Recently in Reference Photography Category

wings_DSCN1904, originally uploaded by jfrancis.

Matte Painting Reference - Feathers and Wings...

The brightly colored front- and back-lit feathers in the rest of the flickr set were reference photos I took in order to create some test animation for the 'Glowbird' for the 3D stereo film 'Journey to the Center of the Earth.' The job ended up being awarded elsewhere.

clouds_DSCN1897, originally uploaded by jfrancis.

Matte Painting Reference:

Skies and Clouds.

smoke_DSCN0152, originally uploaded by jfrancis.

Matte Painting Reference:

Some photos from May 2001 of a fire in Hollywood, California. The location of the fire is La Brea Avenue somewhere between Hollywood Blvd and Santa Monica Blvd.

debris_DSCN0086, originally uploaded by jfrancis.

Matte Painting Reference:

Some older images taken with a Nikon Coolpix 990 consisting of various demolition sites under sunny and overcast skies. Could be useful as reference for digital matte painting work.

While looking at a Blackbird spy plane on display in the bright sun, I was struck by just how detailed was its metal skin. Here's a small gallery of reference photos of possible interest to matte painters.