Not quite in full effect just yet but out of the blue it appears that Vimeo is slowly implementing 4K streaming capability. It is a feature which has been hinted at and many have been waiting for. Philip Bloom and James Miller break it down.
Fred Mortagne, or French Fred, is a skateboarder, photographer, and filmmaker living in France. His images have taken skateboard photography to a place where the line between fine art, portraiture and action sports have beautifully dissolved into amazing works of art. As someone who shares a lot of the same passion for actions sports and black and white photography, I decided to get in touch with Fred to ask him a few questions about his work.
Last week saw the release of ‘Anomaly’, a film that is redefining the approach and model for independent, narrative film making. Co-Director Salomon Ligthelm outlines how he managed the project as it grew from “a 2 minute art film” into the astonishing 38 minute-long final masterpiece, and provides key takeaways for all of us that we can apply to our own stills or motion projects. If you have any interest in what's coming over the horizon for cutting edge, independent, visual media production, this is for you.
For the last 2 years I've made my living shooting architecture with DSLRs, mostly short videos of California's fanciest multifamily apartment communities. When my client Synergy Corporate Housing asked me to continue that mission with all of their international properties in 10 major cities across 8 European countries, the first thing I thought when I saw the 32-day itinerary was, "bring a Hasselblad."
Whether or not you knew it, you have most likely viewed a short film by Adam Pesapane, better known as PES. The director and animator has released several immensely popular stop-motion shorts, directed numerous commercials for major companies such as PlayStation, Scrabble, and Bacardi, and has even been nominated for an Academy Award. Along with the release of his newest short, "Submarine Sandwich," PES and Nikon Cinema have teamed up to bring you a rather comprehensive behind-the-scenes look into the process that goes into the making of PES’ films.
For many of us who have been photographers for a decade plus, we learned about the history of photography either through tattered books from the library, in school while earning a fine art degree, or just by picking up small tidbits here and there as we met other photographers. Thankfully, that has all changed now. With much appreciation to the George Eastman House, we can now find a wealth of fascinating information about the traveled photographic process online.
These days it's hard to come by a fashion shoot that's not shot with a digital camera. That's why when Fstoppers discovered on a Facebook Film Shooters group that Indonesian based photographers Wirawan Sanjaya and partner Gaillard Mathieu had convinced the editors at Bazaar Magazine to allow him to shoot the entire editorial on film, we just had to reach out! The stakes were high, but his results were stunning.
Growing up, I have been entranced by Jackie Chan films for their insane stunts, beautifully choreographed action sequences and hilarious physical comedy. His action scenes are both visually stunning and involving, playing underdog characters fighting against impossible odds. Chan’s dedication to his craft is unquestionable but perhaps he has not been given enough credit as an action director. In this video, filmmaker Tony Zhou breaks down the framing and editing techniques that Hong Kong directors use to create engaging fighting scenes, highlighting how many of these techniques are absent in Hollywood films of today. If you are interested in becoming a filmmaker, you need to watch this.
As part of Universal’s 100th anniversary, a team of restoration experts took on the task of digitally remastering the classic film “Jaws.” The fully restored feature required intense labor from colorists, digital artists, audio engineers, preservation experts, and everyone in between. In this fascinating documentary, we get a look at all the various complex efforts taken in order to bring the ‘70s blockbuster in to the digital age.
I’ve just read a comment from a photographer who said it’s time to stop shooting in black and white. He claimed we don’t see the world in black and white and it was something only done in the past due to the limitations at the time and it’s time to move on. Here’s a number of reasons why I think it’s critical to shoot black and white from time to time, and how it can help nurture your photographic eye.
For a while, things looked pretty bleak for the instant-film-loving community. Films that were once mainstays of the film shooter's arsenal (like Fuji FP-3000B) were discontinued and instant camera equipment production slowed to a crawl. Fortunately for us though, like other formats and kinds of film, instant film photography is seeing an unprecedented resurgence (both in niche, hard core film communities and popular culture). This guide is for you, the digital film guy, who's been sitting on the fence and wants to see what all the buzz is about. In this article I teamed up with two of the coolest instant-film-shooting photographers today, Robert Timko and Sandy Phimester.
