Documentary

Interviewing interesting people can be an awesome experience that when done right, will provide impactful insight to your next video project. When done wrong however, you may find yourself asking the client for a do-over or spending hours in the editing room cleaning up mistakes.

Lukasz Palka, a Polish travel photographer currently residing in Tokyo, embarked on a photo series aiming to document the more intricate details of such a gigantic metropolis. We chatted with him to find out more about his thought process throughout the project.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has long warned tourists of “arrest and long-term detention.” Despite the threat, around 100,000 people visit the hermit kingdom annually. In 2016, Photographer Raphael Olivier was one of those people. Here we showcase some of his most surreal photos from the trip.

The trailer has me excited. Passionate artists opening up and taking the time to share their work with us. Five photographers, Keith Carter, Graciela Iturbide, David Brookover, Lourdes Grobet, and Pedro Meyer are interviewed, and the amazing part about it is that the whole series was funded by the photographic community. Ted Forbes is theman behind The Art Of Photography YouTube channel, and this video is shared by him. I'm not sure what role he played in it, but I believe it will be significant, as it's one of the good channels to watch for us photographers.

Photography is one of the most powerful tools used in influencing and changing perspectives. All across social media are images that move the emotion range from tugging at heartstrings to enraging the senses. So when one photographer needed to convey the message of the threats to ocean life she turned to photography.

Perhaps no single photo is more symbolic of America’s troubles during the Great Depression than Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother.” Depicting an itinerant farm worker, Florence Owens Thompson, and five of her children apparently in the grips of despair on the side of the road, this single image came to surmise an entire era.

Think about some great leaders that you know. Are they kind of an a-hole? Film Director Max Joseph noticed a trend in the industry where it seemed as though the more abrasive and cutthroat someone was, the more successful leader they were. After his own experiences directing a film, he decided to explore this topic and produced an entertaining and insightful documentary about what it takes to get to the top. If you've ever directed a film, video, or photoshoot, there are quite a few nuggets of inspiration in this short that might help you to become a better leader yourself on your next project. Warning, some language is NSFW.

I was hired to shoot graduation photos for a client recently, a particular job that certain photographers may be at odds with accepting. Simply put, it’s one of those gigs that can be hard to get motivated for if it isn’t your style. As a working photographer however we must all make decisions with our career and in my case, work is work regardless of the genre. So how can you take something as simple as a graduation shoot and turn it into an experience? Here are a few tips.

As with every new product, Canon sponsors a number of projects to show the capabilities of their upcoming C200 cinema camera. Indeed, it has great features at its price level, but what is a great camera without a good example how it was used? The perfect film marriage is between a beautiful story, captivating visuals, and audio that ties it altogether. I think we have them all here, including a glimpse of how it was done behind the scenes.

I recently travelled to the local racetrack with my brother for an open track day and decided that while he was out riding, I would try to make a few portraits of the other attending riders. I spent plenty of time ahead of the trip planning lighting, gear, locations, and more. This is a step by step walkthrough of how I created this series of portraits.

Photography, since its inception, has always been used as a tool to document a moment in time that the photographer believes has value. From modern history's defining moments, like World War II or the speeches of Martin Luther King, to seemingly mundane family moments, photography has captured billions of such moments in human history that may never repeat. Recently, Gareth Smit produced a short film on three young documentary photographers from New York City.

When President Trump announced he would be skipping the White House Correspondents' Dinner to speak in Harrisburg, Pa., right in my backyard and on day 100 of his presidency, it was like the stars aligned. Among many avenues, I’m a stringer for a Harrisburg news journal, photographing politics and business news. Immediately after hearing the news at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night I applied for credentials and the wait began. A week later, on day 99 of the Trump Presidency, it was starting to look like I would be watching from my couch. With just 24 hours to spare, I got the green light. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to photograph President Trump from a local photojournalist’s perspective.

If you were old enough to remember the horrible scenes of the Los Angeles riots of 1992, the memory probably most burned into your mind is the ruthless beating of truck driver Reginald Denny. This last weekend marked the 25th anniversary of one of the ugliest domestic events in American history. Over the course of six days, 58 people died, 2,000 people were seriously injured, and over 11,000 citizens were arrested. The man responsible for capturing the most graphic video of the epicenter, Timothy Goldman, happened to be at the wrong place at the right time, and the story of how it all unfolded is pretty interesting.

A war photographer managed to capture the final second of her life by photographing the moment a mortar bomb accidentally exploded.

Andrew Saladino, from The Royal Ocean Film Society, makes a serious point in his telling video essay. How were so many films lost, and who are the people working to bring movies back to life?

