If you thought Jasper James’s City Silhouettes were crazy wait until you see Ira Fox’s Puddle Portraits. Using the natural reflections caused by rain puddles, Ira has captured the world in an interesting yet pyschodelic way. The results are one of a kind, and it just goes to show how thinking outside the box can pay off in a big way! [Full Post]
A few days ago we showed you what it’s like to be a Sport Illustrated Editor. The NFL Conference Championship games are about kick off in a few hours so it seems fitting to bring you San Francisco 49ers team photographer Michael Zagaris as he talks about capturing the two key plays of the ’9ers Division Championship game. Enjoy!
The filmmakers at Louder Than 11 shot this documentary in Yosemite Valley and have made it freely available for anyone. While most of this visually-rich film shows bouldering, it’s all about the stories of the climbers, including the filmmakers themselves, who talk about balancing their passions for climbing and filmmaking. This has arguably some of the best graphics and editing I’ve seen in a rock climbing video. Shot on an AF100.
Ok, obviously it’s not that hard to guess what Photographer Todd Sanchioni used as his subject in these images. Ten years ago, his Covered Car series started out as nothing but later turned into something he couldn’t avoid noticing; covered vehicles were everywhere. Click the full post to see more of his images.
Mike Schreiber is not your average photographer. The renowned hip hop photog shoots natural light, has never assisted, and doesn’t give a crap about your fancy digital camera. This badass photographer has shot for Vibe, Spin, Atlantic Records, The Source, XXL, and URB, and his portfolio is filled with incredible images of Erkyah Badu, John Legend, Mos Def, Diddy, MIA, and Nas. Not enough? Schreiber recently released his first book, True Hip Hop.
I knew it was going to be a good interview when hip hop photographer Mike Schreiber’s e-mail signed off with the words “Find food. Mate. Don’t get eaten.” Check out our interview, where Schreiber talks about getting the shot, getting to the top, and keeping it real in the digital age.
Last time, photographer Jay P Morgan gave us tips on the best way to use a reflector. This time he shows us how he combined a Hensel 1200w Porty Pack with a beauty dish attached and the photoflex 5 in 1 reflectors. Click the full post to see the behind the scenes video.
Check out this beautifully shot video made by Corey Rich of Lake Tahoe, CA. The video shows off not only the incredible capabilities of the Nikon D4 (be sure to watch it in HD and full screen), but also offers inspiring footage of three athletes in action: Alex Honnold, a free-solo climber, Dane Jackson, kayaker, and Rebecca Rusch, an ultra-endurance athlete. The final product combines both time lapse footage and video footage, which according to Corey was recorded directly to CF, and all of the interview audio came directly off the camera. Now that I mention it, you might want to grab your headphones while you watch this video.
This video is a couple years old now but it’s the first time I’ve seen it. One part Geico caveman, two parts Macgyver, Bryan Peterson shows how easy it can be to create a simple yet eye catching stock photo. Using nothing more than a Nikkor 200mm Macro Lens, some sparkling water, a glass, a lemon, and some old Christmas wrapping paper, Bryan shows you how easy a product shot can be if you just focus on the composition and some easy reflector lighting. What shocked me even more than this DIY photoshoot next to an interstate setup was the realization that someone gave me his super popular book Understanding Exposure as a gift years ago and it’s here on my bookshelf. His tips make photography look so easy, even a caveman can do it!
If you are like me, then you might have jumped straight into studio lighting without paying much attention to manipulating natural light. If that is the case, now is a great time to play around with reflectors outside especially since the sun is lower on the horizon this time of year. Jay P Morgan heads to the ultimate graveyard with the lovely Liz Hernandez to show just how effective reflectors can be in place of strobes.
