Encinitas and Carlsbad Real Estate

Horse Property in Bonsall

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:58:09 -0500

Our team has a new horse property in Bonsall that is FABULOUS. Here are the photos:

Aerial view showing paddock, corral, home, pool, etc.

Living Room with lodgelike fireplace.

Interested in seeing the home? Call Heather Foster, the listing agent for this home, at 619-665-2782. The home has 3 bedrooms plus an office. The home is offered at $1,100,000 to $1,200,000. For more details, plus the virtual tour, see our Bonsall/Fallbrook web site at http://www.FallbrookTeam.com.

Margaret Hokkanen

Casa Bella Realty and Mortgage

Oceanfront Living at Its Finest - Oceanside, CA

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:25:50 -0500

Here's our team's newest listing. This property is ON THE SAND with spectacular whitewater views. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Living Room

Master Bedroom

View of the beach and the Oceanside Pier from the deck of the home.

Price: $4.975M. Eight Bedrooms, about 3880 sq. ft.

To see all the info about the property, visit http://www.OceansideVista.com. It's under the featured listings.

Represented by Yvonne Lillo (760) 271-3277 of the SurfTheTurf.com Team. Call her if you would like to make an appointment to see the property. The home is remodeled and clean, and the views are as good as the pictures show.

Casa Bella Realty and Mortgage

Example of HDR Blending

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:47:37 -0500

We've made a number of posts about utilizing HDR images, and we have finally settled on using HDR to supplement a solid traditional exposure. This allows us to highlight just those elements of the room that we want to highlight, yielding a more 3-d effect because of the interaction of the HDR images with the traditional exposure. Some may prefer a complete edge-to-edge HDR image, but we prefer the saturated realism of our approach. Anyway, let me give an example; first the comparison image. On the left is a properly exposed image of a dining room. On the right is the final image that we are seeking to create.

First, the base image. This uses strobe umbrellas (quite powerful), but nothing else. One exposure. In the past, this is the image that we would have used without any question that it was a fine image. However, now using HDR, we are able to improve upon it.

Then, we layer the following HDR image underneath the base image. Here's the HDR exposure.

As you see, the HDR image has gray ceilings and gray walls. The carpet is also a bit muddy. This is why we don't want to use edge-to-edge HDR images. Plus, the local contrast adaptation applied to the entire picture can make things look a bit surreal. However, the wood tones are excellent. Notice that event the distant billiard table looks great. So, with the Flash photo layered on top, we meticulously erase (not 100%) the top image to reveal the parts of the HDR image that we want to reveal. We don't use a 100% eraser because we want the blending to look natural and undetectable. Here's the combined image:

Things are looking pretty good. But we still have the window in the distance. So, we really knocked down the exposure and took another HDR set with a greatly reduced exposure. Then we just cut out the window part. Again, I put the HDR image underneath the combined image, but to explain, I just did a screen capture with it on top so you can see just how dark we had to make the image to reveal the window.

Pretty dark, isn't it? Then we zoom in a LOT and meticulously erase just the window part on the top image (not the lamps or any of the black part) to reveal just the window. The Result is the final, blended image, which is sharpened using the Smart Sharpen filter in Photoshop to get back a little of the crispness that is lost with the HDR image.

I think the final image has a lot of great mood to it, and with the window and mountains visible beyond that, the photo shows the depth of the home. This is one of our favorite photos for showing the power of this technique. I hope this helps you understand our approach. It's a bit time consuming, but the results are what we want.

Margaret Hokkanen, Encinitas and Carlsbad Real Estate

HDR Interiors on the Beach - Difficult Stuff

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:10:22 -0500

Sorry I've been absent, but we've been busy. I've had a few comments lately on some of the HDR posts, so I thought I would post some recent images that I created for consideration.

THESE WERE HARD TO TAKE. This is a beach house right on the sand in Oceanside, CA. I had to wait until a very clear day when there wasn't so much humidity in the air (i.e., NO cloud cover). Consequently, the outside light was HOT HOT HOT. The difference between inside and outside is large even on a cloudy day in a neighborhood with grass and trees. But on the sand next to the water, the amount of light bouncing around outside is RIDICULOUS. I had never shot a home in this setting, and if you haven't done it, get prepared for some post-processing work! Even my HDR images were having all sorts of issues because the light differential was so large, and, hence, I have concluded that post-processing HDR images in this kind of environment takes some practice.

