A few years ago, photographer Ze Frank started an online photo concept called Young Me, Now Me where he took current versions of old photographs. The trend was huge on websites like Myspace and Facebook and was sure to put a smile on your face. Well Argentinian photographer Irina Werning has taken this concept even further by creating images that replicate the scene exactly from the location to the wardrobe and even down to the lighting. Irina's series called Back To The Future is a awesome example of pushing your work into the mainstream by thinking outside the box and creating something everyone will remember (and can partake in themselves). Click on the full post for a few examples of her work.
I'm always a bit cynical when people tell me they want to become a photographer so their images can change the world. Living in a post modern society where we are bombarded with images, it is easy to think we have become so desensitized to visuals that nothing can move us into action. Well after watching the latest video from [FRAMED] featuring the work of humanitarian photographer Benjamin Edwards, I have been quickly reminded that photography really can change the way we view the outside world and therefore change the how we interact with it. Benjamin's story and images are an inspiration, and through Emote360 and World Relief Benjamin has been able to inspire others around him to help those less fortunate and in need. What do you guys think; does photography inspire you to change the world?
When you first heard of GigaPan, it was probably from David Bergman's famous inauguration photograph. Years after David captured the first gigapixel images of crowds of people, scientists are now creating all sorts of images using the GigaPan technology. One new project recently announced is Time Machine. Essentially a video player with 100 megapixel frames, the Time Machine allows us to explore nature in both time and space with unbelievable amounts of information. Anyone can create these videos using any of the GigaPan Epic Mounts and upload them to the GigaPan website. It's pretty amazing what photos are now able to capture and reveal with super high resolution and timelapse. Check out more of these videos over at the Time Machine website.
After our half disastrous sailing trip in the Charleston Harbor today, it's only fitting to feature this really inspirational video on sailboat photography. Tim Wallace is an amazing auto and commercial photographer but today he is taking his Hasselblad out on the water. Shooting large boats like this with just natural light is always a challenge but Tim makes it look like a walk in the park. Equipped with helicopters, chase boats, models, and expensive cameras most people probably can't afford, Tim creates some spectacular images in Project Genevieve. I love this shoot because it's both commercial and editorial in nature and features spectacular shots of the sailboat as well as some lifestyle images with models that aren't hard on the eyes. Be sure to check out Tim's full portfolio especially if you like automotive photography.
Lately there has been a trend of showing super slow motion videos slowed beyond the native frames per second the original footage was shot on. We love the results of Twixter but nothing can compare to seeing the real thing especially when combined with an extreme sport. The BBC has a great DVD on the South Pacific which features some amazing underwater slomo camera work of waves crashin, and this short surfing clip was the highlight for me. Rudi Diesel shot this on a Typhoon HD4 which at the time could do 500fps at 7 seconds or 1000fps at 3.5 seconds. If you enjoy this segment, check out a longer clip from the documentary in the second clip below.
When Denis Smith found himself faced with a dark depression in his life, he found motivation and purpose through his newly found photography hobby. After moving to South Australia, Denis picked up a camera and began to explore the serendipitous world of night photography. After playing around with long exposures he realized he could bring his own creativity to his images in the form of light painting. Denis's images are really interesting because he mixes strong technical long exposure landscapes with his unique "ball of light" light painting technique. Skip to 5:20 on this video to see how he came up with the idea and check out many examples of his work over at Ball of Light.
