A few days ago we showed you what it's like to be a Sport Illustrated Editor. The NFL Conference Championship games are about kick off in a few hours so it seems fitting to bring you San Francisco 49ers team photographer Michael Zagaris as he talks about capturing the two key plays of the '9ers Division Championship game. Enjoy!
The ISO sensitivity on today's flagship DSLR cameras is pretty amazing. They are so amazing in fact that for the first time, NASA is able to use Nikon D3 cameras to create night time timelapse videos as the earth sleeps. You've probably seen a bunch of these stunning videos here but now we are able to see who is responsible for capturing the raw images from orbit. Mike Massimino takes you behind the scenes with astronaut/photographer Mike Fossum as he talks about his passion for long exposure photography from space. The audio is pretty rough so use headphones if you have trouble hearing.
Now this is an interesting story. Lately there has been a ton of controversy and debate about the role of photoshop in today's advertising market. FHM (For Him Magazine) just published their December issue with Pakistani cover model Veena Malik wearing what appears to be nothing. But that's not the full story; also pictured on the cover is Veena baring the tattoo "ISI" which refers to the rather polarizing Pakistani intelligence group. Pakistani's are outraged both because of the ISI reference and also because of Venna's lack of modesty displayed on the US men's magazine. It is quite common for photographers to shoot "implied nude" images with models actually wearing clothing (and the visible piece photoshopped out), but Veena claims the magazine maliciously manipulated her cover shoot without her permission. As for the ISI reference, well apparently both FHM and Veena were in agreement on the controversial art work with Veena making recommendations on how it should be drawn on her arm. Stories like this happen all the time but it's rare to see such a story with world wide appeal. What do you guys think? Read more about the full story on the BBC News page.
Red Bull no doubt has some of the best sports video work I've ever seen. In their latest sports commercial, the energy drink company takes to the skies as they film 2x Women's Motocross Association Champion Ashley Fiolek. Ashley, who has been deaf since birth, has been making a lot of noise on the women's circuit, and she has become an inspiration to fans of the sport world wide. The video features some interesting camera angles with much of the footage coming from cable suspended camera. Everything was filmed in 3D to give the POV shots a bit of kick as Ashley soars through the air. Check out the behind the scenes video below and then click on the full post to watch the final commercial.
Jay P Morgan is a commercial photographer out of California who has a history of creating some of the best most educational behind the scenes videos out on the internet (click here to watch tons of them). In this video Jay explains how you can shoot athletes in a studio environment and composite them into any scene easily and effectively. I want you guys to take note of how Jay breaks down his photography approach and offers concise and detailed information about his shoot. If you are interested in winning our Behind The Scenes Contest (and instantly having a studio of your own), you are going to need to explain your process thoroughly and in an interesting manner. Also be sure to check out the full retouching video on Facebook to see how everything was pieced together in post.
Since the start of Fstoppers, I have had a dream list of photographers that I think would make for a great FS Original. At the top of that list has been ESPN and fight photographer Ed Mulholland. Unfortunately getting clearance from HBO and UFC have been tougher than going backstage with Bon Jovi (who would have thought). Fortunately, Grover at Photoshelter recently caught up with Ed to talk boxing, UFC, and what makes a compelling sports photograph. If you don't already know, The Ultimate Fighting Championship is one of the fastest growing sports in the US, and tonight's card is pretty star studded if you want to check it out. While very few photographers are lucky enough to shoot for clients like ESPN and Sports Illustrated, hopefully Ed's insight can inspire you to take better sports photographs regardless of who is in front of your lens.
Recently Petapixel featured a rather amusing video of photographer Fabio Pires out of London. Fabio is a street photographer who shoots spontaneous photos off the cuff. Unlike the video we featured of Clay Enos's street setup, Fabio's approach is more in your face, candid, and potentially more risky. In Fabio's opinion, the best shots come from strange and interesting people who aren't expecting to have their photo taken. I dunno, maybe in England this isn't frowned upon as much as it is in the United States?
Senior portrait photographer Jennifer McKendrick has been making quite a name for herself over the last few days. The Pennsylvania photographer recently refused to photograph a few of her clients because she caught them bullying other students on Facebook. Jennifer wrote on her website that she will not photograph any ugly people by saying "If you are ugly on the inside, I’m sorry but I won’t take your photos to make you look pretty on the outside!" An overwhelming amount of support for Jennifer's actions have been filling up the blogs and social media outlets so it made me think, would you cancel a photo session with someone who was "ugly on the inside"? I have to agree with the comment made at 2:40 in the video below....do people actually spend a great deal of time screening their clients on facebook?
