We haven't posted a deal here recently because, well, there really hasn't been many deals since the holidays. One of our favorite crop lenses, the Sigma 17 -50 2.8 OS, is currently under $600 (retails $669) for the first time in a long while. Click the full post to hear why like like it so much.
I love optical illusions, and this simple trick used in a Sony Cybershot ad was one I had not seen before. Click on the full post to see this image large. Then stare at the color triangle in the middle of the model's nose for 30 seconds. Then stare at a white wall or screen and blink rapidly! You should see the model take her clothes off in near full color! The brain is a strange strange machine indeed!
Have you ever wondered what happens to your checked luggage after you check into your flight and leave it to be loaded on the conveyor belt? Well this video will show you just what happens to your prized belongings when they enter the hands of the airlines and the TSA. Six cameras were mounted in what looks like a pelican case so every angle could be documented. Obviously all of the bag handlers were aware they were being filmed (so who knows how authentic this 'experiment' actually is) but it's still pretty interesting to see how your bag gets from the Delta Terminal to your final luggage terminal in another city. Am I the only one who thinks if I did this the TSA inspectors would have turned my cameras off or changed their position? They never seem to leave my carry on lenses alone yet these video cameras go untouched. Nevertheless, thumps up to Delta for a creative advertising campaign.
We first featured film maker and timelapse master Tom Lowe almost 2 years ago. This week he released another mind blowing trailer for his documentary TimeScapes (pre order your copy here). Tom's vision was to give viewers a modern look at the American Midwest in all of its glory, and it to say it's glorious is an understatement! Shot primarily on Canon 5d MKIIs and RED Epics (with some of the best cine lenses available), TimeScapes has to be the best timelapse videos I've ever seen. This project has taken Tom over 2 years to film so you know the final release is going to be great to watch especially in ultra HD. Head over to Tom's Vimeo page for more details on how this was shot, and also check out our original post to see some BTS on how Tom creates these breathtaking images.
It's pretty rare that a solid behind the scenes video comes from a super high end photoshoot. Usually they aren't full of much photography insight and instead focus on the model. But that doesn't mean you can't get inspired and learn something from the best of the best. In this video supermodel Irina Shayk and makeup artist Baltasar Gonzalez Pinel talk about their recent cover shoot for Elle Magazine Spain which involves a lot of body beads. In the second video below, you can see how a simple hard light with some reflectors can produce a super high end fashion result. Check out Santiago Esteban's website for some amazing fashion images.
In May 2012, Marvel will release the comic superhero movie The Avengers. Some apple fans are suggesting that footage actually in the movie was shot on an Apple Iphone. The Avengers cinematographer Seamus McGarvey was quoted saying, "The beauty of photography or cinema is that you make every choice based on the content at hand. On The Avengers, I did a couple of shots on the iPhone and they are in the movie. In fact, they are in the trailer! I understand that sometimes there is no choice and you have to go for the cheapest option, but if you are limited for choice, you can still make poignant decisions that will effect the look of the film." It's pretty crazy to think footage from the older iPhone 4 (which only shoots 720) could ever be good enough to mix in with real footage taken on pro cinema cameras. With the amount of preplanning and the huge budgets allowed on these films, would they not just reproduce the scene again and capture it from all angles? I just can't imagine something happened spontaneously where the cinematographer's footage from his phone was the best possible footage. What do you guys think? Can anyone identify the footage in the trailer below?
This video by Trey Ratcliff is a pretty cool idea. Trey traveled across the world in 80 days and documented his adventures with over 8,000 photographs. I hardly ever travel with a camera when I'm on vacation and even if I did, I'm not sure if I could ever force myself to take so many images in the moment. But then again I probably won't ever have anything this cool. Click the the full post to watch how Trey made this video.