Anyway, here are some images for your consideration. I'll put some additional comments below them. I should note that the goal of this photo shoot was to create images that gave the lovely, bright interiors that you get at the beach. This is why this was difficult. The outside was white hot, driving the interiors toward black (relatively speaking). I need to have really bright interiors that convey what you see when you are inside the home AND I needed to show the view as well. This took some time to get the results below.

These are blended HDR images like the ones that I've previously posted. I use high-powered flashes and umbrella stands to take the base image, and then I layer the HDR images on top of the base image. This results in good-looking walls, ceilings, carpet, etc. that is not subject to the local adaptation rules of the HDR. Then, by layering other components on top (whether sofa, counters, windows, etc.), I can "paint" in exactly the HDR look that I want to achieve. For me, it's the best of both worlds...allowing traditional exposure control with the base image, but getting the richness and color saturation of HDR.

The windows/views were as good as I could make them. The EXTREME light differential is what makes this type of photography such a challenge.

What do you think? Any comments are appreciated.

Margaret Hokkanen, Encinitas/Carlsbad Real Estate

PS: To see the details of the home, just visit www.OceansideVista.com. The home is priced at almost $5M.

Blending High Dynamic Range with Traditional Images

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Sun, 18 May 2008 11:28:40 -0500

(Note on 7/19/08: I've also posted some images that were extremely difficult to create on my new post at http://activerain.com/blogsview/600282/HDR-Interiors-on-the which you may also want to review.)

I apologize for our absence of late. I thought I would share some our newest marketing images because they show how we've changed our photographic work. In the past, we took multiple exposures of a room and John blended those images in photoshop to achieve a blended image. We have now moved to an approach where we combine non-HDR/strobe photography with high dynamic range photography. We like this a lot for a few reasons:

Our experience with HDR processing (maybe just OUR HDR processing) is that it can lead to a number of issues:

1) A case of the "flats." The exposure value range is all there and it's been compressed, but in the process everything is thrown to the middle of the range. The whites are grey, and so are the blacks.

2) Depending upon the local contrast settings, some HDR images can just look weird as they come out of the processor.

However, that said, HDR definitely allows for a beautiful way of expressing reflections, sunlight, and, as we have found, can give richer color expression because of the gradations than traditional photos. But we still like to have our whites white and our blacks black (less critical than the whites), and this is particularly true of walls and ceilings. To accomplish this, we photograph the room with our strobes getting a well-balanced exposure of a room. Then, we turn the strobes off and take the same photo again, this time bracketing it for HDR processing; we then create a second HDR image. The original image is then overlaid on top of the HDR image, and then the original is carefully erased (sometimes only 10-20%, sometimes up to 100%) in places where we want the HDR image to enrich the original image.

For those of you who haven't read my posts before, here's the equipment I'm using: Canon 5d, with a 24mm tilt/shift lens, multiple 580exII strobes on umbrella stands. Photomatix for HDR processing. Because I use a tilt-shift lens rather than a wide-angle lens, it increases the processing, but improves the size of the image (to over 20megapixels), and we also like the proportions of the image (less stretched).

Here are some images (these are all 20megapixel images, though the ones supplied here have been shrunk for ease of viewing). If you want to see how these look in print, email me and I'll try to mail you a brochure or two.

Anyway, I hope you liked the images. We think they really help express the character of the rooms for what they are. If you have an interest in understanding what I did to capture these images, don't hesitate to post a message explaining your interest. If there is interest, I'll try to give some explanation as to the compositional aspects of the photographs.

Margaret Hokkanen, Encinitas and Carlsbad Real Estate

Just Listed - Custom-Built Home in Winter Park, FL

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:53:14 -0500

Real Estate Listing Detail for 2704 Phillips Park Court, Winter Park, FL 32789

Offered by The Hood Group, Inc.

2704 Phillips Park Court, Winter Park, FL 32789 MLS #: O4841551
Offered at $995,000
Bedrooms	4 (2 up, 2 down)
Full Baths:	3	Half Baths	1
Lot Size (Acres):	0.2984	Lot Size (SqFt):	12998
Pool (Home):	YES!	Sq Ft Heated:	3582
Year Built:	1997

A luxury, custom-built home in a small enclave of homes. Ideal floor plan featuring two bedrooms downstairs, two bedrooms upstairs, a separate office area and a hugh bonus room. Storage galore!!!

Directions: Winter Park Road, then east on Phillips Park Ct.

Open House: To be determined, but easy see - just call (760) 246-1888.

