Contributed Videos
How important is your webpage load time to you? This morning while troubleshooting my webpage, I stumbled across this amazing tool. Instead of emailing all your friends to test your page, simply type your address on www.pingdom.com and see the results. It will show in detail what elements and code slowed down your page. Good for troubleshooting load time issues.
Chris Burkard spends his days traveling to some of the planet’s most magnificent beaches, where he navigates all sorts of technical complications in search of the perfect surfing shot. Despite obstacles such as drunk Chilean boat captains, salt water corrosion, and even being thrown in a Russian prison, Burkard continually manages to capture the moment, the beauty of the landscape, and create timeless photographs. The Surfer magazine staff photographer has traveled the globe, won the Red Bull illume photo competition, and released photo book The California Surf Project… and he’s only 25 years old. Fstoppers catches up with the globe-trotting youngster to ask about his gear, craziest stories, and the technical aspects of shooting in the water. Hear Chris talk about his work in the video below, and then read the full FS Spotlight interview.
Hola FS’ers! I would rather not lend this video any kind of explanation and just have you watch it, but I have to write some kind of intro, so here goes. When I first watched this I really wasn’t sure what they were getting at, until the comparisons started coming. Then it became obvious. This is a funny video. I laughed a bit, and then my wife watched it and snorted (sorry honey, they have to know that you snorted). Enjoy!
Photographer Li Wei from Beijing, China is making quite a name for himself with his acrobatic photos and straight up mind-bending group shops. I am not sure what exactly his process is, but what his images may lack in photographic technique he more than makes up for with his content. Check out the full post for some of his work and the links to his site. Enjoy!
Remember when Apple released the new version of its flagship video editing program Final Cut X? If not, you might want a refresher course with Conan O’brien. Basically the backlash was almost unanimous, and it made many of us thankful we chose Adobe’s Premiere as our editing software of choice. Well today there is an upgrade that apparently fixes most of the complaints from FCP X users. [Read More]
We’ve featured slow motion videos before, and this one is right up there with the best in terms of it’s motion rendering. Shooting with a $500 Canon 550D/T2i, Sacha Powell put together this powerful video using Twixtor to slow down some of his shots. It really goes to show that you don’t need the most expensive gear to make amazing visuals. You’ll want to watch this fullscreen.
Entertainment Photographer, Jeremy Cowart, walks us through his new print portfolio and explains his reasoning for image placement and what is meant to catch his client’s eye. I must say, it is quite impressive and there is much to learn here that you can apply to your website’s portfolio as well. Enjoy!
NASA must be training actual photographers to go into space these days, this timelapse of Earth as seen from the International Space Station is proof. This is one of the radest timelapse videos I have seen of Earth and it’s weather. From auroras to electrical storms, this video illustrates just how incredible this planet’s environment can be. Full details in the description on Vimeo. Enjoy!
Cecilia Paredes was born in Lima, Peru, and currently lives and works between San Jose, Costa Rica and Philadelphia. Her “Camouflage” work is a series of self portraits where Paredes paints her own body to blend in with the background. Homegirl does this herself! CiCi def has some talent. Enjoy! Via Feature Shoot
The boys at Brainstorm Digital have put together a great BTS look at how Boardwalk Empire’s special effects come together to bring you the finished product that you end up seeing. It blows my mind when I see things like this, because I have very little knowledge as to how it is done. Enjoy!
Kickstarter is chock-full of incredible new products and ideas, and here is one of my favorites. Kyle Hart of Puyallup, WA has come up with the EZ-Steady, a very affordable stabilization system, that glides an iPhone, GoPro or DSLR through the air with ease. Check out the EZ-Steady video and then head on over to Kyle’s Kickstarter to get your hands on one of these puppies. Enjoy!
Have you ever been shooting with your big boy lights and wished you could shoot with your aperture wide open, but your lights are too bright to allow this? You, my friend, need a Neutral Density Filter. In this video, Mark Wallace breaks down the uses of ND filters and how to use them properly. Enjoy!