Jay is using a few of the Photoflex 5 in 1 Reflectors in various sizes to manipulate not only the size of the reflected light but also the color. Unlike when using strobes, when using a reflector you really need to pay attention to where the sun is shining so you can maximize the amount of fill light bouncing back into your subject (backlighting your subject is a good starting point). The other major selling point of using a reflector over a strobe not mentioned in this video is your ability to shoot wide open at 1.4 or 2.8 for shallow depth of field. Unless you are using something like the Pocket Wizard Flex System, strobing outside is usually going to force you into the > f8 category which destroys the wide open aperture look. Hope this helps those who haven’t used reflectors as much and good luck shooting!
Inspired by Google’s street view, Honda Civic is launching their 2012 campaign by creating an interactive 360 degree online experience that will let viewers explore unique environments that have never been seen before. This behind the scenes video is just a peek at what is to come and so far it is pretty awesome. They have filmed areas like the previously unexplored Alaskan ice caves and an underwater art museum in Cancun, and the Boneyard at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas. Watch the preview and making of Honda’s upcoming campaign below.
A while back we featured a behind the scenes video on the making of the 2011 Pirelli Calendar and people enjoyed commenting on it (especially Karl Lagerfeld’s crazy gloves). If you aren’t familiar with the Pirelli calendar, it’s basically a glamour nude calendar that is only released to VIPs and Pirelli customers. Even though the calendar is not for sale, it has become an icon in the fine art world. A few days ago this BTS video on the making of the 2012 calendar was released and it’s pretty interesting at well. It features photographer Mario Sorrenti as he and his crew scout out locations throughout Corsica in pursuit of the perfect light for each nude image. There are two video versions available below each having a slightly different perspective. While I wouldn’t consider this pornography, this video is definitely NSFW so you might want to revisit this later. [more]
We first featured film maker and timelapse master Tom Lowe almost 2 years ago. This week he released another mind blowing trailer for his documentary TimeScapes (pre order your copy here). Tom’s vision was to give viewers a modern look at the American Midwest in all of its glory, and it to say it’s glorious is an understatement! Shot primarily on Canon 5d MKIIs and RED Epics (with some of the best cine lenses available), TimeScapes has to be the best timelapse videos I’ve ever seen. This project has taken Tom over 2 years to film so you know the final release is going to be great to watch especially in ultra HD. Head over to Tom’s Vimeo page for more details on how this was shot, and also check out our original post to see some BTS on how Tom creates these breathtaking images.
These days it’s not surprising to find out that most of what you see in a movie or commercial is completely green screened or created with CGI. So I was pleasantly shocked when I saw the behind the scenes video for the outdoor clothing company Quechua’s latest advertisement. The slow motion footage of wild animals interacting with hikers and campers is nothing sort of amazing. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this video as much as I did. Click the full post to watch the final video. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Sometimes we need to be reminded that we have all of the tools we need to create the projects that we envision. It’s easy to just think “if I only had that new camera I could finally take the type of pictures I want to.” or “If I could just afford the new Red Scarlet I could finally produce that video concept I’ve been thinking about.” I can tell you from experience that you have access to everything you need right now. Stop thinking so much and take the cell phone out of your pocket and do it.
A week ago today, a friend of mine introduced me to environmental art photographer Jack Gescheidt. Minutes after talking with Jack about his Tree Spirit Project I knew I had to share his work with the Fstoppers community. Jack’s photographs are unlike anything I’ve ever seen; yet even while they appear rather innocent, they still somehow strike up a bit of controversy. In a nutshell, the Tree Spirit Project is as much about bringing attention to ecological injustice as much as it is about evoking an almost spiritual experience for Jack and those posing in the photographs (yes he has posed in his own images). By allowing both groups and individuals to pose naked on and around trees that are involved in political and ecological debate, Jack has not only found a way to create amazing art but also unite communities together who value their natural surroundings. Recently Jack was in Charleston, South Carolina where he caused a huge media frenzy as he posed more than a dozen people naked around the Angel Oak (claimed to be the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi). Check out Jack Gescheidt’s story below and click the full post to see a few images of his work. NOTE: while Jack’s work doesn’t always contain full frontal nudity, it still might be Not Safe For Work. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did and click here for many more photos of Jack’s amazing work.
