Recent Documentary Articles

A Breathtaking BTS Look at Clark Little's Shorebreak Photography

Clark Little captures the unique beauty inside of and looking through powerful Hawaiian shorebreak waves. In 2007 he told his wife not to bother buying a picture of the local shorebreak she brought home. He instead went out to create one himself. Being a surfer, he was already confident getting out in the thick of it.

William Albert Allard Talks About the Making of His Iconic Photo

thinkTank's ongoing series, "About A Photo," is a tremendous peek into the process of some amazing photographers. The series has the featured photographer narrate the story of one of their images. In this episode, William Albert Allard speaks about his photograph of a cowboy named Stan and why he doesn't take a photo of someone - but into them.

A Tribute to Discomfort Tells the Inspiring Story of National Geographic Photographer Cory Richards

In a short film created by media group Blue Chalk, photographer Cory Richards discusses his growth as a photographer and his experiences shooting in some of the most beautiful-and dangerous-places on earth. Essentially homeless after dropping out of high school at 14, Richards credits the observance of the "richness that comes with struggle" for his initial education as a visual storyteller.

You Can Help a Homeless Former Photographer Get Another Chance at Life

Benjamin Lowy, a photographer represented by Reportage by Getty Images, met Scott Sutton, a man panhandling, outside the Union Square movie theater in New York last November. Scott was holding a sign that read "Give selflessly and you will reap endlessly," and Benjamin walked over.

National Geographic Live! Revisits the Ansel Adams Wilderness

In this episode of National Geographic Live! Peter Essick talks about the journey of creating his new book, The Ansel Adams Wilderness, and what it's like to pay tribute to (and follow in the tripod holes of) perhaps the greatest nature photographer to walk the planet. The work interprets the influence of Adams' work for a digital age, capturing the Sierra Nevada wilderness in a manner that can only be described as timeless.

Documentary Features Photographers Shooting with the Lytro Illum

Last month, Lytro announced their second generation light field camera they call Illum. The Illum system is clearly geared at serious amateur and professional photographers interested in experimenting with variable focus photography. This new mini-documentary features photographers using the Illum system, the technology behind it, and their creative process.

Bentley's New Ad Is Shot with the iPhone 5s - Seriously!

Intelligent Details is the new ad / documentary that Bentley Motors commissioned. It was filmed throughout New York and highlights what inspires Luc Donckerwolke, Bentley's Director of Design, and SangYup Lee, Head of Exterior Design. At around the 3:16 mark, you'll be treated to a behind-the-scenes look at how the film was created. Their YouTube channel explains, "Intelligent Details was filmed, assembled and edited using the in-car connectivity and entertainment platform."

Peter Hurley Tells The Story Of How He Became a Pro Photographer

Anyone who reads Fstoppers knows about Peter Hurley and his successful headshot business. Aside from being a great photographer, Peter is also a respected educator and speaker. We always see him in action in the different videos, and see his working techniques and creative direction, but we never really had the chance to hear the story of how he became the successful photographer he is today. Check out this very interesting video where Peter talks about how he went from being on the Olympic team, to being a headshot photographer.

Fstoppers Exclusive - On Location With Dan Holdsworth and Audemars Piguet (BTS and Interview)

When you combine an amazing landscape photographer, a stunningly beautiful location, the brilliance of a strong team of film makers and a luxury brand that is synonymous with craftsmanship and excellence, magic does indeed happen. Welcome to the ‘Defining Moment’ by Audemars Piguet - and a redefining of what it means to "shoot a “commercial".

BTS: JoeyL on Location in Ethiopia

It's easy to dismiss the amount of difficulty involved in location shoots. A few years ago, Joey Lawrence (JoeyL) shot a personal project of portraits in Ethiopia. Whether traveling by van, boat or Indiana Jones plane, it's great to have the opportunity to see how hard the literal journey was on the way to the figurative photographic destination. Just handling the equipment was a pretty substantial undertaking.

What A Timelapse On Acid Looks Like In Alaska's Northern Lights

Aurora Borealis actually means dawn of the north, and can best be seen during peak winter months around the magnetic North Pole. The peak season of this spectacular event happens once every 11 years with the last peak season being the winter of 2013. If you are like me and were unable to witness this in person, check out this pretty beautiful timelapse from Alexis Coram that can only be described as light version of a Hunter S. Thompson dream.

Beautifully Shot Profile Video Of Wildlife Photographer Asgeir Helgestad

"It is not about getting as close as possible, but to capture the feeling of being there. I don't want to just look into their world, I want to be a part of it." Asgeir Helgestad is a photographer from Norway whose wildlife imagery seems to step inside the world of the animal. In this short video, Asegir explains why he chose this pursuit, and what he hopes to convey with his work. Worth the watch in HD and fullscreen.

Martin Schoeller Shoots in the Brazilian Rainforest for Nat Geo

In this episode of National Geographic Live! Martin Schoeller travels to a very remote part of the Brazilian Amazon, deep inside the largest section of protected rainforest in the world. Schoeller photographs the Kayapo tribe as they are traditionally as well as documents how they are coping with the changes that have been brought on by the modern world. He applies both a photojournalistic approach to the story as well as his more-known style of lit portraits, and both are pretty stunning.