Tania Hood, Broker
(760) 246-1888

Description: Observe the true value in this luxury, master custom built home in a small enclave of a prestigious Winter Park community. Walk to Leu Gardens, shopping, schools, and shops. Ideal floor plan with hugh bonus room and separate office area. Tour this custom home built by Groninger Custom Homes and meticously maintained by one owner. Upon entering the impressive foyer the adirondack Ash hardwood flooring (2 years old) gleams throughout the first floor.

Each spacious room is perfectly planned with high ceilings for an open an airy feeling, some crown molding and artistic ceilings. The owners' suite has a sitting area with a view of the lush pool area. The master bath has a large shower with 2 shower heads. Another suite is located downstairs with private pool access bath. The family room has built-ins and large windows to view the backyard. The kitchen has stunning granite, light maple cabinets, walk-in pantry. Four double french doors sets open to pool/patio and covered porch with skylights!

The upstairs offers an office area leading to two large bedroom and an additional bonus room that offers endless storage and two large closets. The bonus room has its own switch for the AC for efficiency. There is abundant storage throughout; the attic has easy access, is floored and has double insulation. The home has manifold plumbing, 160' deep well for irrigation and AC; AC heat recovery for heating hot water. A lushly landscaped yard has mature trees, self watering window boxes and is fenced for privacy.

Additional Features

Subdivision:	Phillips Place of Winter Park
Location:	Cul-De-Sac, In City Limits, Level, Sidewalk, Street Paved
Interior Features:	Attic, Blinds/Shades, Cathedral/Vaulted Ceiling, Ceiling Fan(s), Crown Moulding, Rods, Smoke Alarm(s), Solid Surface Counters, Solid Wood Cabinets, Storage Room, Skylights, Walk In Closet, Washer/Dryer Hookup, Window Treatment
Interior Layout:	Formal Dining Room Separate, Formal Living Room Separate, Kitchen/Family Room Combo, Mstr Bedroom Downstairs, Open Plan, Split Bedroom, Volume Ceilings
Heating & Fuel:	Central, Fuel - Electric, Heat Recovery Unit
Master bedroom size:	17x25
Living room size:	19x20
Kitchen room size:	15x13
Floor Covering:	Carpet, Ceramic Tile, Wood
Exterior Construction:	Block, Stone, Wood Frame
Exterior Features:	Fenced, French Doors, Gutters / Downspouts, Hot Tub/Spa, Irrigation System, Mature Landscaping, Trees/Landscaped, Patio/Porch Covered, Patio/Porch Screened
Garage	Three car garage

Information is reliable, but not guaranteed.
Buyer must verify all measurements prior to purchase.

© SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.

An HDR Followup

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:08:47 -0600

This is a repost of a prior article so that I can put it into the HDR repository which the AR system isn't letting me do right now.

Boy have I been confused a bit about this High Dynamic Range merging stuff. I've been reading my new book, "The HDRI Handbook," and I now am beginning to get a handle on why the HDR images can look so, so good. But I thought I would share some of my confusion because I thought that maybe someone else was similarly confused.

I've been playing with Photoshop's Merge to HDR where I converge 5 or more images into a single high dynamic range image (32 bits). Well, they always looked muddy to me. Here's my most recent example:

It sort of looks ok, and it has the full range, but everything looks muddy to me. THEN earlier today I read about TONE MAPPING where you use some fancy tools to compress the entire range into an 8 bit per channel (i.e., JPG) output. Here's what I got when I did that!

For those interested, I downloaded a tool called Photomatix from http://www.hdrsoft.com/. It's a complicated program with an easy interface (i.e., slide the sliders, but that doesn't mean that you know what you're doing, but I'm only getting started on this).

Now, maybe I amped up the saturation just a bit in my excitement, but this is looking interesting! I need to learn how to use the tools, but I can see why people are excited about this stuff now.

Also, I learned the name for the kind of photography that we've been doing....it's called "Exposure Blending" where you take multiple exposures and blend them together to get an end result image that is the kind that you get with high dynamic range. For me to create this image took me only 15 minutes. It would have taken much more work than that to do it the way that I usually assemble the photograph.

Margaret Hokkanen, Encinitas Real Estate

Combining HDR with Traditional Pictures - A Tutorial

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:06:07 -0600

This is a repost of a prior posting so that I can put it into the HDR Repository. (The AR system won't just let me add the new group.)

This is a tutorial to show you how I am combining regular images taken with flashes and high dynamic range images taken with no flashes. I hope you find it as interesting as I did in learning how to do it.

