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Patrick Hall
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Articles written by Patrick Hall

Fstoppers BTS Contest Is Wrapping Up!

The final day to film and upload your submission to the Fstoppers BTS Contest 2010 is here! Over the last 90 days we have received over 60 submissions and have seen some really fun and creative photoshoots. It has also been exciting to see the talent from the Fstoppers community and to be able to see our readers in action. Lee and I will continue to feature some of our favorite videos in the upcoming weeks as the final process of declaring a winner gets closer. Since many of our readers are from across the globe, we think it is only fair that everyone has a chance to submit their video up until the last minute. So please make sure that your video is uploaded to Vimeo.com or Youtube.com by the end of August 1st, and being the kind people that we are, we will give everyone a grace period of one day to have it posted to the Fstoppers Forum. Everyone at Fstoppers encourages you to continue creating BTS videos for all of your projects even after this contest is over. Thanks again to everyone who has taken part in this contest. We hope you have not only been able to grow as a photographer but also as a video editor as well. If you are interested in seeing what everyone has done for the contest, you can view all the videos HERE.
The Next Generation of Fstoppers

This week we are featuring a few standout BTS videos created by our readers for the Fstoppers Behind the Scenes Contest ending this Saturday. If you want to see all of the submissions jump on over to the forum and see how the competition is shaping up. In the meantime, you have to check out what Parker Smith and his [jr]high school friends created for the contest. While the photography itself is nothing ground breaking, seeing young photographers like Luke and Trent work with other teenagers is nothing short of inspiring. It just goes to show what a little initiative and some creativity can do.

BTS - Poolside Photo Shoot from Parker Smith on Vimeo.

Do You Want To Be a Man?

On the heals of Isaiah Mustafa, we were sent this already viral video on a parody of the old spice commercial for the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU. Unfortunately, Old Spice does not film behind the scenes videos of their commercials so you are left only hearing about how it was shot after the fact (which is great nevertheless). Watch this fun video by Stephen Jones and Scott Winn over at http://www.scottdavidwinn.com/ on how they created a spoof of the original for their alma mater. Click the full post to watch the full version; it's almost as good as the Old Spice versions. <
Fstoppers Welcomes Klaus!

This week we are going to be featuring some of our favorite BTS videos submitted to our Behind the Scenes Contest that ends this Saturday! When this video from photographer Klaus (if he really even is a photographer) was posted on our Forum, it sparked up a lot of dialog. It may not be the most complicated photoshoot or even the most educational but it is the most fun and entertaining photoshoot of all of the contest entries. Photography and photographers need a sense of humor and this video accomplishes just that. Hope you guys enjoy and make sure you have your videos completed and posted by Saturday night! <
Michael Muller Photographs Speedo

I guess this has become Speedo Week on Fstoppers! I recently discovered the photography of Michael Muller and must have spent a good hour on his website checking out all sorts of amazing photography! He has recently been working with Speedo for their summer catalog, and the production that goes into these shoots is insane. Click the post for a second video showcasing some BTS material from this shoot and be sure to check out Michael's website for all sorts of inspiring photography. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhy6g8Ewpac<
Aerial Photography By Mark Watson

Mark Watson is an 'extreme sports photographer' and in this video he has teamed up with Red Bull hanglider Jon Durand to produce some amazing photos as well as video. The idea was to mount a D300s camera to his hang glider to shoot both video and still shots while he sails through the Morning Glory cloud. The results are absolutely stunning! I hope Nikon includes the remote video hack described in this video in their next series of cameras. UPDATE: Mark shares more info about this shoot in the FULL POST!

Mark Watson takes on the Red Bull Glorious Days Project - Nikon D300S from My Nikon Life on Vimeo.

Speedo Outlines A Complete Ad Campaign

I'm always interested in underwater photoshoots because I've failed miserably trying to do my own underwater shoots in the past. I was happy when I came across this video created by Speedo where they show you exactly how they came up for their new 2010 print ad campaign. It's a shame they don't showcase photographer Martin Brent more than they do but they do a great job showing how the idea was first created and the process of going from idea to final rendering. <
Storytelling From the Swamp!

Scott Holstein sent us this video a while back and it must have gotten lost in our email (thanks iphone fans). Being from Tallahassee, Florida, Scott decided to use the swamp as his backdrop. He also came up with a cleaver way to light up little lanterns used in the shoot. Maybe I'm the only one, but I'd be a little scared of getting eaten alive or being bit by something hiding in those country swamps! <
Sam Nicholson's Short Film "World Cup"

As a photographer, I really enjoy seeing how the film guys approach their filming and there is no better way to learn than to watch behind the scenes of some larger productions. Check out what Sam Nicholson and his team of videographers did with the new ARRI Alexa Camera in their short film called "World Cup". Click the full post to see the final product. <
Mark Romanek Gives Commentary On NIN's Closer Video

Mark Romanek is one of the all time greatest music video producers. His vision for Nine Inch Nail's Closer video created a lot of controversy back when it was released in 1994 but now lives on as one of the greatest music videos of all time. I can still recall the first time I saw this on MTv and how it made me feel. Check out this long behind the scenes video of Mark and Trent Reznor talking about the concept for the video as they work towards filming something that had really never been done at the time.

