Corey Melton's picture
This member has no rating 0
Corey Melton

Articles written by Corey Melton

The Genius "Astro: Time-Lapse And Motion Control" On KickStarter

Industrial Engineers, Oscar Ramírez and Carlos Pendas, have come up with what seems to be the most simple and intuitive motion controlled pan/tilt intervalometers I have yet to see, and looks like it will be a breeze to setup and use (even for a moron like myself). Simply put, the Astro has 3 controlling discs that you have to set: Top disc sets duration, middle disc controls the rotation, and the bottom disc sets the interval.

Compelling Complexion: Portraits of Albinism

Since 2009 Brazilian Photographer Gustavo Lacerda has been shooting subjects of the Albino persuasion to create a beautiful and compelling portrait series of Albinism. I really love how the skin tones, colors and backgrounds all blend together, which provide a smooth and calm effect to each of these images. Im not sure what the intent of the series was or how it came about, but I am definitely a fan and would love to see more someday soon. Enjoy!

Major Controversy Over "Victims Of Beauty" Photo Series

Bulgarian Magazine, 12 Mag, has sure been rufflin' up some feathers over a piece they ran in June entitled "Victims of Beauty". Photographer Vasil Germanov along with MUAs Daniela Avramova and Slav have been making international headlines along with "12" for depecting models beaten, bruised and cut. Personally, I love the series and I think the artistry is beautiful, especially on the account of the MUAs...

Andy Warhol's Celebrity Polaroids

A few decades ago there was a lil' artist named Andy Warhol, you may have heard of him. He is claimed to be a father of digital art and one of the defining creators of modern art as we know it. He did quite a bit of celebrity paintings and digital renderings, and for that he needed polaroids. Check out some of these 80's p'roids of stars from the past and not so past. Enjoy!

Portraits Of The World's Greatest 'Staches And Beards

Photographer Matt Rainwaters hails from the land of Texas where all things are big and bold. So when he set out to shoot a project chock-full of the world's biggest and bestest moustaches and beards it just seemed like the right thing to do. The subjects are simply lit with a single ring flash shot against a black background, but in situations like this you dont really need complex lighting and crazy locations ...

Gary Land Cranks His Lighting To Eleven

Have you ever been walking through the mall or flipping through a magazine and found yourself breaking down the lighting of all the advertising images you see (or at least trying to)? I seem to be doing that all the time, sometimes without even realizing that I am doing it. Well one photog's images in particular always leave me guessing.

Guess The Lighting Blog Takes The Guesswork Out Of Lighting

Photographer Ted Sabarese who is "armed with only a wacom tablet, less-than-mediocre drawing skills and an acute sense of smell" walks us through some of the photo industry's best images. Ted gives us his hypothetical lighting used on the photos in question and teaches us a thing or two in the process. Enjoy!

Slow Motion Video Of Fire Breathers Shot At 2,000 FPS

As a pyromaniac I am instantly satisfied by watching a fire breather spit flames in any way. But show it too me in ultra slow motion at 2,000 FPS and I am mesmerized! Chris Bolton is the creator of this short video titled "First Time". Essentialy, the premise of this video is quite simple, lots of fire breathing, really really slow, from lots of different angles. Chris shot the footage on a Weisscam HS-2 digital video camera and used Cooke S4 prime lenses. Enjoy!

Crappy Green Screen Footage? Fix It Like This!

I have been learning a ton of video know how in the past few months from watching the tutorials over at VideoMaker. I recently shot a green screen video for some background compositing and didn't take as much time as I should have setting up the lights for the green screen (the subjects on the other hand were flawlessly lit, haha). I thought I was out of luck until I came across this video which showed me how to fix my beginner's mistake and also has a few more handy tips for other green screen screw ups. Enjoy!

100 Ultra Moody Self Portraits

Hailing from Italy, photographer Luca Pierro has created quite a dramatic project with his 100 Self Portraits series. Each photo certainly keeps to a style while being diverse and unique all at the same time. I rarely shoot low key, so when I see it done well it really inspires me to get out and do it myself. Hopefully Luca's work will inspire you to try something new as well. Enjoy!