14 Years In Just Four Minutes:  Whole Life Of a Teen In One Timelapse

Many photographers try to take on cool on-going photography-related projects, and many break in just few days or weeks. You know what i'm talking about - 365 projects or 1 Second Everyday kind of projects. Dutch filmmaker Frans Hofmeester, took on one of these projects and took it to the extreme. He filmed his newborn daughter every week from the day she was born all the way until she celebrated her 14th birthday.

Cinematic Industrial Video Shows How Kessler Products Are Made

Cinescapes Collective is a Saskatchewan, Canada based production group that has been putting together unique documentary content that has a dramatic and cinematic aesthetic. Their most recent short tells the story of Kessler, the creators of popular video production gear like sliders, cranes, and now motion control products.

Amy Toensing Photographs the Oldest Culture on Earth

At 60,000 years old, the Australian Aboriginal culture is the oldest, longest-running culture on Earth. Amy Toensing photographed them for National Geographic, lending her intimately deep sense of storytelling to the sad and tragic history of their culture and the bond they share with their land.

Fstoppers Exclusive Interview With Peter Menzel's New Project: Waste in Focus

Peter Menzel is an award winning photojournalist whose work has appeared in many national and international publications such as: National Geographic, Time, Wired, Geo, Stern, Paris Match, Life, Le Figaro and Forbes. Today his new project: Waste in Focus. A documentary project that profiles eight families in four different cities with one weeks worth of trash.

Mary Ellen Mark To Receive “Outstanding Contribution To Photography” Award

Mary Ellen Mark is one of the world’s greatest and most influential documentary photographers. Next month, 65 years after she took her first photograph, she will be the recipient of the Sony World Photography “Outstanding Contribution to Photography” 2014 Award. What is it that earns a photographer such an esteemed accolade? Let's take a brief look at her work to find out.

Time-Lapse From L.A to San Francisco | What Google Maps Should Add

Five minutes into a trip up the Pacific Coast Highway and I hastily decided to rig up a camera to take 4,218 shots. I set up my tripod, threw on the camera, and programed my remote shutter release to take a frame every 6 seconds for about 12 hours. I don't know about you, but if I were in charge over there at Google Maps I would create Google Time-lapse and map the world in a walking/driving time-lapse that could be sped up or down from real time to real real fast. You're welcome!

Platon & Putin: The Story Behind the Image

In 2007, world-famous portrait photographer, Platon shot what he later described as one of the scariest assignments of his life. He was to photograph Time Magazine's person of the year: Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Recently, CNN shared the story behind the image in a rare interview with the photographer.

GoPro Mounted On Syrian Tanks Record Interesting and Terrifying Videos

This is not an educational piece or a product review. This is also not a post showing the creative and artistic work done by people in the industry. It is just a post about a very unique use of the GoPro camera. While it is not creative, artistic or educational, it is very important to watch this video. It shows us what news cameras will never be able to show: the real POV of the war in Syria.

What Makes Steve McCurry Tick?

I'm always fascinated by what makes the best photographers think they way they do. What shapes their ways of seeing? In the current climate of photography, it's easy to get lost in everything technical. We can often lose sight of the most important thing about photography...why we photograph. In this video from Steve McCurry's Youtube channel, we get a glimpse at what goes on in the master mind of perhaps the world's greatest living photographer.

Nat Geo Live! Alison Wright: Portraits of the Human Spirit

Alison Wright is a tremendous inspiration as a photographer and a human being. In this always fantastic episode of National Geographic Live! we are shown just some of her adventures and a glimpse of her unrelenting fearlessness. After almost being killed in a bus crash in Laos in 2000, she persevered though a recovery process where she was told she would have trouble with mobility and never work as a photographer again. Two years later, she climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.

The Picture Project- London by Night

Matt Davey, a music photographer based in Essex, and iPhonographer Dilshad Corleone take to the streets of London and go on a fun journey of self-discovery and in the process create a collaborative project of creative individuals using the power of photography. I caught up with Matt and he broke down the project and the great experiences that he gained from collaborating with his fellow colleagues.

Photographer Chris Rainier Tells the Inspiring Stories of His World Travels

In this fantastic video from National Geographic Live!, documentary photography Chris Rainier talks about his adventures around the world, the myriad cultures he's encountered and the power of photography to translate an emotional response to the art that exists all around us. Rainer began his career as the last assistant to Ansel Adams - a position he doesn't take lightly and one that helpe define is way of seeing.

Behind the Scenes: Garry Winogrand at Work on the Street

Garry Winogrand is considered by some to be one of the top American photographers of his, or any generation. His books "The Animals" and "Public Relations" are classics, and the number of rolls of film he took over his short life are staggering. When he died he left behind 9,000 rolls of developed and undeveloped film. I can't even imagine the costs involved in processing and scanning those negatives.

Steve McCurry Shoots the Last Roll of Kodachrome Film

"All good things must come to an end." It's a common theme throughout this special by National Geographic in which we follow Steve McCurry on his quest of shooting the last roll of Kodak Kodachrome film ever made. It's a pretty daunting and heavy assignment to be sure - one McCurry is no stranger to. That fact is even more apparent when we learn that it was McCurry who asked for the final roll.

What Does This Video Mean For The Future of Photojournalism?

Over the last two days, Kiev, Ukraine has seen its worst violence since the Soviet era, with the death toll now at 75. Fighting between police and protesters escalated when protesters used Molotov cocktails and lit several fires in the city square. This video - shot on a drone - shows the epic devastation from above, and I believe this may mark a very significant turning point in photojournalism. Has the public's desire for the theatrical become too large a part of journalism?