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Douglas Sonders
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Articles written by Douglas Sonders

Animator Uses Custom Rad 1980s Nintendo Power Glove to Streamline Filming

If you were a kid of the 1980s like me and loved Nintendo, you absolutely remember the Power Glove. In fact, I think that was one of the only scenes I remember from the movie "The Wizard" starring Fred Savage of "The Wonder Years" was the debut of this badass piece of 80s tech. Fast forward to 2015. The animator of the Adult Swim show "Robot Chicken" has modified his Power Glove to control his stop-motion workflow. Woah, dude.

Understanding How to Control Light With Grids

When I was new to portrait lighting, I used to blast everything with light with reckless abandon. Although, as I grew as a photographer, I learned that the ability to control the spread of light on a multi-strobe shoot allowed you to not only create something with a more sophisticated appearance, but tell a better story. One of the most affordable ways to accomplish this is with the use of grids. The Slanted Lens put together a great video tutorial on understanding grids. Read below to learn more.

How to Strap a GoPro to Your Dog and Capture Their Antics

Being a dog lover and person that runs a dog charity on the side, I am always curious as to what my rescue Pit Bull / Boxer Emma does when I leave the house. I always imagine that she just sleeps in my bed, but my family tells me she cries and stares at the door when I leave town. After seeing this first video, I've decided I will be strapping a camera to her to see what she does. Read below to see how you can too!

Eric Doggett Shows Us How He Makes the World's Best Holiday Cards

We've posted about commercial photographer Eric Doggett on here before. You may recall his popular post about how he put together his family's Back to the Future Christmas card. He goes out of his way to create some of the most creative holiday cards I've ever seen. Eric uses a creative arsenal including set-building, 3D modeling, Photoshop, photography, and graphic design to create unique one-off pieces for his clients. Read below to learn how he used ALL of these tools to create a fantastic Star Wars Christmas card.

UPDATED: I Am Giving Away My Canon 5D Mk2 To You...How You Can Help Others

This is my full-frame Canon 5D Mark II with vertical dual battery grip. It may be worn down to the metal on the edges, but this baby still shoots beautiful 21 megapixel RAW files and 1080p video. It's ridden tanks and supercars and hung out of helicopters and photographed some pretty famous folks for some album and magazine covers. Now, I have decided to give it away to the best cause. Below, you can either learn how to apply or learn how you may help others!

Do Not Have A Chase Car Or Automotive Rig? Use Rollerblades

First of all, if you watched the lead video above, you have learned that Matthew Jones is possibly a crazy person. Car photography is absolutely a challenge, but rollerblading down the road at full speed to capture driving action is just bonkers. When I heard Matthew talk about doing this and when I saw the high quality of his images, I knew I had to feature him on Fstoppers. Obviously this technique is not for everyone, but Matthew has absolutely captured my attention with his story. Read below to read why he has chosen to do this and see samples of his great photography,

Building the House of Capture One Version 8 - Imaging Software Evolution

This is a really unique article for me to post. I was talking with my friends at New York City based Phase One dealer, Digital Transitions, and they were interested in sharing the story of how industry's leading RAW processing and tethering software, Capture One, evolved into what it is today. It is very interesting to learn how a company learns from its products weaknesses and grows to make something that really shines. Read below to learn more:

 How to Shoot One Light Dramatic Portraits on Location by Yourself

Many of us know what it feels like to have or want to do a strobed on-location portrait without the benefit of an assistant. In fact, many of the portraits that I believe to be my best were done without an assistant and only with one strobe. It's all about good strategy and proper planning gear/creative-wise. This video by the Slanted Lens does an excellent job preparing you on how to do this kind of shoot effectively. Read below to learn more.

How To Prep, Fly, And Photograph with A Quadcopter Drone On Location

If you've ever thought about trying out a drone, you probably have heard how complicated it is. Sure, there are easier systems to use like the DJI Phantom, but there is still a learning curve that you need to overcome before you should fly and shoot with a drone on your own, especially before an important shoot... and also before any situation where you may possibly LOSE the drone. Watch the video and learn more below.

Please Support POV "Hardcore" NSFW

It seems like everyone is asking for money these days. The guy starting a fundraiser for his UBER ride home from the bar to the model wanting to start a photography career by creating a GoFundMe page asking fans to buy her a $2500 camera. With campaigns like these going around, it's sometimes discouraging to donate to some of today's fundraisers for creative projects...until today. Behold the movie awesome POV "Hardcore", which has already been filmed, but needs some additional funds to finish post production. Learn more below.

