Recent Videography Articles

The ARGUS-IS, a 1.8 Gigapixel Spycam

Welcome to the future. The video posted is a look into the ARGUS-IS, a spy camera used in UAV's capable of capturing movement in an area of 15 miles. The information this camera is capable of seeing is both fascinating and scary. On one hand, its a modern marvel, capable of capturing the movement of an entire small city. On the other hand, its a big brother camera capable of capturing the movement of an entire small city.

Pure Ingenuity Leads to Affordable 8x10 Large Format Video Capture

I'm no cinematographer. I mean I dabble, like a lot of still shooters do, but I wouldn't put myself under the category of video expert by any means. That being said, I do know what I like and what I think looks good. What I've always really liked is the depth and feel of large format in still photography and, now finally, in video. You don't need to spend a $100,000-plus to do it either. See for yourself how Zev Hoover from Massachusetts accomplished it.

Urban Hippie Is A Must See Fashion-Short That Is Full Of Life And Energy

Urban Hippie is an award winning fashion-short film that is also a Vimeo staff pick. I was immediately engaged by the visuals that depict a girl's journey into her imagination. There is so much energy and life in the video that it's a must watch. The way each moment was shot was meticulous and every frame could be a photograph of its own. It recent won the the best experimental film at the LA Cinema Festival and the best visual effects award at the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival.

Talking Street Photography with Travis Jensen [NSFW, Language]

Travis Jensen is easily one of my favorite street photographers. He moved to San Francisco almost 20 years ago with a duffel, a skateboard, and a little cash, and has been beating the pavement ever since. In this video, Jensen talks about street photography, his method of shooting, what makes him tick as a photographer, and gives some advice to people trying to make a go of it themselves.

Hands On with the DJI Inspire Quadcopter, Capturing 4K Aerial Video

With budget options for aerial video becoming more affordable, while the quality and abilities of the cameras they host getting better, I knew it was only a matter or time until I got my hands on such a system. Even though I was a little skeptical from the onset, I’m pleased to say that the DJI Inspire is a phenomenal drone/quadcopter unit for adding dramatic footage to video or still projects, even for first time users.

The Beauty and Wonder of Iceland's Northern Lights Like Never Experienced Before

Michigan-based photographer Vincent Brady spent five weeks in Iceland living out the back of a rental car to capture the ethereal footage found in his latest 360-degree time-lapse project “Aurora Panoramas Acoustic Borealis.” The video depicts Iceland in its full fantastic glory, with brightly colored auroras floating above fairytale landscapes. Set to an original mellow acoustic tune by long-time friend Brandon McCoy, this video makes for the perfect 4-minute weekend getaway.

Watch This Beautifully Made Star Wars Fan Film: The Force and the Fury

There is a great abundance of Star Wars fan films and honestly I don't like most of them. Some of them have too fake fight scenes, some are too long, and some are way heavier on VFX. Most of the time it's all about showing the result from a "how to make a light saber in Premiere" tutorial. But this short film is different and I liked it.

[Video] Timelapse with Real Time

At first I thought this was just another time lapse video with a few skating shots mixed in. Then I realized the shots really were mixed. Although the combination isn't present in every shot it's a pretty cool effect to watch. Anyone want to guess how he did it?

If you want to take a peek at a little more of Russell Houghten's work, check out is blog

It's Now Possible To Look 20 Years Younger In Video

Foton inc. recently released a video showing off their video retouching skills. As photographers most of us know the time it takes to make someone look younger in a still image but what if you had to do that with video, frame by frame. To do this Foton created a new retouching technique they have named “Age Reduction FX".

Worlds Fastest Camera Shoots at 4.4 Trillion Frames per Second

How fast is your DSLR's frame rate? Does it shoot at 4.4 trillion FPS? Doubtful, but researchers at the University of Tokyo have created a a system they call "sequentially timed all-optical mapping photography" or STAMP for short. Shooting at 450x450 pixels with a record breaking frame rate of 4.4 trillion they are able to tote the worlds fastest camera title.

'INPUT/OUTPUT' Is a Fun New Short That Holds Surprises in Every Frame

They say that the ability to still be surprised is the key to happiness. It's growing knowledge of the world around us that informs our expectations of behaviors of all kinds of entities that in turn ruins the surprise in our lives. It's the reason that we're not interested in our boring childhood toys. And it's the reason that it's so easy to stay glued to shorts like the Vimeo Staff Pick, "INPUT/OUTPUT," which juices our bored minds with just enough excitement and surprise to, at the very least, smile on the inside.

Superman Flies Through Los Angeles With A Gopro

What happens when you combine a GoPro Hero +3, a DJI Phantom II, an actor dressed as Superman, and some clever video editing? How about one awesome simulation of what it must be like to be Superman as he flies through Los Angeles. If you were upset with our recent Phantom 2 Gopro height test last week, you are definitely not going to want to watch this video. Be sure to check out Sam and Niko's behind the scenes video

Making Something Cool When Your Environment Is Boring

Have you ever felt that certain photographers and film makers just get the great shots because they get to go to some super locations? Or because they get commissioned by the top brands to have all the best lighting and equipment? A guy called Brandon Li had almost the same experience. He travels to some amazing locations, but decided to make a short film taking place in his hotel room. He sets himself a challenge to make something interesting from a boring space or location to push his creativity and think about ways to make it in to something more appealing.

