Mike Kelley Photography Tutorials

About Mike Kelley

Michael Kelley (mpkelley.com) is a Los Angeles-based architectural and fine art photographer with a background in digital art and sculpture. Using his backgrounds in the arts, he creates images that are surreal and otherworldly, yet lifelike and believable. A frequent traveler, Michael's personal work focuses on the built environment of unique

Popular Articles from Mike Kelley
Paris In Motion: A Tour de Force of Various Timelapse Techniques Set in the City of Light

Check out this way-cool timelapse video by Mayeul Akpovi. Set in Paris, Mayeul used a number of interesting techniques to add an incredible range of motion to a timelapse video. Add in a variety of twilight and dusk scenes, and the city comes to life in a way that I haven't seen before. This video reminds me of one of our most popular posts of all time, "Can Anyone Figure Out How This Timelapse Was Filmed?" Let us know how you think Mayeul did it!

Justin de Reuck Hangs Out Of An Aerobatic Plane With No Seatbelt To Get The Shot

What have you done to get the shot today? Parked your car, walked into a studio? Plunked down a tripod on a sandy, tropical beach? Fiddled with some macro rails? South African aviation photographer Justin de Reuck unstrapped a good deal of his harness, slid open the canopy, and took photos at what I'm guessing is 100 knots, mere feet from the ground. I'm not sure how that plane actually took off with Justin's balls of steel on board, because man, they must be huge.

[BTSV] Behind The Scenes At The Winter X-Games

In this behind the scenes video from Vimeo (say that five times fast!), we get a look at the wide variety of gear that is used to capture the action at Winter X. From freelance photographers and videographers to full-scale production efforts, this video has a little bit of everything. See the video, which displays a staggering amount of gear, in the full post.
[BTS] The Anatomy of a Luxury Interior Shot

When it comes to interior and architectural photography, there is often much more involved than what meets the eye at first glance. In order to create a photograph that is realistic and enticing, careful planning, staging, lighting and a healthy dose of patience is imperative. In this Fstoppers Original, we dive into a luxury interior shot and see what it takes to construct a mouth-watering interior photo from the ground up.

DC's Air.Craft Is This Week's Beautiful Example Of High Budget, High Octane Cinematography

DC Shoes collaborated with FMXer Robbie Maddison to create this beautiful short of Maddison at an aircraft graveyard which has been converted into a playground for the moderately insane. The film is chock-full of amazing cinematography, created with a number of big-budget cameras, and the color grading is just sublime. DC has confirmed a BTS

The Long-Awaited Canon 6D Is Now In Stock And Shipping From B&H

Just a quick heads up to the many of us who have been waiting for this camera: It's finally in stock and ready to ship! Just in time for a nice holiday gift to...yourself. Because let's be honest, if you're as excited about this camera as I am, you're not going to let anyone else in your family get their paws on it before you. For more information and to place an order, head on over to B&H Photo's 6D page.

Ian Ruhter Shoots Inspiring People With an Enormous Wet Plate Setup

We've featured Ian Ruhter before: his Silver and Light series was an incredible display of talent, ingenuity and originality. I'm glad to say that he's back at it again, this time criss-crossing the country, telling the stories of inspiring people with his portable darkroom setup. Watch as Ian shoots Madison, a young girl who overcame some serious setbacks, and creates a series of incredible portraits using his custom made (very large format) camera which is built into the back of a box van.

Finally! D.C. Police Announce a Sensible And Reasonable Cell Phone and Camera Policy

I've written a number of articles about how the police and other law enforcement agencies, both in the US and abroad, have been interfering with and hassling photographers and videographers who are only trying to document a scene that's in front of them. There have been multiple instances of people in power (such as Obama himself) saying that this is unconstitutional. And finally, it would seem, one police department has begun to realize that.

Camera Vs. Wild: The Damage Waiver Bearly Covered This One

We recently interviewed LensRentals and asked them about humorous (or rather, sad) situations in which gear came back totally destroyed or rendered otherwise unusable. Turns out nothing could have prepared anyone at LensRentals for what happened this week in Yellowstone when a bear commandeered a Nikon 600 and D4.

[Video] The Miracles of Science: A Pill that Increases Productivity and Creativity

At long last, the scientific breakthrough many of us have long been waiting for: A pill that we can take to get us out of an editing slump, increase creativity, or help us deal with clients. But beware: side effects may include high blood pressure, insomnia, color blindness, neck pain, and occasional dizziness.

[Interview] Pulitzer Winner and Celebrity Photographer Brian Smith

Name a celebrity. Yep, go on. Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Zooey Deschanel, Ben Stiller, Samuel L Jackson. How about an athlete? Serena Williams, Jeff Gordon, Shaquille O’Neal. Brian Smith has worked with them all. I recently sat down with Brian for an Fstoppers exclusive interview and he was glad to share his insight, techniques, and advice with us. Check out the full post for the entire text.
Israel: The Most Incredible Photo Destination You've Never Thought Of

Back in February of this year, I was invited on a trip that I had never expected to go on. Kinetis, a non-profit based in Israel, invited myself and five other incredible photographers to travel to Israel to document and share what we found. To be honest, Israel was never a travel destination for me. I have always been drawn to colder climates, I’m not a very religious person, and frankly I just don’t really know enough about the country for it to have ever held any power over me. It never really made great sense to me as a photographic destination either, nestled between sparring countries and set amidst a relatively barren desert.

But alas, who am I to turn down a free trip to a far-off destination?

DigitalRev Allegedly Selling Used Cameras As New, And Are Yet To Issue A Response

Rob Dunlop, creative director and brains behind PrettyInWhite.com, just posted an interesting and also somewhat humorous account of his purchase of a Canon 5d Mark III through DigitalRev.com. Rob, spurred on by a series of bizarre coincidences, ended up doing some research on his new camera, only to find that it had not only been used, but used somewhat extensively by DigitalRev to create a review.

360-Degree Panoramic Video: The Next Big Thing In Video?

I recently was introduced to Making View, a Norwegian company that specializes in creating 360-degree panoramic video. Yep, you read that right. Panoramic video. Much like a 360-degree photo tour, you can zoom and move around the video as it plays. It is without a doubt one of the coolest things I've seen in recent memory, and I can see the technology being used in some pretty incredible ways.