For those who have looked at my blog recently, you know that I have been testing the waters with high dynamic range photography. If you don't know about HDR (as it's called), this is where you capture images in RAW mode (with a suitable camera) and typically no flashes used AT ALL. Then you use software like Photomatix (which is what I use, but Photoshop has some tools too), to combine these multiple images into one file that stores all the data. (The reason you capture them in RAW format is because the RAW format, unlike JPG, stores the metadata about exposure levels.) One can then output this very data-intense file into a JPG image that you can then use just like any other JPG image; when you output it, you can create many, many different effects like creating super-saturated images.

OK, so let's start by showing you the final image so you know the level of photo that I am seeking to achieve:

IN PARTICULAR, I'm trying to bring out the rich, rich colors that you see on the table, the vase, the fire, and the windows. As you see the traditional photos that I took, they won't have this richness, but, by combining them with HDR images, I am able to achieve a wonderful effect. Why use artifical flash images at all? I have not yet perfected how to adjust the levels of the high dynamic range image to create a nice warm feeling in a room. I know how to do that with flash lighting and adjusting the camera. When I just use HDR, I find that the walls go grey, and I'm struggling. By simply starting with a base photo, and then enhancing it, I am able to create the warm, inviting image that I see in my eyes and mind.

OK, so below is the tutorial that shows you how I combined them. This is just one big JPG file because it was easier to assemble in Photoshop to show you.

And, because I know that someone will ask....The time to create the final image: 45 minutes to set up and shoot all the component images. 1 hour of operating the pc to create all the HDR images. 2 hours to assemble the images and carefully cut out, erase, adjust transparency, etc. I realize that many might not be willing to spend 3-4 hours on a single image, but I take my time and don't rush it, and, consequently, I know that the result will be what I see in my mind.

Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate

When to Use Pole Photography and When Not to Use It

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:30:57 -0600

If this is of interest, you might also like to see some of my Pool Pics by Pole.

Pole photography allows one to create a different kind of image. I've been doing pole shots for a couple of years now, and for those who are interested in this neat area, I have a few suggestions based on experience. Just because you have a tool in the toolbox doesn't mean that you always want to use it. Below are two examples of the actual brochure covers so that you can see the kind of effect that you can get using pole photography. I usually try to take my photos as portrait/vertical pictures so that I can print them on the front of a brochure. So, let me try to explore the situations when these aerial photographs worked well and when they did not.

The above photo was taken from about 20 ft off the ground and about 40 ft back from that nice tree. If I had taken this picture from the ground, the tree would have obstructed the house (no way around that) and the house would have obstructed the nice setting. The pole picture solved both problems and gave a million dollar look to this half million dollar home.

Situations to use pole photography

Estate-like settings, e.g., a couple of acres. In this situation, you can do helicopter or plane photography too, and that may be more appropriate in order to get a lot of pictures or pictures that require a high elevation (e.g., the picture of the house with the canyon).
Less expensive homes with lovely settings - The reason why you want to use aerial photos is because by getting the camera up, you can see what is behind the home. If you have hills, golf course, etc., you will be able to see over the house to the back. We had one home where the Ocean was only 300 yards away, but you could not see the ocean from the house. By getting the camera higher than the house, we were able to take a picture of the house that also showed the proximity of the ocean.
Tall homes - Even if you don't necessarily have a great setting, simply getting the camera up to 10 or 12 feet allows you to take the picture of the home with less distortion. If a home is 15 or 30 feet high, you will be closer to the center point and the photo can look more balanced.
Community spaces like pools and tennis courts - Photos of pools look really great because you see more of the water and the light reflecting around the pool is great. Photos of tennis courts become possible even if there is a 10 foot high fence around the court; shoot the court from one of the corners and it will look great.
Impossible-to-take photos due to obstructions - We had a home with beautiful flowers about 30 feet in front of the home. Unfortunately, the yard then plummeted down a hill. The only way to get the photo of the flowers in front of the home was to be suspended in mid-air, and hence the need for the pole. Here's the final photo as it went on the brochure cover:

As Lee Jinks points out in his excellent article about his rig, you can use these pole rigs to take pictures of the roof if you need to show the new shingles.

The above picture was taken from about 35-38ft in order to get above the roof line so that I could show the pretty ocean view that was seen from the master bedroom. I could not have taken this picture any other way as a helicopter shoot could never have gotten a 15 degree angle down instead it would have been 45-60 degrees down due to airspace height (helicopters can't go below 500ft).

