Foothill Ranch, CA – Oakley Headquarters (HDR)

Apr19

This building is awesome! I can take pics of it all day! This one has a little texture/grunge to effect to it. If you are ever in SoCal…its worth to stop by and see this cool location!

Spaceship Oakley (HDR)

Nov15

I had a little fun with an HDR I took of the Oakley Headquarters in Foothill Ranch. Looks like a spaceship cruising in the clouds. Have fun with your photos and sometimes think outside the box! =)

Or how about an Oakley Robot…with a little Cylon eye.

One more version…

Foothill Ranch, CA – Oakley Spaceship

Jul18

The Oakley headquarters is awesome! If you are in Orange County, a must to stop by and see this building…very cool! Inside and out! One the outside, it look like a spaceship…so I added a little textured effect. One spot at the building I’d love to HDR is the Auditorium inside. Hopefully one day! It would due another super cool HDR! Oakley Sunglasses rock!

Foothill Ranch, CA – Oakley Headquarters (HDR)

Jan7

One super cool place to visit if you are in SoCal is the Oakley Headquarters. As a visitor you can only see a few areas…but well worth the trip!!! Check out the description they have on the web site:

It’s a place of reinforced blast walls, product torture chambers and the padded cells of mad science. Oakley’s design bunker is where inventions are conceived, developed, perfected and manufactured. In addition to the hidden catacombs of research labs and proving grounds, the architectural design of Oakley President Colin Baden includes a 400-seat amphitheater – and absolutely no adult supervision.

Very cool! Kudos Oakley! Love your sunglasses and this building! Hopefully one day I can explore this location. Have a great weekend!!

PS..I had a new HDR venture to announce today…but it will have to wait til next weekend. Still need a bit more time to get it ready.

Talke Photography Settings:
Lens: Nikon 10.5 f/2.8 Fisheye
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 10.5 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 7 Exposures (+3 to -3)
Aperture: f/8
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS5, HDR Efex Pro, Coloro Efex Pro, OnOne Software Photo Tools 2.6

Foothill Ranch, CA – Inside Oakley Headquarters (HDR)

Feb7

Per my post the past week, this is the awesome inside of Oakley Headquarters! Super cool!! Great architectural design! I love the Thunder Dome look! Not only is the Oakley Headquarters great on the outside, but fantastic on the inside! I posted issues taking pics here on my last post….since then Oakley was kind enough to apologize and asked me to contact them for a shoot on my next visit. Thanks guys! I would truly enjoy having a little time here after/before hours to get some great shots! I have a few cool ideas. As we all know..30 minutes to photograph a location is definitely not enough time.

This would be one cool office to work at! I loved seeing all the folks leaving this Friday nite with skateboards, motocylce helmets, etc… A nice relaxed place to be at. No wonder they excel at whatever products they produce. The people there live what they sell. I’ll be back in the OC again soon…hope I can get back here and grab some additional photos! It is in the heart of the OC…just look for El Toro Road…it is about 5 minutes from the 405.

Some info from the web site…Oakley: t’s a place of reinforced blast walls, product torture chambers and the padded cells of mad science. Oakley’s design bunker is where inventions are conceived, developed, perfected and manufactured. In addition to the hidden catacombs of research labs and proving grounds, the architectural design of Oakley President Colin Baden includes a 400-seat amphitheater – and absolutely no adult supervision.

Talke Photography Settings:

Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye
Setting: Aperture Mode
Focal Length: 10.5 mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: HDR 7 exposures (+3 to -3)
Aperture: f/13
Gear: Tripod
Post Process: Adobe CS5, HDR Efex Pro, Viveza, Photo Tools 2.6

Foothill Ranch, CA – Oakley Headquarters (HDR)

Jan29

If you are ever in Orange County, CA…one super cool spot to see is the Oakley Headquarters in Foothill Ranch. Oakley is famous for Sunglasses and sport wear. I had seen photos of this place and always wanted to visit! I have my traditional photographer story…so read ahead. It was a Friday afternoon and I had just finished my day and drove up from San Diego. Traffic was not fun! So I arrived at 5 PM. I had about 30 minutes until sunset. I grabbed my bag, camera and tripod and headed inside. It is very cool! The whole building reminds me of something from “Terminator”.

As I walked inside there is a reception and I asked if it ok for me to take pics. She asked me what for and I told her my blog. She said no problem. Great! The office closed at 6 PM, so I had a little time to take some inside shots. I worked inside and occasionally walked out front to take some photos there as it was getting close to magic time. It was my goal to grab the outside of the building at sunset. About 30 minutes of shooting…it was getting close. I set up my tripod directly out front and was saying goodbye to employees as they were heading home for the weekend.

Then a security guard walked up to me and asked me what I was doing. I gladly told him, taking pics for my blog. I also mentioned I owned a sweet pair of Oakley’s(I am a customer) and would gladly blog great stuff about my visit. He said no problem and walked away. I proceeded to take the photo above (Fisheye). As soon as I finished my 7th exposure…the guard was back. He told me that his boss said to shut it down. It is private property, so I understand and respectfully packed my gear up immediately. So I missed my sunset shot!

I think it can be tough sometimes as a photographer carrying pro-looking gear. I received mixed signals from Oakley this day. I am not sure if you can or cannot take photos? I did not see any posted signs. My guess is that it was an on the spot decision against me due to my gear. I was always nice and courteous to everyone walking around and near my tripod. At this time all I can say is that it is a place to see…but you may get hassled if you are taking pics with a DSLR. Sad Oakley! A customer taking pics gets booted out….great service!!! Next time Nike sunglasses for me!

Talke Photography Settings: