Film Photography

I've always been a big fan of Dave Hill's photography and creative vision. If you're familiar with his earlier commercial work, you probably know him for his progressive digital and composite techniques.

Ryan and Josh Connolly of Film Riot always brings us the coolest do-it-yourself filmmaking and special effects tutorials. In this "rewind" episode (read: old) they show us how to create the killer effect of throwing someone clear across the room.

During the winter months, snowboarders and skiers dream of those big powder days, where a storm leaves the mountain covered in a soft blanket of snow that’s perfect for riding. During the summer months though, mountain bikers have never been able to experience anything that can truly match a mountain that's freshly covered in snow.

If you Google the solar system, you will be shown images of all the planets in our solar system laid out in the order they rotate around the sun. The problem with these images is that each planet's respective distance to the sun is not shown to true scale. This leaves the viewer without a true understanding of just how far away each planet is from another.

Markus Andersen, certainly one of the leading street and fine art photographers in Sydney, Australia, and known globally, has just released pre-orders for his first book – and it looks stunning.

Some photographers like that soft, ethereal feel as they specifically seek out types of plastic to stick in front of the lens, or even go so far as to buy defocus control lenses and LensBabies that will allow them to distort an otherwise true image. That has its value. But this isn’t for that.

Maybe I'm just jaded, but GoPro videos of snowboarders, mountain bikers, parkour runners, and wing suit flying people (to name a few) have just started to get a little old for me.

I have never really been into extreme sport videos ever in my life. The second I see someone decked out in Red Bull apparel, I am immediately turned off. But this video in particular has caught my attention. Everything from the directing, editing, camera operating, and sound design has been formulated perfectly into a four minute YouTube masterpiece. 

Recently, Richmond Virginia-based wedding and portrait photographer Meagan Abell made a stunning find in a thrift-store box of old images. Among the half-century-old family snapshots she uncovered a set of jarringly beautiful transparencies (slide film) and a desire to find the women on them.

Beth Moon is a photographer who specializes in classic black and white imagery. Over the last 14 years she has been traveling the world documenting the oldest and largest trees on the planet. To promote her new book "Ancient Trees: Portraits in Time," Moon has shared this behind-the-scenes video of her platinum printing darkroom process which is pretty interesting to watch.

Sometimes you just need to slow down. Last year, I shot just north of 95,000 digital photographs. That may not seem like a lot to some of you wedding photographers out there, but it was enough to make me take a step back and want something else. How many did I throw away? How many were made without thought or conviction?

With Comic Con in full swing this week we are all waiting patiently for the next big reveal in the world of cinema and sci-fi. Today is that day as we are brought through an outstanding BTS video from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Blasting onto the scene with never before seen footage of Han, Chewbacca, Leia, and many more as they show us what delicate hands of J.J. Abrams we are in.

There are hundreds of 35mm film camera options out there. Everything from cheap drug-store point and shoots to beautiful, bespoke-feeling Leicas, to the Canon AE-1 hipsters wear around their necks with a guitar strap.

While there’s never been a sure fire way to win work and sustain a living as a photographer or film maker, and particularly not today given how much change we are seeing, having your own unique vision can help set you apart from the crowd. Young film maker Paul Trillo has shown time and again how an interesting perspective can separate him and his work from the pack.

If you haven't been keeping up with Casey Neistat's daily vlogs, then you absolutely need to start. They're a great source of creative inspiration, lots of running cut-scenes, and the occasional viral video. In this particular vlog, Neistat tells a story on the importance of not quitting and, while filming, experiences an error with his Canon 70D. You may not believe how he solves it. 

Electrophotography is a medium that was never intended to be used for photography. Electrophotography, later changed to xerography, was originally intended for use as a photocopier. This video follows Tom Carpenter as he uses the electrophotography method to create a portrait.

The era of 360-degree filmmaking is upon us. Google, in collaboration with The Mill and production company Bullitt, has released the 360-degree short film "HELP" for free on Google's mobile storytelling platform Spotlight Stories. The film is full of explosions, aliens, and action all within a beautiful 360-degree world. 

If you have not yet seen "Mad Max: Fury Road," I highly recommend seeing the film in theatres while you still can. The combination of art and action brings a rare addition to the big blockbuster-filled summer.

Film fanatics rejoice because filmmaker Matt Mangham is back with the second installment of Analog, a personal series he put together to find and tell stories which explore the current state of film photography. You can find the first episode here on Fstoppers.

When audiences at the Sundance Film Festival were told that "Tangerine" was filmed entirely on an iPhone 5S, people were not sure if they believed it. It soon became clear that this was a fact, and that mobile videography had reached a new plateau in the film world. 

DJI and some of the film industry's finest set out to produce a short film showcasing the new Ronin-M System. The project featured an A-list actor, seasoned director of photography, and a world-class stuntman turned director. 

Joey Shanks, better known by his YouTube handle Shanks FX, has released another YouTube video based around the idea that Hollywood effects can be achieved by anyone and with only household items. This time he attempts to recreate the legendary Aurora Borealis (or Northern Lights), one of the seven wonders of the world, with just some sheets of fabric and a handful of fans.