Situations NOT to use pole photography

Homes that have unattractive settings behind the home. For example, if there is construction going on behind the home, you probably do not want to show the earthmovers in the picture of the home. Also, if the home has 750,000 volt powerlines behind it (the really big towers), you probably do not want to use an aerial picture because doing so will accentuate the power lines by making them so visible.
Greenspaces - Technically, it's OK to use a pole, but the problem is that without a frame of reference (e.g., a house), trees and greenspace are hard to gauge. It isn't obvious whether you are 3 feet off the ground or 30 feet. I have not found pole photography to produce usable images when the subject is just greenspace.
High-density homes - Having an aerial photo will bring dramatic attention to the high density of the homes.

Please note that there are situations where you just don't want to use a pole:

Electrical lines nearby
Very high winds (thus making the taking of pictures difficult)

If you can think of other situations where pole photography is or is not warranted, please leave a comment.

Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate

Pool Pics by Pole

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:28:45 -0600

NOTE: If you haven't ever seen a pole system, I recommend taking a look at Lee Jink's artice on the Evolution of His PAP System. You might also look at my recent article on when to take pole pics and when not to take them.

I love taking pool pictures with our pole camera. They are some of the most fun pictures to take because the surroundings are usually great and the water and sky makes for great pictures. So I thought I would just share a few of our pool pole pics! (Say that 3 times really fast.)

The first one is the pool at a restricted club. With my quick-connect painter poles, I was able to get in and out of the pool area before anyone made a complaint (not that it would have been a big deal anyway).

Is that an incredible setting or what? The pole helped craft the total setting. The camera was only up about 22 feet, but it really helped capture the background mountains which otherwise would have been partially hidden. That's resort living!

Moving on...I wanted to share a picture of a clubhouse in Carlsbad. The pole was up about 20 feet, but so was the clubhouse, which meant it was a level shot. I could not have taken this picture without a pole camera.

Finally, I wanted to end up with a small pool in a small manufactured home community. But the pool's setting was great - among a bunch of trees. The pole really helped to capture this picture.

Anyway, I hoped you've enjoyed these as much as I did in taking them. NOTE: If you start taking these kind of community picture, you have to be extra vigilant in watching the MLS. I cannot tell you how many times other real estate agents decided to appropriate my photos. Upon getting a phone call, they usually removed them promptly, but it is still sort of unbelievable that people would take without asking.

Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate

Should an agent do it her/himself? A summary of the results

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:58:43 -0600

I asked the question, "Should an agent be a do-it-yourself _________________ (marketer, photographer, stager, search engine optimizer, web developer, videographer, etc.)?

The post is at: http://activerain.com/blogsview/386082/Should-an-agent-be

I read the posts and here's my summary of what I took away:

1) There are a small number of people who are concerned about control, and they feel that they will do a better/faster/on-time/pickyourfavoriteadjective job than the average professional that they do not know. (My husband has a bit of that.) For these people, doing it yourself is the only choice because they want it done a certain way. In the case of my husband (who is COMPLETELY results-oriented), that usually means that he has a satisfactory outcome/result.

2) The real estate agents seemed to focus on BUDGET. This is understandable since often the agent fronts the money for photographs, videography, etc. for a house that may not sell in this market. These agents see doing it yourself as a way to drive down risk, assuming that they can do a good enough job. Most of them don't have any problem hiring stuff out when they know they can't do the job or if the listing is so expensive that they have a bigger budget for it due to client expectations.

3) The professionals selling services seem to focus on RESULTS. There is a recurrent theme that they can generate better results (better staging, better photography, etc.). They also point out that many real estate agents don't realize how BAD their work is (i.e., someone used the word delusional). These comments have somewhat of an "insurance" tone; you hire us to insure that your client's expectations are met and that you maximize your chance of selling the home.

4) Finally, there was a smaller number of agents who made an argument that I did not expect - being able to do multiple things broadened one's offering by allowing one to bring more to the table economically. (It wasn't quite articulated that way, but I think that's a fair restatement.) Along this line, a group said, "The only way you get any good is by practicing, so you might as well start today." Our practice also has aspects of this, and this is why we do our own photography, aerial photography, and videography. Of COURSE a professional will do a better job than us. But we're building our core competencies in real estate-related technologies so that we can offer these things to market segments that don't receive them. For example, no one in our area will create home tour DVDs of condos, but we will. They may not be as great as a professional videographer, but there is literally nothing to compare them because the economics (See Budget) doesn't permit others to hire it out. That makes for a competitive advantage. I was really happy to see some folks present this as a viable reason for doing it yourself.