For most people, their first attraction to a camera probably occurred during a vacation or a traveling trip. If you've ever had to sit through someone else's photo album of a trip, you know how excruciating and boring it can become. Well Rick Mereki and his friends Tim and Andrew decided to make a fun video documentary that proved to be anything but boring and mundane. This one minute clip shows what a little creativity can do to make a trip spanning over 40 days, 11 countries, and 38,000 miles as exciting for us as it was for them. We've featured other creative vacation videos in the past, and our goal is always to keep you guys inspired to do something interesting during every opportunity. Let's just hope Mr. Lee Morris is taking this to heart while in Italy :)
This video was emailed to us and I when I watched it I thought "wow I've never seen anything like this before!" We've all seen rainbows and you've probably had your fair share of experiences taking images of them. What's so interesting about this video is it showcases the elusive "moonbow" formed as moonlight passes through the mist created by waterfalls. Yosemite National Park is known for it's amazing rock formations, waterfalls, and forests but few people know how beautiful it can look after the sun has set.
If there was a single iconic photograph that emerged over the last few weeks it was definitely the "Vancouver Riot Kiss". If you missed the story, riots broke out in Vancouver, BC after the local Canucks lost the Stanley Cup to the Boston Bruins 3-4. Photojournalist Richard Lam was there that night in Vancouver and photographed a couple who appeared to be kissing in the midst of the riots. The couple in the photo, Alexandra Thomas and Scott Jones, were actually hurt and only appeared to be making out when the photo was taken. Today new video footage from the riots has surfaced, and you can clearly see how the whole thing unfolded. Obviously the big question being asked is "were Thomas and Jones part of the protests or just innocent bystanders?" You can read more about this story at the Vancouver Sun, and click the thumbnail image to see the full res photo.
Kickstarter is a fun website that allows inventors to demo their prototypes in an effort to raise funding for an actual product. The company Kogeto creates 360 degree pano devices, and recently they tackled making a fun accessory for the greatest fashion photography camera: the iPhone. David Sosnow demos how the Kogeto Dot will work if put into production as well as how their own mapping software combines the footage into a explorable 360 video not unlike the Yellowbird Camera we featured last year. I know many of you will say this sort of thing is pretty gimmicky but I think there is a ton of potential for this sort of videography in events, weddings, action sports, etc. Check out this 360 video of Muse playing last year. I can only imagine what people would do having this technology in their phone.
If you are a budding photographer, you are probably a lot like I was when I first picked up a camera: somewhat naive about lenses. Knowing when to use a wide angle lens verses a telephoto lens is both a creative decision as well as a logistical one. Readers often ask which lenses to buy over at the Fstoppers Forum, and recently Mark Wallace shed a lot of light on the topic in his latest Adorama TV episode: Choosing The Right Lens. Not only does Mark talk about the practicalities of using one type of lens over another but he also demonstrates exactly how perspective, distortion, and compression look at different focal lengths. Knowing the tools of your trade is extremely important so if you haven't tackled this topic yet we hope this will be useful. We have also outlined a few of our favorite photo and video lenses on our Lens Guide.
Yuri Arcurs is probably the most successful stock photographer on the planet. The last time we featured him on Fstoppers he was explaining a lot of his lighting setups for great stock images as well as how to get great reactions out of your models so the images sell. Now he has a new ridiculously expensive studio filled to the top with profoto gear, and he is giving us a first person tour of the place. I can't imagine how anyone could need this amount of gear but at the rate he turns images out it is all probably well justified. Does anyone know how to use the lowering metal mount he has for his lights? It seems like making adjustments would be difficult when they are suspended that high above you.
In this video from AdoramaTv, Mark Wallace sits down with Mark Peterman to discuss camera gear, location scouting, lighting, and overall creative drive. Mark Peterman is an editorial and commercial photographer from Arizona who has a portfolio that is a bit tough to describe. What really draws me to Mark's work is his really simple and clean lighting, often natural, along with his use of very muted and subdued colors. I'm sure Mark's background in graphic design also plays a part in his simple and clean style.
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