Kelly Kline is a commercial and editorial photographer based out of NYC and Atlanta who has a fantastic portfolio full of top professional atheletes. In this behind the scenes video she has teamed up with MMA fighter Matthew Polly for his new book Tapped Out. This shoot is definitely a commercial for the Profoto Pro-8a Air Packs but also shows what is possible when you push not only your gear but your creativity to the limits. <
Dave Dugdale has been an Fstoppers reader for a while now but I had not come across his own useful site Learning DSLR Video until yesterday. He left a comment on one of our videos and I clicked on his site to check it out (yes we actually check out our reader's sites). When I saw one of his videos I immediately emailed him and asked if he would teach me how to colorkey footage in Premiere. Now Dave is not a photographer at all but rather an audio engineer, and what is so cool about his videos are that they document his progression into the field of videography. As a professional photographer myself, I feel like I'm in the same boat as Dave and I'm sure a lot of you guys feel that way too. Dave is filming on a Canon T2i and editing on Premiere CS5. If you are just getting into audio or video, stop by LearningDSLRVideo.com and check out some of his work. Hopefully you can use this information for your own BTS videos; I know we are going to do this soon on one of our FS Originals in the near future. <
Jay P. Morgan is a commercial and advertising photographer based out in Los Angeles, California. We have featured his work before and this time Jay is using a three light setup to make some portraits of a jazz player. If you are still uncomfortable with your lighting skills, Jay does a really good job explaining exactly what each light does and why he placed them where he did. Click on the full post for part two of this photoshoot where Jay adds some "special effects" in the form of an air canon firing at his subject.
The holiday season is almost behind us and if you've spent any time watching college football tv then you've probably seen the new holiday Victoria's Secret commercials. The creative team at VS always makes some of the most high intensity commercials year in and year out. This year they have at least three different themes and one of the directors is even Michael Bay (creator of the greatest movie of all time Transformers 2). Of course VS can't give away all their secrets so don't expect to be shooting Adriana Lima on a white horse anytime soon! Hopefully you can at least pass these videos off as educational should your gf or wife question this content :) Two more videos in the full post. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_4l_LpvL1M
Photographer and videographer Patryk Kizny from Poland has been making a lot of noise around the web with his HDR TimeLapse slider videos. I've had a chance to talk to Patryk about his setup and the electronic slider he is using made by DitoGear is quite impressive. In this video he has removed all the elements of timelapse and instead he has focused simply on smooth sliding motions in every direction possible. What I found must impressive besides the smoothness of the slider itself is the amazing image quality he is getting out of the relatively new and inexpensive Samyang 14mm 2.8 ultra wide angle lens on his 5D Mark II. I know the Nikon version is expensive but I never thought the quality would be this close on full frame video. If you enjoy Patryk's works, stay tuned because he has a new BTS video on one of his most popular videos coming out soon.
Winter. A short non-timelapse film. from Patryk Kizny on Vimeo.
Nikon just announced a bunch of new gear and one of the new cameras is the new D7000. While I'm personally a little disappointed in it's lack of 720 60fps the camera does finally put 1080 video into a moderate Nikon body. All my wishful thinking aside, Chase Jarvis was approached by Nikon to shoot a short video showcasing the new video feature. Here is a little short behind the scenes promo video of Chase playing with the new camera and putting it through the ringer. Let's hope we get our 60fps on the D300s/D700 replacement so we can stop having to borrow Canon gear to shoot our videos :) Click the full post to see Chase's short film Benevolent Mischief and get on the Pre Order List first at Amazon.com or here at BHvideo.com <
Filming in 3D is still relatively new to videographers. So when Jeremy Hart and professional driver David Coulthard decided to film the world fastest 3D film featuring the Mercedes SLS AMG flying down the road, they had to design and test shots that had never been filmed before. The footage is absolutely stunning and will definitely make you want to travel to Ireland and race sports cars up and down the Isle of Man. Click the Full Post to watch a short clip of the final movie (in 2D). ><
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. <
Back in December of 2009, photographer turned film maker Vincent Laforet teamed up with Canon and Vimeo to start a social experiment in story telling. The idea was to create an short 3 or 4 minute video that would end on a single still frame. Then by taking that final frame as a starting point of reference, other film makers could continue the story and add their own twists and turns into the developing scripts. Each segment would be judged by industry heavy weights like Philip Bloom, Shane Hurlbut, Russel Carpenter, among others, and a new chapter would begin. Over the next year, hundreds of chapters were written with 6 lucky directors winning spots in the final video that is currently being shown at Sundance. Below is a summary of the final project and the final video in its entirety is included in the full post. Hopefully this contest not only inspires you in your own photography but also encourages you to test the waters in film making.