I don't see any of these themes as exclusionary; in fact, I see them as multiple facets of the same issue. The control person just wants it done right; if it WILL be done right, then that person doesn't mind hiring out someone else, but they won't risk that it's done poorly by someone that they do not know. The real estate agent who is focused on budget knows that it's ultimately a business, and they have to make money, and that decision has to factor in the sales ratios. A beautifully-staged home is great, but if there are foreclosures next door that are discounted, then the staging won't matter because the home won't sell. Finally, the professionals bring up an interesting point - be REALLY honest with yourself. And, as for bringing more to the table and offering it to market segments that are underserved, well....that's the American way, isn't it?

Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate

Should an agent be a "do it yourself" marketer, photographer, stager, etc.?

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:54:51 -0600

I've noticed a recurrent theme in many posts that real estate agents should or should not be "do it yourselfers."

QUESTION: What's the place for do-it-yourself marketing, photography, staging, printing, web design, videography, search engine optimization, etc. for a real estate agent?

READ ON TO SEE ALL THE COMMENTS - My quick summary is at http://activerain.com/blogsview/387526/Should-an-agent-do.

The Argument AGAINST doing it yourself
1) Results. Professionals do a better job. They know more. They do their job every day. They have focus and passion. You will end up with better/more of whatever service you're trying to achieve.

2) Cost. You can spend your time in activities that are more valuable. You don't have to focus on doing the _____________ (fill in with staging, photography, web development, etc.), and instead can focus on other activities. Doing it yourself distracts you from your real estate activities, which is what you should be doing.

3) An agent should hire a ____________ (fill in the blank) for the same reason a homeowner should hire an agent. Agents tell homeowners all the time that they need to get an expert, and agents should follow their own advice.

The Reasons FOR an agent to do it him/herself
1) Professionals may do a better job, but do it yourselfers can do a "good enough" job to get the job done (e.g., selling the home).

2) Some amateurs CAN do as good a job even though they aren't "paid" to do it. Some of these have as much passion for decorating, photography, graphics arts, etc. as the average professional.

3) It's not always about the cost. Though do it yourselfers may not be as fast or as efficient, they may find the activity "fun" for them and a wonderous break from their weekly client activities.

4) There's no way to get good at something unless you do it. That includes reading and classes, but practical experience is a wonderful teacher. As long as you set your clients expectations ("I'm not a professional, but I will do ________ and won't charge you for it."), your clients will cut you some slack.

5) There aren't always other activities to do. In the current market, many agents don't have enough to do. Taking on these other responsbilities builds their skills, adds value to their clients, and minimizes their costs.

6) For FSBOs, it is partially "results" and partially "risk." If a FSBO is REALLY willing to spend the time marketing the home, the FSBO may be able to get the same results. However, legal liability also attaches to the real estate transaction which many of the other vendors don't have (e.g., stagers, photographers, etc.) In other words, you can get results by selling the home, but still get sued after the fact.

Professionals usually say that people need to hire the professionals, but social networks like AR have grown exactly because agents want to network to share secrets and do it themselves.

Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate

The Plaza at Pacific Beach

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:19:34 -0600

Here's our newest listing at The Plaza at Pacific Beach. Walk to shopping and restaurants Great amenities! Four lovely pools with spas, fitness center, saunas & showers, tennis courts, 24-hour security attendant, billiard room, ping-pong room, and meeting room. One of the larger floor plans with two master suites separated by the living area.

This is condo 2-211 or II-211. Relax in the lagoon area. Or get a set of billiards balls and play pool! Or hang to one of the four pools! The VONS shopping center is walking distance from the complex (a half block away). Here's the brochure:

Interested? Call Kathy at 760-415-6871.

Margaret Hokkanen

Someone Caught Trashing Expensive A-Frame & Sign - What would you do?

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 01:38:01 -0600

Here's the story directly from one of my agents last weekend....the story is a bit long, but I think the punch line is amazing....And we'd like your input on what our next step should be....

==========Statement as given by my real estate agent =========================

On Saturday January 26th, around 4:20 pm, I completed my open house at 10575 Corte Jardin Del Mar in Carmel Valley. I left this property heading North on E. Ocean Air Drive toward the intersection of E. Ocean Air Drive and Carmel Mountain Road. Upon pulling up to the stop light at the intersection of E. Ocean Air Drive and Carmel Mountain Road, I witnessed a man pull over to the right heading East on Carmel Mountain Road maybe 30 feet before he crossed E. Ocean Air Drive. I saw him get out of his car, walk up to my sign, grab it off the landscaping and then heave it over the concrete wall. I rolled down my window and began honking and yelling that he could not do that. He looked my way and walked back toward his car.

