About TB&O

Rotory style telephone with technical camera lens added to mouth piece to create a camera phone

In 1971, when we opened a commercial photo studio we didn’t envisioned that someday people would be taking pictures with their phones. Nor, did we foresee that a phone would fit in our pockets. But, here we are.

Over the years, we’re proof that surviving meant adapting, taking chances on new technology and embracing change. We went digital when photographers were clinging to film and we went CGI when clients were rejecting it as not real enough.

That’s not to say that every move we made over the years was the right one. We have the eight track tape collection to prove it.

But, here is what differentiates us from the rest of the best. We’re classically trained photographers, so we have a well-practiced understanding of how to make great images. We see and we sweat the details. We are a bit radical, and to quote FDR, “we have both feet firmly planted–in the air.”

So, here we are. We believe that what we did yesterday isn’t good enough for today and what we do today won’t get the attention it deserves tomorrow. This was true in 1971 and it’s been true everyday since. Remembering this keeps us striving to do something better than that better thing we just did.

Limited Edition Fox 38 Fork in Pistachio

Limited Edition Fox 40 Fork in Battleship

Who, What, When, Where

We do what we do from one of the most beautiful places to work and play–the Northern California Coast. The Pandemic brought a change in perspective for the TB&O team. And. After 36 years at The Old Sash Mill in Santa Cruz, we recently moved our shooting studio to San Mateo, California and our CGI studio to a remote bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

When you hire TB&O, you get a tight-knit, in-house team that works from our studio on equipment we own. When we shoot, we use the latest medium format digital equipment that we own and have calibrated ourselves. When we render we use our in-house render farm. We believe in controlling what we use, so what we use does not get in the way of being creative or being on-time.

When we do go outside for specific expertise, it is to a small group of digital artists that we have under NDA and we have worked with for a number of years. We know the best results come from putting the best people together. Inside, outside–there is an upside to no side. Surely, someone, somewhere, sometime, said that.