Glamour Shots, Insect Style

Slovak macrographer (not a real term) Dusan Beno has built quite a stunning body of work consisting almost entirely of bugs. These insect headshots are intense and beautiful at the same time. Dusan's mix of lighting and color really make these images pop and they leave me wanting to see more. Check out his 500px for larger versions of these photos. Enjoy!

A Lesson In Composition For Video

Tom Antos is a freelance film maker who likes to share his tips and know how online with people just like you. In his latest lesson he addresses composition for film making and video. If you can get past the harsh audio you'll find that Tom really does have some great tips concerning composition and clues us in on when and how to use a certain camera angle or crop to get a certain feel, set a mood or to simply get your point across. Enjoy!

Very Cool Special Effect: Fire Tornado

Here is a rad way to spruce up the background of almost any photo or video shoot. Whoever Unallocated Space is (cant find anything on who or what that is) has created an amazing tornado of fire by using a bunch of box fans and a tub filled with fire. This video demonstrates how you can easily create a beautiful and deadly looking whirlpool of fire in your own backyard. Disclaimer: Fstoppers did not tell you to try this. If you try this, it was at your own risk. Enjoy!

If You're Looking To Buy A D800 Or 5DMK3 Watch This Video

Dave Dugdale from Learning DSLR Video has put together a fantastic video comparison of the Nikon D800 and the Canon 5D MarkIII. It's a unique view as Dave is an amateur and not an endorsed pro, so the video is unbiased and stays true to the facts. But don't let him being an amateur throw you off, he is very thorough and I learned quite a bit of useful info about both bodies while watching this. Even at 20 minutes long it was a fairly easy watch, Enjoy!

Jeremy Cowart Walks Us Through His Portrait Of Imogen Heap

Jeremy Cowart is the newest photographer to be featured as a part of Profoto's Master Series. In this video he explains his work flow of his well known Imogen Heap portrait. Jeremy thinks way outside the box with much of his work and he is a true artist at heart. Hopefully hearing him talk us through this shot will move you to find new ways to shoot whatever it is you do. Enjoy!

BTS Video Of Rwandan Documentary "Rising From Ashes"

Zacuto Films has produced a very well done BTS video of the documentary "Rising From Ashes" which tells the incredible story of the Rwandan Olympic Cycling team. The Zacuto production team follows Director T.C. Johnstone, Producer Greg Kwedar and their entire film crew during the last 18-days of filming the documentary. Lot's of great tips and experience is shared in this video. Enjoy!

Photography Rules For Idiots

Latvian photographer, Ivars Gravlejs, has created a great and funny list of rules for idiots who also want to be photographers, or at least who want to take pictures. The format is simple to understand for the morons that need process this information as it is a "This, not that" kind of deal. Everyone of us knows a few people that could benefit from this post and can help them stop sucking so bad at taking pictures. However, you can't really take this too seriously.

Awesome Silhouette Portraits At Sunset

Photographer Irving Lubis (Pink Sword), based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia has captured a captivating group of images by shooting silhouettes against the setting sun. With everything from children to field workers and cattle, Lubis' series leaves you with a sense of mystery and fantasy. As simple as these shots can be to make, the composition is what grabs me most. Enjoy!

Great Explanation Of Frame Rates And Interlacing

When we as photographers jump into movie making using our newly video-enabled DSLRs, there is a lot of new info to learn and an entirely new vocabulary begins rearing its head. For me frame rates, shutter speeds, interlacing and how digital video all relates were a mystery, but thankfully the good ol' folks over at the Videomaker blog have answered these questions for us already. Check out this short video that will certainly help any new video guy (or gal) understand frame rates and interlacing. Enjoy!

Gnarly Bay Shows Off Their 2011 Reel

Gnarly Bay has been doing quite a bit in the past few years. Their demo reel for 2011 is just them saying "we're better than you", but in the nicest way possible. Do yourself a favor and head over to their Vimeo page and check out some of their work. I have learned quite a bit just from watching their stuff, and it makes me think of ways that I can be more creative, not only with video but in my photography as well. Enjoy!