NIN: The Making of the "Closer" Video from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.

An Interesting Perspective On A Photoshoot I'd Never Do

When I first saw this video it put a big smile on my face. I really wish the photographer had shared some insight on this video since it seems like such a unique situation but we are just left with this short clip. You can see the final photos here but I'm not sure why they did not use a more interesting shot of the bear.

Koda from Academy on Vimeo.

Lady Gaga for Rolling Stone Magazine

Love her or hate her, you have to admit Lada Gaga is a breath of fresh air when it comes to being creative with her music videos and photoshoots. When it comes to going all out in both production and creative thinking, Lada Gaga is always an inspiration. In this video you can see just how many looks she goes through to find a compelling image for the cover. And I'm sure the "throw away" images made some pretty good article photos as well.
Giuliano Bekor shoots BeBe campaign at World Cup

If you aren't familiar with fashion photography, Giuliano Bekor is one of the top photographers in the industry. Watch as Giuliano demonstrates the correct way to jump after a soccer ball while wearing ridiculous fashion clothing. We also featured another BeBe fashion shoot he did with crazy African animals that you should probably check out after watching this photoshoot. I figured this was an appropriate post for Monday since Spain just wrapped up the World Cup yesterday (and it seems I dropped the ball on my earlier post today). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FXEXyfC3h0<
Brandon Myles White takes a hit or two

Warning, this is probably the poorest shot BTS video we have ever posted but I think the concept is pretty interesting. I always find the type of images you see in muscle magazine and men's magazines pretty interesting mainly because they usually contain a lot of motion and action. Check out Brandon Myles White as he takes fall after fall while trying to capture a Last Action Hero style leap. Too bad this wasn't shot a bit better with some insight from the photographer.
Scott Wright Shoots Composite for McCann

Go behind the scenes with beauty photographer Scott Wright as he creates a print ad for McCann. There is no talking unfortunately but you can see that the lighting is fairly straight forward and I'm sure lots of work goes into the retouching afterwards. Check out the final image as Scott combines all the elements which make a typical ad you may find in a women's magazine.
Dodge Challenger Commercial:  Happy 4th

Hope everyone in America is having a happy 4th of July. Thought you guys might get a kick out of the latest Dodge Challenger Behind the Scenes commercial. Thanks to Thomas on the forum for sharing this with us! Click the full post to watch the final commercial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLa6NGduJ_c<
Behind the scenes with the "Matrix" look

George Chatzakis is an advertising and fashion photographer based out of Greece. For the last Porcelana ad campaign, George used a bunch of small point and shoot cameras to get that "matrix" style effect where multiple camera angles are capturing in the exact same moment in time. It's a really cool, and expensive, trick you have probably seen on MTV or on the big screen. The little bit of talking in this video is in another language but I think there is still a lot to be taken from watching this short video. Hope all our American readers are having a good holiday weekend!

Porcelana - Making Of from Real Creations on Vimeo.

Michael Koerbel Directs A Video....On The iPhone 4 (Update)

This video is great not only because it is a solid video and has a behind the scenes video built in right at the end, but also because I think it goes to show that even with a relatively cheap phone you can shoot amazing HD footage for your BTS videos. I know a lot of our readers are iphone users (or android) so this video should help inspire you for our BTS Contest that ends August 1st. Now instead of having to find a friend who has a pro video camera or DSLR with video, you only have to find someone with an iPhone 4! Hope you guys enjoy watching this and can appreciate the team's creativity despite the 'limiting' camera gear. Update: New music video added to the full post. I actually find it much more impressive although it was not edited within the phone.
Hair-stylist Sam McKnight shows how to properly fan hair

In this video photographer Ayaad Damouni and world renowned hair-stylist Sam McKnight work on a photoshoot for Hia Magazine. Ayaad doesn't share a lot of photography tips in this video but it is still fun to watch. Also, watch Sam as he works with the models helping them add some movement to their hair. I think he's using a big Bowens Jet Stream Wind Machine and probably just photoshops out the strays. Very clean shoot and it looks like the lighting is pretty minimal. Enjoy
Pacific Star II gives us another view of the world

I hope it is not too soon to feature another video of a camera sent to space with a weather balloon but the footage taken from the Pacific Star II is really amazing! This was all done with two cheap Canon point and shoot cameras off ebay, a weather balloon, and a simple Styrofoam enclosure. It still blows my mind that such a simple setup can produce such beautiful shots. <