If you’re interested in getting big budget looks in your low budget indie film, then you should be very familiar with the Shanks FX channel on YouTube. If you’re not, you should get acquainted with it… like now! Joe Schenkenberg aka Joey Shanks is the man with the know-how when it comes to creating Hollywood effects out of simple household items. He teamed up with PBS Digital Studios to bring you quality behind-the-scenes content online and has recently partnered with Red Giant to explain how he created a black hole effect very similar looking to the one in the recent movie Interstellar – all captured in-camera.
A teacher once told me that filmmakers need to fully utilize the frame within their scenes and move the camera in ways that help drive the story forward; otherwise they're just filming a play. That always stuck with me and it's a point I still take note of in movies. Tony Zhou from Every Frame a Painting does a great job of explaining why the camera frame is so important in comedic cinema along with a slew of other techniques that few people other than Edgar Wright are making use of in today's comedies. This is eight minutes of insight you're not going to want to miss!
Anyone who shoots film (either stills or motion) knows the frustration of an ever-shrinking pool of available equipment. Finding a quality, tested and working 8mm system can be particularly difficult. Danish father/son company Logmar Camera Solutions, founded in 2009 in Aalborge, DE has the dream of reviving and reinventing the 8mm movie camera. Enter the Logmar Super-8, an 8mm system for the modern world.
Accomplished photographer Richard Mosse has taken an incredibly unique approach to capture both the beauty and tragedy associated with conflict. In his most recent series, Infra, Mosse uses an antiquated film to bring new light to the humanitarian struggle faced by the Congolese people. Currently on display at the Portland Museum of Art as The Enclave, Mosse's newest exhibit features a six screen video instillation in addition to his dramatic Kodak Aerochrome imagery. Capturing the suffering of war between The Congolese National Army and rebel factions in poignant beauty, this exhibit of infrared film leaves an eerie perspective of the overwhelming harshness of war.
I spend a lot of time shooting or walking on the streets of New York. You see every type of camera imaginable here, from the latest and greatest DSLRs to old Rollei’s and film cameras. If you hang around B&H long enough, you’ll probably see Louis Mendes with his old Speed Graphic. But I have never, ever seen anyone shooting with what Justin Borucki is using. This guy might have the most unique camera setup in New York.
It seems as if the film edit is getting more popular every day. A lot of beginner photographers out there will do anything to achieve this look. The easiest way to do that is to buy presets but I want to show you how to create the look yourself. I believe once you understand how to create the look yourself you can begin to find your own style. I know too many photographers that take an image, slap a preset on it, and call it good. All the editing on these images was done in Lightroom 5.
Remember those days when you totally forgot what ISO/ASA film was inside your camera, or when you just had no idea if the photos came out until you went somewhere to get them developed? You know what I'm talking about. The film days. Simple to set up - just pop in the right roll of film, attach it to the gear, close it down and it's ready to shoot. But what happens when you let iPhone-generation kids take photos with 20th century cameras?
If you're looking for a great movie this weekend - and you don't want to fight the crowds to see Interstellar - check out Time Zero, a film about the last days of Polaroid, the people who loved it and the few who set out to save it. It's truly a beautiful documentary that will make you fall in love with instant film all over again.
At the most basic level, photographers seem to be in two camps when it comes to image file types. There are those who care about the look of their images and shoot with big RAW files and those who don’t and use the smaller JPEG files.
RAW files offer a tremendous level of control over noise, tonality and color; a hearty file that can cope with the demands of our creativity.
CineStill released another motion picture film stock to the still photography world today, an ISO 50 film with a daylight white balance.
Using their "Premoval" process to remove the remjet coating on the film allows it to be developed by any C41 lab. With this new low ISO, fine grain, high resolution, ultra-sharp daylight balanced color film you can now shoot with the same coveted emulsion used by Hollywood directors and cinematographers in bright, high contrast daylight with wonderful results!