Documentary photographers, fashion photographers, businessmen, housewives, househusbands, you, the world – everyone should know the name and works of Sebastião Salgado. His work has moved millions of social workers, doctors, politicians, economists, and photographers alike. His work moves humans because it is human.

Working on a film set is a great way to set yourself apart from other still photographers because everyone is shooting video nowadays. Before you try your hand at shooting a short or some video content, it might be a good idea to get some experience on a large-scale production and learn how the process works from professionals.

Gnarly Bay, the guys who brought you “Rambo Day,” are back with a compelling story aptly titled “The Important Places." The story follows lifestyle and adventure photographer Forest Woodward who sets out to reunite with his father and a sense of youth after unearthing a poem.

We all knew that this day would come and it may change the way we look at cinematography forever. It is pretty amazing to think that this entire feature length movie was created on nothing more than a humble iPhone.  

The creative genius that is Casey Neistat, for me, is next to none. The pure drive and passion this man has for what he does brings inspiration and motivation to my career and even my daily life. Late last week, Neistat decided to up and create his own viral video around the launch of the Apple Watch, and this is how he did it! 

We've covered the pros and cons of color grading many times before on Fstoppers, though when it comes to big-budget movies like "Man of Steel" do you think its overall tone can decide whether it's a financial success?

Breaking the fourth wall isn't a new thing. It's been a fundamental technique exercised for the better part of the history of cinema as far back as the early 20th century.

With the untimely passing of Paul Walker midway through the production of Furious 7, now in theaters, it was questioned for months how they would replace the unfinished shots needed with the star.

Matt Mangham, the director of photography over at fortyonetwenty – a San Diego production company – has recently created a personal photography series titled Analog where he finds and tells stories that explore the current state of film photography.

In a dramatic scene from "Interstellar," the space crew was nearly overcome by a massive wave on a distant planet. Take a look behind the scenes to see the filmmakers and actor Wes Bentley discuss the lighting and composite work required to produce this daunting visual effect. 

In many cases the difference between the first and last frame of a film can be the evolution of a great adventure, while other times it can be the bridge of similarity between a characters development. Like bookends to a journey through cinematic storytelling, the beginning and end of a film can tell so much by their side-by-side comparison.

House of Cards, in my opinion, is one of the best shows available to stream on Netflix - if not anywhere. Their breakout drama series exploded on the scene just a few short years ago well before their original content became synonymous with high quality shows, movies and documentaries currently on the network.

Leonard Nimoy passed away this week at the age of 83. His long career and legacy will always be remembered in his portrayal of the iconic character "Spock" from the 1966 TV series Star Trek. With numerous film spin-offs and a resurgence to the 2009 blockbuster Star Trek as the half-emotionless Vulcan he was just as relevant today as he was 40 years ago.

This week Adobe celebrated 25 years to the birth of Photoshop, the most successful photo editing software in history. No other editing software was ever able to compete with Adobe in that market — other than Paintshop in the early 90s maybe — and Photoshop became a must-have tool for all photographers and creatives out there.

Markus Andersen is a documentary, street, and conceptual photographer who shoots on 35mm, 120, and Polaroid films, along with his iPhone, throughout Sydney, Australia – which he calls the “belly of the beast.” Rob Norton crafted a compelling short film that allows the viewer inside Markus’ thoughts about street photography as an art.

Movies are something we can all thoroughly enjoy. Whether it be a hilarious comedy or an action adventure, they take us places we don't normally see or experience. Films all have the same goal, to capture and engage us within their world and to evoke feelings of excitement or even fear.

I'm not one prone to hyperbole. I don't easily get caught up in gear hype. However, I can whole-heartedly say that my decision to purchase and shoot with a little army of film point and shoot cameras early last year was easily the best decision I made for both my personal work and my own growth as a photographer.

Ornana Films is a small production company based in San Rafael that is no stranger to awards. They took home the Jury Award at the SXSW film festival in 2012 for their short "(notes on) Biology" which continued on to win several other awards that same year, including Exceptional Short at Santa Fe Independent and the Grand Jury Prize at FFF.

In late 2014 at an auction in Ohio, Levi Bettweiser of the Rescued Film Project, stumbled upon one of his greatest finds. Up for bid were 31 rolls of 70 year old undeveloped film from World War 2 shot by an unknown soldier and photographer. The Rescued Film Project is an effort to find and salvage undeveloped film from as early as the 1930's.

Willow Creek is what Sven Dreesbach calls a “proof of concept and workflow” for an eventual surf film he’d like to make – but, as it stands, it’s a short film that achieves a lot in its own right.

Heath Bennett, half of the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based wedding photography duo Jac and Heath Photography, is an absolutely avid film shooter. Recently he shared some work he shot while visiting friends and family in Alaska, much of which was photographed while flying high above the landscape in a helicopter.

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.  The trend towards 4K is undeniable and last month Vimeo announced that it was becoming a 4K capable platform.

Fred Mortagne, or French Fred, is a skateboarder, photographer, and filmmaker living in France.

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.

For the last 2 years I've made my living shooting architecture with DSLRs, mostly short videos of California's fanciest multifamily apartment communities.

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.

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.