The light changed green and I pulled through the intersection and parked on the right hand side of E. Ocean Air Drive just past Carmel Mountain Road. I jumped out started walking over to the car, which I believe was a new Cadillac SRX Crossover, Red. I motioned for the man to get out of his car and talk to me which he did. I immediately asked him what he thought he was doing. He responded that I couldn't have my sign in the public right of way. I explained that I didn't have it in the right of way and that it was off to the side on the landscaping, completely off the sidewalk and out of the right of way. He responded that I couldn't put it there either, but gave me no other explanation.

I asked "What gives you authority to vandalize my sign?" The man responded that he was a member of the local board. He didn't identify himself, who he represented, or what he meant. At the time, I thought that he must be talking about the local HOA board. I asked if I could give him my contact information so he could send me the rules and that I would be sure to abide by them. He didn't offer me his card, and he wouldn't even take mine. Instead, he just shook his head moving around in a nervous, irritated manner and began saying that he could throw my signs in the trash just as the police could throw my signs in the trash. As he's telling me this, he started acting even more nervous and irritated by my questions and at one point I thought he was going to back up into the traffic on Carmel Mountain Road. He then turned and walked back to his car and began getting into it.

I again offered to give him my contact information to which he responded, "I don't have time for that." I said, "But you have time to trash peoples signs." He just shook his head and got back in the car and started to drive off. Even worse was the manner in which he departed. Instead of dealing with this in the kind of serious manner that it deserved, he just looked at me, smiled and waved good-bye. He never identified himself, and I guess he thought he was just going to drive away....I guess he did not realize that I wrote down his license plate number.

I retrieved my sign and put it in my car. As I was leaving I noticed just across E. Ocean Air, on the same side of Carmel Mountain Road, there was a Keller Williams sign right in the middle of the sidewalk. As I made a right turn down Carmel Mountain Road toward Highway 56, I noticed both a Keller Williams and a Prudential sign on the sidewalk at the corner of Carmel Mountain Road and Senda Luna Llena. These signs were clearly in the public right of way where my signs were not. Why the man decided to single my signs out for his outburst was beyond my comprehension. I then made my way down to the intersection of Carmel Mountain Road where it turns into El Camino Real. Though I had placed a sign on that intersection as well, it was now gone. I assume that the same man did something with it as well. I gathered the rest of my signs and headed home after a long day of real estate.

I contacted John Hokkanen, who heads up the real estate team and told him what had happened and gave him the license plate number. He did some research and said he found a man who used that license plate as his email address and that it looked like the man, a Mr. XXXXXXXXXX, lived in the area. John said that he also sent an email to this email address asking if this was the person involved with the sign or if he knew who had the red vehicle with XXXXXXXX license plate. John gave me a couple of addresses that he said appeared to be related to the email address, and suggested that I might knock on some doors to see if someone might be able to tell me where Mr. XXXXXXXXXXX lived so that I could so advise the police and make it easy for them to go over and talk to Mr. XXXXXXXXXXX and see if he had my sign.

=================================

John was right - he had found the guy that did this. The AMAZING THING? This guy (whose name has been excised to protect the guilty - at least at this point) is a member of the Carmel Valley Planning Board. He was "deputized" by the "Neighborhood Code Enforcement" program to be the eyes and ears of code enforcement for the area. I've reviewed the documents for the neighborhood code enforcement program - they talk about being goodwill ambassadors, and handing business cards to the public when asked for identification. So protocol wasn't followed by a longshot, and further review of the neighborhood program documents doesn't show sign enforcement as being on the list of enforcement priorities for the program. The program appears mainly to be about health and safety and eyes/ears stuff (e.g., someone is mis-grading a slope or there's sewage leaking from a pipe or these trees are dangerously close to power lines, etc.)

WHAT DO YOU THINK MY AGENT SHOULD DO? This guy can't be allowed to run amok and trash the real estate agents' signs. We have not a clue as to why he went beserk with our sign, and he never explained it.

Let us know what you think we should do....We're thinking options might include: 1) going to the press; 2) going to the mayor; 3) going to the city attorney; 4) filing a police report against the guy; 5) ....... (you suggest).

Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate

Has anyone done real-time video broadcasting?

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:12:45 -0600

Has anyone done any real-time video broadcasting? We've been burning videos of properties for a client, but there are always a lot of questions asked, so I was thinking that maybe I would just do a live broadcast so that the client can ask me a few questions while I am at the property and we can zoom in and address the questions while I am there. Do you know of any service where they do this sort of thing? Or, if you've done it, can you tell me what kind of equipment you used to do the capture and then which cell service you used to do the real time upload to the broadcasting servers? I'm probably not the only person interested in this, so any help is appreciated. I don't know that I'm willling to invest a lot in this, which is why I ask the service question.