Where To Catch The Fstoppers Team At Photo Plus Expo

Going to the upcoming PDN Photo Plus Expo in New York City or just looking for a great photo workshop in the near future? Well here is a chance to see the Fstoppers team in action! Below is a list of classes, presentations, and general shenanigans you will find us hosting in the near future. Make sure to at least come out and say hello.

Behind The Scenes Of A Cover Shoot With The Band Twenty One Pilots

Recently I had the opportunity to fly to Ohio and photograph the enigmatic alternative rock duo Twenty One Pilots for the cover of Alternative Press Magazine. Sure, you may have seen my posts before about shooting musicians and magazine covers, but never have I ever had to hang one of my artists upside down for a trick shot. Watch the video and read below to see how this shoot came together!

The Making Of The Amazing New Gus Van Sant BMW i8 TV Commercials

If you have not heard of BMW's nimble new i8 hybrid supercar, you should look it up now. Even if you aren't into cars, you do have to take a moment to marvel at not only its beautifully-futurisitc aesthetics, but it's equally as impressive performance technology. BMW hired director Gus Van Sant to create a trio of gorgeous ads to help introduce the car to the world. Watch the behind the scenes video above and see the final three videos below.

Brilliant Photoshop Tutorial On How To Turn Day To Night

Ever take a photo during the daytime and wish it was at night? Some of you may shake your head, but it there are legitimate times in commercial and editorial projects where this is completely necessary in order to fulfill client/creative requirements. Glyn Dewis has put together this effective and straightforward Photoshop tutorial on how to do just that. Read below to download the original file and try it out yourself!

Recreating The Back To The Future Delorean Time Travel Scene On A Budget

If you follow any of my work, you know I am a sucker for anything Back To The Future. I even recreated my own BTTF image using a real DeLorean awhile back, so I HAD to share this video. The guys over at Shanks FX have created another inventive tutorial on how you can create your own time travel scene on a budget using a DSLR, simple time lapse software, a toy DeLorean, and some LED lights. Think you may want to try something like this at home?

BTS: How I Flew To Amsterdam To Photograph 5 Seconds Of Summer

This is one of those phone calls you always hope to receive from a photo editor, but you can never envision happening. Well, it finally happened to me - "One of the biggest pop bands in the world right now needs to be photographed for the cover of a music magazine, Alternative Press, and you have to fly from New York City to Amsterdam to do it." This is the story of my adventure and how I made my photoshoot happen.

Exclusive: RED Has Big Plans To Be Your Still Camera Maker

You read that headline correctly. After making a huge splashes in the motion-capture industry since 2005, Red has big plans to be the only camera system you use on set for both your motion AND still photography needs, and it's closer to being a reality than you would think. Prepare to have your minds blown.

Attention Filmmakers: Announcing The Silver Sound Music Video Film Festival

We all know that as DSLR technology improves, more of us photographers are trying our hands at creating video content. One of the easiest ways to do that is to shoot music videos for your pre-existing music photo clients and friends. I know that's how we built the portfolio for our production comapny, orignially. Well, our friends over at Silver Sound are throwing a music video film festival and you now have a great chance to have your music video work recognized and even win prizes!

Ultimate Tutorial on How to Photograph a Car with the Westcott Ice Light

My friend and RIDES Magazine's head photographer Andrew Link is no stranger to Fstoppers. He also happens to be one of the kings of shooting cars with the Westcott Ice Light, which is essentially a handheld LED rod (looks like a flourescent tube) used as a constant daylight temperature light source. After about 6 months of me begging Andrew for him to make one, he has finally created a fantastic and to-the-point tutorial on how to create an epic car portrait with nothing but a camera, tripod, and the Ice Light.

"The Greatest Car Film Event" Announced and You Can Get Involved!

Our friends at the automotive website Jalopnik have announced their second transportation-focused film festival, and it is great news for car lovers and creatives alike for a few reasons. First, you can attend an awesome film festival in New York City later this year and watch great car movie shorts. Second, you can submit your work and possibly win awards just as you would in any festival. Third, if you don't have a movie but always wanted to make one, you can possibly win the chance to have it made for you. Finally, you can help me create the ultimate car movie poster!