Through the Ground Glass is a beautiful short film by Taylor Hawkins that features large-format photographer, Joseph Allen Freeman as he — very candidly — talks about the process, frustrations, difficulties, and joys of shooting with large-format film. Even if this type of photography isn't your cup of tea, this video is worth a watch.
Warning: NSFW for language.
If you’ve been wanting to make the jump into large format photography on a budget, the Kickstarter for The Intrepid 4x5 may be your ticket. The Intrepid Camera Co., based in the UK developed a wood platform 4x5 camera. They aim to change the face of the large format photography scene by making it transportable and much more economical.
Even if skiing was never your thing, this video is worth watching. The white snow slopes are the perfect backdrop for color. Add on to that the element of night shooting, and you get absolutely stunning visuals.
Mercedes-Benz – yes, the automobile manufacturer -- has shared a nice video featuring The Impossible Project and their quest to bring instant film back to the marketplace.
As the video explains, six years ago IMPOSSIBLE started with a factory and little else. The company was able to redevelop the necessary processes and materials to produce instant film. They now offer 600-type film, SX-70-type film, and even 8x10 black and white instant sheets.
"Not every famous photograph was taken with a Leica. But they were all taken thanks to Leica."
The German camera brand on Wednesday unveiled this incredible new ad from Brazilian agency F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first Leica camera and the opening of Leica Gallery São Paulo in November. The message is conveys is powerful, but is not exactly a humble one.
Mike Drew is a Calgary-based photojournalist who's worked for the publications such as the Calgary Sun and the Toronto Star since 1978. Recently, Mike was challenged by the guys at TheCameraStoreTV to try and shoot film for a day while working as a photojournalist to see if it was still a viable option for the type of work he does.
I get asked day in an day out; "What is that big black box on the front of your lens?" Well, it's a matte box that mounts glass filters in front of your lens... the LEE Filters System. In attempt to cover the question I recieve so often, I wanted to address it all and explain the system, but my friend and fantastic photographer Dave Kai Piper beat me to the punch! So, instead of writing my own article on the matter, I thought it best to simply share his article...
Anna Mia Davidson has been shooting and documenting sustainable farmers in the Pacific Northwest for the past seven years. The USA Television Network and Aperture collaborated for a campaign called, “The Character of America,” which commissioned nine photographers to document the positive aspects of America. Anna was one of those commissioned to further her personal project under that campaign. She also gained further funding from Fotodocument to be able to complete the project.
Let's face it, smartphone cameras are getting better and better with every release. Mobile photo editing software is getting better too, and with the rise in popularity of Instagram over the last four years, sharing vintage-looking photographs have become quite the trend. Online content studio Rubber Republic produced the #PictureBelfast campaign for Tourism Ireland featuring fashion and lifestyle blogger Donna Ross going head to head with Belfast based photographer Andrew Rankin. Their challenge was to take photographs showing off the best of Belfast – half with a smartphone and half shot on film – where Internet users would try to guess which method for each image was utilized.
I’ve seen the future of film... and it is bright. In the next few weeks I will be interviewing companies that are pushing the film photography industry forward. As the large film companies cut film stocks from production, these people are pushing forward. Developing new films, cameras, products, and services. This week, I start with CineStill.
The old photographers’ saying, “It’s not the camera, it’s the photographer” sounds like a self-serving flattery when it comes out of the mouth of a photographer, yet has never been more accurate than today. Its ironic how, as a professional photographer, I posses the knowledge of manipulating the most sophisticated gear and cameras available, yet when I shoot an image on the iPhone the resulting image is an embarrassment. Rushing to my defense I’ll utter each time, “I’m a terrible iPhone photographer…” So when I see amazing images, shot with the iPhone, I’m impressed with what can be achieved.
Leica is on track to have the most impressive set of announcements for Photokina. This morning they released the Leica M-A (Type 127), a beautiful, fully mechanical, 35mm rangefinder camera.
They guys over at CineStill have released CineStill bwXX (double-x) in a limited run of 2000 rolls. They are available as of last week so you’d better get over there before it’s gone. The film is a high speed, classic black & white film emulsion, with an EI of 250 under daylight and 200 under tungsten lighting. It can also be pushed up to 1600 with some developers.