Also, if you've done this yourself and you have some samples of the capture from a real-time feed, I'd be very interested in seeing those. If you've used a service, info about who they are, how much they charge, and whether you liked what they did would be great. We can all dig in and ask the questions, but a review would be fantastic.

Margaret

1671 Plover Ct., Carlsbad, CA- Sanderling at Aviara - Home Brochure

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:28:37 -0600

Here's our most recent brochure in all its high dynamic range glory. This is the first brochure that we have ever featured just 4 primary photos in the interior. It's a nice home, so I'm glad the pictures do a nice job of showing it off.

If you are hunting for real estate in Aviara, then you should definitely check out our web sites. We have one specifically for the Aviara area - www.AviaraHomes.com. We also a broader site that shows all of Carlsbad at www.EncinitasCarlsbad.com. Both sites have incredible maps, the likes of which you have probably not seen at any other web site (e.g., school boundary maps. If you want to get in to see the above home, just give me a call - it's an easy show, and we're just minutes away.

Margaret Hokkanen, 760-942-4242

Casa Bella Realty and Mortgage

Combining Traditional Photos with High Dynamic Range Photos - A First Step

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:55:05 -0600

OK, so let's start by showing you the final image so you know the level of photo that I am seeking to achieve:

OK, so below is the tutorial that shows you how I combined them. This is just one big JPG file because it was easier to assemble in Photoshop to show you.

Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate

JUST LISTED - Aviara Townhome - Sanderling - See Pics!

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 17:53:05 -0600

Jump to EncinitasCarlsbad.com for more info

Margaret
(760) 942-4242

Courtesy of Casa Bella Realty & Mortgage

1671 Plover Ct
Carlsbad, CA 92011
MHS #565913

Subdivision: Aviara
Map Code:
Cross St:

$650,000
3 beds, 2.5 baths
1707 Sq. Ft.
Listed on: 1/27/08

Click here for more info.

JUST LISTED/on lockbox. Call 760-942-4242 to preview.

Description

Impeccable home that shows like new after ten years with original owners. Beautiful light pours through many windows, large inviting patio for entertaining or relaxing. Master bedroom on the main floor! Other two upstairs bedrooms are spacious and share a bath. Kitchen has room for a table. Please check all photos! See the site for more info.

To see all the MLS on maps (INCLUDING LONG-TERM RENTAL MAPS!), homes-by-school-boundary maps, and fixer, motivated seller, and other home lists, check out www.EncinitasCarlsbad.com.

Property Features
Built in 1997 Age Restrictions: N/K View: MOUNTAINS/HILLS Topography: LEVEL Site: CUL-DE-SAC Additional Land Use: Boat Facility: N/K Frontage: N/K Guesthouse: Mello Roos: $0/Not Known HOA: $266/MONTHLY Amenities: N/K Miscellaneous: N/K Pets: MORE THAN 1 PET ALLOWED, SIZE O Parking: 2 CAR GARAGE	Lot Size: COMMON INTEREST Master BR: 15x12 Bedroom 2: 13x13 Bedroom 3: 12x12 Fireplace: FP IN LIVING ROOM Pool: BELOW GROUND, COMMUNITY Patio: STONE/TILE Spa: COMMUNITY Laundry: GARAGE Cooling: N/K Heating: FORCED AIR, NATURAL GAS Irrigation: SPRINKLERS Floors: Fence: FULL Roof: TILE Sewer: SEWER CONNECTED
Surf The Turf! We hope you are finding the homes for sale that are of interest. Don't forget to check out our many other Encinitas and Carlsbad real estate resources.



For all the photos, visit EncinitasCarlsbad.com.

Aviara Oaks Elementary

Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate (SurfTheTurf.com, Inc.) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 02:53:27 -0600

You may have heard of Aviara Oaks Elementary and Middle Schools. They're in the heart of Aviara, off Ambrosia, across from the gated community of Sanderling and the non-gated, but a bit more expensive, community of Serenata. If you live in either of these communities, the schools are an easy walk, though there is also the community at the end of Ambrosia that's an easy walk too.

Here's my recent picture of the schools.

The middle school is to the left (you can see the writing on the entrance), and the elementary school is to the right with the playground. Both schools are campus-style schools. The elementary, in particular, has strong scores. If you need info about the schools or the area, just contact me. We moved to Aviara when we first moved to the area years ago.

Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate

(760) 942-4242