Can photography be more than just work? Can it be a calling? How do you know? And what if that calling coincides with a transformational period in world history and you are called upon to document every move? Lauren Greenfield’s new exhibition and book, “Generation Wealth” is a time capsule a quarter century in the making.

It's been 9 years since Australian photographer Alexander Khimushin left home to travel the world, and he's since been to over 80 countries. While many travelers prefer short-term sightseeing tours, Khimushin is a firm believer that off the beaten path is the only way of traveling. Meeting indigenous people all over the world was the most inspiring part of his journey. This realization led to a personal project called, "The World in Faces," which he started around three years ago.

Masses gathered around the country to march in support together for women's rights. While each had their own unique story, most of what was heard was from adults in response to the new administration. One photographer wanted to go back to the youth of our nation to see how young girls and boys felt about these current issues to get to the root of the innocent take on the rights at hand.

In the lead image above can anyone mention who was inspired by Gaudi's rooftop sculptures in Hollywood? For first time travelers to Barcelona these are my five favorites photo spots. I am expecting many readers to add their best spots that are not on this list. Please make sure to Google pin your exact locations in your comments. Much like my recent post on Tokyo I would love to see lots of sharing especially less popular locations.

Today, B&H began a new web series, "Women of Influence," featuring women who are accomplished photographers and filmmakers, featuring interviews that explore their stories and feature their brilliant work.

Wildlife films have dramatically improved over the last few years. We can now use image stabilization and smaller camera rigs to get closer and make the visual experience more cinematic. These techniques are perfected by the wildlife film producers and help create stories to show the world like we've never seen it before.

In honor of Black History Month, Time Magazine has decided to honor 12 up-and-coming African-American artists. Hailing from across the country and across the creative spectrum, these artists put the word "diversity" into focus.

If you're trying to gain an edge in a competitive market, getting inspiration from places you might not normally look could really help. This new documentary series will expose you to some of the world's most creative minds in fields you may have never considered. As an added bonus, one of the episodes features famous photographer, Platon, and is worth a watch just for that alone.

How did technology make "Planet Earth" so much more cinematic? If we go back to how it was done back in the day and compare it to the technology we have today, it's quite a leap. Back in the day 35mm was the broadcast standard. The 35mm cameras were bulky and heavy, they were perfect for studio and not for the shots that they needed. In the filming circles and the BBC insiders saw 16mm film as being for amateurs. But, thanks to David Attenborough first taking his 16mm camera out to shoot abroad and coming back with footage of animals never filmed before, it changed opinions. This made the program that later became one of the best wildlife documentaries of all time.

Last year, my husband and I traveled to Greece. While we were in Athens, we could not avoid crossing paths with the same couple at every sightseeing location we went to. I must have seen the entire wardrobe of the girl during those hours we walked. Her eccentric wardrobe change was not the only thing that caught my attention. It was rather strange to witness an all dressed-up girl posing alone non-stop. To me, it was definitely meant for social media.

This past summer I dove deep into an article on the long time debate: does a photographer's gender alter the way in which he or she photographs a subject. Is there really a difference in how one gender sees the final image, or is it just artistic preference? Two artists decided to test this theory during a creative shootout to see if all the variables stayed the same, would the image turn out differently. Does the gender of the photographer really influence the final image, or simply the approach in which is taken during the shoot?

Balint Alovits is a photographer based in Budapest, Hungary who created a showcase of Bauhaus and Art Deco caracoles. He calls them "Time Machines." He assures me that these stairways really exist and that they aren't computer generated. He found their location online at first, but then developed a special sense, knowing if he saw the ornate front doors or large glass paneling, there was a good chance there was a special stairway inside too.

When doing a documentary-style video production, an interview or series of interviews is often at the heart of the content. Uncontrollable lighting, background noise, and the size of the space you have to work in all play a significant role in capturing a quality testimonial, so location scouting to check on these is an important facet of our production process. In this short video, Joshua Pardon and I explore two rooms at a location and discuss what we look for when making a decision on where to set up for a shoot.

Instagram has always been a tricky one where nudity is concerned; “Free the Nipple” movement, anyone? But Los Angeles-based photographer Magdalena Wosinka has garnered much attention after posing naked in a series of snaps taken across California.

A new upcoming BBC four-part series titled "Spy in the Wild" uses 34 realistic animatronic creatures, equipped with UHD cameras to observe wildlife activity from closer than ever before. The myriad of undercover animals were placed all over our planet, from deserts, to rainforests, as well as the polar regions. With the intention to record real animal emotions, display their similarities with humans, and acknowledge the links between all living things on earth. The topics discussed for each of the four episodes include love, friendships, mischief, and intelligence.