Unbelievable Behind-the-Scenes of the Greatest Deconstructed Food Shot

For me, food photography has to be one of the most complex and technical types of photography in the industry. The ability to bring life and attraction to something you need to convince other to eat is pretty impressive. Steve Giralt has done the impossible by creating one of the most outstanding examples of a deconstructed burger I have ever seen.

Photographer Mark Gee Captures An Absolutely Beautiful Real-Time Moonrise At 1300mm

Now here's something I've never seen before. Photographer Mark Gee shot this footage of the moon rising in real time at Mt Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand. The video, shot with a Canon 1d Mark IV, 500mm lens and 2x teleconverter from over 2km away used the extremely long focal length to create an incredibly surreal look, which silhoutted

Panasonic GH5 Firmware Update: Video Galore

When the Panasonic GH5 came out, it was intended to be targeted towards video people. This camera tops out the GH4 by far with its in-body stabilization and variety of frame rates and recording options. However, when the GH5 first came out, it seemed that it still needed a bit of work. Now with the V2.0 firmware upgrade, these problems seem to be solved and this camera has been beefed up pretty good when it comes to video.

Is This the Best Nike Ad Ever?

Frantic sporting action set on an urban backdrop? Check. Inventive, slick production while not taking itself too seriously? Check. Superstar cameos? Check. You’ve guessed it, it’s the latest Nike commercial. But is “Nothing Beats a Londoner” their best ever?

Skate Video "Altered Route" Leaves Me Speechless

Skater Kilian Martin sets new standards in the world of skateboarding. Mb! joined forces with Killian and filmmaker Brett Novak to create his newest video "Kilian Martin: Altered Route". Aside from the fact that Killian does things with a skateboard that I have never seen anyone else do ... ever, Brett captures each trick and angle perfectly. I especially love the way Brett juxtaposed the nostalgic clips from the water park back in it's heyday to it's current ghost-townly state. Enjoy!

Behind The Scenes: Creating The Highest Resolution Photo Ever Taken Of Machu Picchu

Jeff Cremer recently traveled to Machu Picchu with the goal of creating the highest resolution image ever taken of one of the most incredible places on Earth. Using a Gigapan robotic head, Jeff swept a Canon 100-400mm lens back and forth over the scene, taking hundreds of photos, which resulted in one incredible image. He even had a close call with the law,

Samsung Tries to Convince Consumers That Bigger Isn't Better When it Comes to Cameras

Though I appreciate the spirit of this commercial put together by Samsung, I'm not sure I'm fully on board with their test environment (comparing image quality from an LCD or even a tablet isn't really a comparison). However, it does show the kind of people that camera companies are advertising to. Often pros are baffled by some of the products that hit the market. There isn't as much money in appealing to pros, but rather to the often totally ignorant consumer.

Watch Blair Bunting's Ride with the USAF Thunderbirds from Inside the Cockpit

"Here come the G's." Words that might not mean anything to you sitting at your computer, but if you're strapped into the back seat of an F-16, it means remember your breathing training and don't pass out. Blair Bunting, recent addition to the Nikon Ambassadors list, took to the skies with the United Air Force Thunderbirds in part to see if he could sustain 9 G's.

You May Be a Photographer, but Are You an Artist?

New York City born photographer/artist Roger Ballen spent the better part of the last four decades in Johannesburg, South Africa. In that time he has produced a body of work that has been described as a fictionalized visual dialogued between individuals, their architectural space, found objects, and domesticated animals. His approach has been hailed as among the most unusual and exciting developments in contemporary photography.

Check Out This Video Tour of a Stunning Concert Hall Using Drones

The Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany is one of the world's most advanced concert halls and is an absolute sight to behold. To commemorate its opening and showcase its grandeur, this video tour was created, which used drones to provide some unique views of the hall.

Shooting Action With Chris Garrison Using Hypersync

Just the other day a buddy introduced me to hypersync via this video from PocketWizard featuring Chris Garrison. Hypersync is technology in PocketWizard FlexTT5's and MiniTT1's which enables you to sync your camera with big studio strobes at speeds up to 1/8000 with certain setups. PocketWizard has more information on hypersync over at their site. This video is pretty long (over an hour) but Chris walks you through several of his setups as well as talks about how he got his career to where it is now.

How Do You Determine A Fair Price For Licensing Your Videos And Photos?

Figuring out a fair rate for providing photography or video services can be a slippery slope, filled with pitfalls if you happen to price yourself incorrectly. But what's more complicated than setting a rate for services is how to approach setting a rate for someone who wants to license a piece of work you've already created. In this post I'll share my insight on the factors I look at, and my rationale for determining a fair fee for video and photo licensing.

A Haunting but Gorgeous View of Chernobyl by Filmmaker Christiaan Welzel: Beautiful Ghost

Christiaan Welzel and his wife Kseniya have trekked across the world adventuring for the majority of the last eight years. They decided to start exploring places that were extremely hard to get to like Antarctica or various ghost towns, but they finally decided on traveling to Ukraine where Kseniya is from. It was in April of last year, days before the 27th anniversary of the nuclear disaster, when months of preparations finally came to fruition and they headed off to Chernobyl.