Scott Schuman runs a really popular fashion blog called The Sartorialist, and the whole idea is that he takes timeless looking images of fashionable people in cities around the world. A few days ago we ran a viral story on Vivian Maier who may have been the greatest unknown street photographer of her era. I thought this short documentary on Scott might be interesting to those of you who enjoy taking spontaneous images on your own city streets. It's easy to get wrapped up in gear and fancy lighting with 'modern' photography but ultimately it's your subjects that really makes an image. What better way is there to test your own craft than to take just a camera and lens and hit the streets? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5NgG5koPZU
If you've been shooting stills or video for any length of time, chances are you've often thought about making a product that could make your life a bit easier. Cinetics designer Justin Jensen's own idea was to make a simple dolly system for DSLR cameras that was also portable. He designed and launched his CineSkates on Kickstarter and the response has been huge. So far Justin has raised more than 6x his initial goal of $20,000 so it looks like this production version will soon be in photographers' bags world wide. The system basically adds skateboard wheels to the versatile Joby Gorilla Pods and creates a system that gives your video footage high production movement. You can also the CineSkates for timelapse photography. Check out the video below to see exactly how the system works.
Now I'm not exactly sure what the "largest stop motion animation" actually means but there is no doubt this video is pretty spectacular. You may remember Aardman Productions from our post on the world's smallest stop motion video which is equally as mind blowing. This time they decided to use the beach as their canvas and film the entire animation on a Nokia N8 cell phone.. It's pretty amazing to think how much work went into changing each frame on a set this large especially with tourists and tides. Check out the video below and then jump to the full post to watch how they created this clever cell phone commercial.
We have featured a lot of Dave Hill's unbelievable photoshoots here on Fstoppers. So when I saw his Adventure Series posted over at Strobist I thought it was an older video. Oh how I was wrong....way wrong! In his latest video, Dave Hill places his composite images into an After Effects type environment and lets you see every layer and all it's photoshopped glory. The video outlines all 11 images so it's a bit long but you will probably still find yourself watching all of them in wonder. This video was also a great reminder that Dave is to work making behind the scenes videos so you will probably see a lot more of him in the near future. What do you guys think? What is your favorite image from this series?
For some reason people still like to send us videos of photographers using the worst possible camera the iphone for their photoshoots. It's been proven time and time again that you actually can produce some really great images with the most simple of cameras. As a wedding photographer myself, I'll admit, I was a bit shocked at just how good some of these images look in this video. Of course there is no super shallow depth of field, tight reaction shots, or reception strobe images but this still put a smile on my face. And I will even go as far as saying that this presentation even looks better than some wedding photographers' work I've come across during my own career. From the looks of it the bride and groom still had a traditional photographer on hand too so I'm sure the event was well covered. What do you guys think: are you confident enough in your photography skills to pull something like this off?
Shawn Smith is a photographer from Melbourne Australia. His company Blinq sent us this very informative BTS video outlining how they recently shot editorial portraits for two Ironman triathletes Luke Bell and Matt White. What caught me most about this video was how Shawn gave so much detail and insight into each photograph he was setting up. They were using top of the line gear like Profoto 7B packs and beauty dishes, but all of these shots could have easily been produced with less expensive gear and small speedlight modifiers for the photographer working with a budget. If you want to see how Sean and crew approach shooting triathletes underwater and in their natural element, check out the exciting video we featured back in December.
Every photographer I know is wanting to book more jobs. No matter if your niche is wedding, food, commercial, advertising, or sports, chances are you would love for your business to make a lasting impression on someone looking to hire you for your services. Casey Templeton wanted to beef up his commercial and adverting work so he decided to produce a promo package that would not get lost on an agency's desk. The video below shows the promo package he made in 2010 and mailed out to 300 of his favorite agencies and art buyers. You might be thinking that this package is pretty extravagant and expensive to send to that many agencies, but being memorable among a crowd of creative professionals can easily pay off if you land only a few jobs from such a campaign. Hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did.
This video has been hitting the blogs recently, but I didn't really watch it until it wound up in our inbox a half a dozen times. I guess I should say that this is probably the absolute textbook way to clean a lens but does anyone actually own all these rocket blowers, cleaning brushes, and cleaning supplies? I guess since I've never scratched a lens, I've always found one of these to be acceptable. Instead of using compressed air, I've always just used my mouth...am I a really bad person?
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