I posted about filmmaker Ben Shapiro's documentary, Brief Encounters, when it was first released. I have finally gotten a chance to see it and wanted to make sure as many of you as possible did, too.
For those of you not familiar with photographer Gregory Crewdson's work, he meticulously creates his photographs on an epic scale. For instance, that photo above is completely staged—and lit. As in, they lit the whole freakin' street scene.
Below, the film's trailer, an extended clip, and how to catch this worthwhile documentary in its cross-country, limited-release tour. Read more »>>>>
One of my New Year's resolutions is to learn to be more creative and adventurous with mixing color and light. UK-based photographer Jarek Wieczorkiewicz's photograph of Jay Jessop does just that—using daylight flash, gelled flash and tungsten modeling lamps.
I love this kind of thing, and would like to evolve my lighting to the point to where I can have the confidence to almost never use just white light. Below, a full BTS video on how Jarek lit this image. Read more »>>>>
Using a KESSLER slider and a TAMRON lens and a DYNALITE flash and some NIK software, human Nascar* Jay P. Morgan will now give you some pretty darn good advice on grid spots.
But the real gem here is the feathering, which will almost always make your light more interesting.
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* I kid, Jay. Props to you. And also to LENS PRO TO GO. And GLIDECAM. And PHOTOFLEX. And VANGUARD. And AAZDEN. And ROSCO. And TRIPLE SCOOP MUSIC. And PHOTOGRAPHY TALK.
(Seriously, someone make this guy a jacket. This needs to happen.)
I'm as guilty as the next guy when it comes to over-the-top lighting. And why not? It's fun, it's cool and it can amp up an otherwise boring scene.
But that kinda stuff is not always necessarily the best choice. Often the best light is light that doesn't call attention to itself, but rather allows your camera to see a scene the way your eye would normally see it.
Take this biz portrait for example, which looks pretty natural but in fact is lit by three different sources. Read more »>>>>
I was just planning to write about Joey's new book today, when he and Cale Glendening up and dropped a free, high-def 43-minute documentary onto Vimeo. Both are inside.
Long story short, cancel any remaining cubicle productivity for the afternoon. Your work can wait. Read more »>>>>
See this? This is an 80mm lens from my old Hasselblad film camera. It was built 50 years ago. The leaf shutter is built into the lens. It syncs at 1/500th of a second.
My current 80/2.8LS is a PhaseOne leaf-shutter lens. It syncs at 1/1600th. And it would be very possible—perhaps even simple—to manufacture an inexpensive tube to marry a PhaseOne LS lens to a Nikon or Canon DSLR.
Anything worth accomplishing is going to include hurdles and barriers to overcome. You can treat them as the reasons you can't do something, or you can simply refuse to acknowledge that the barriers exist and plow through them.
This is Jaleel King, and this is how he rolls. Read more »>>>>
JP Danko of blurMEDIA photography has created a captive, optical syncing system for his Pelican-encased SB-800s using cheap, off the shelf TOSLink fiber-optic cabling.
That's what reader Arjen P van de Merwe asks, from Malawi in southeast Africa.
My first thought: Arjen, you are being too hard on yourself. A lot of people would have been quite happy with that photo. It's easy to forget how far you have come—and how fast—with respect to lighting, etc.
You definitely made some good calls, and there are some additional opportunities you could taken advantage of if you wanted to. Let's talk about both, as many of your fellow readers have something to learn from each. Read more »>>>>
Cyber Monday: Strobist DVD sets on Sale for $49.99 each
UPDATE: The Cyber Monday special for Lighting in Layers and Lighting Seminar ended at midnight EST. The Flash Bus Video deal is still live until DVD stock is gone. Thank you!
You snooze, you lose: All Strobist DVDs are on sale today for $49.99. (Depending on the version you choose, that's from 50% to 68% off!)
Cool street shooting video from French photographer Philippe Echaroux of his pop-up location studio and an array of impromptu subjects.
You pretty much need an entourage to do this, but I love the idea of a background-on-a-stick. Totally gonna steal that one, Philippe... (Via ISO 1200)>>>>
Today is Thanksgiving in the US, a day in which we pause to give thanks and then watch football. And turkey, we eat lots of turkey, too. (Except for the vegetarians, who have to eat "tofurkey," adding yet another thing for us omnivores to be thankful for.)
So on that note, thank you very much for being a reader of this site. Without you, this whole 2,300-post journey would be … awkward.
Today's Thanksgiving Day post is off-topic in that it has nothing to do with flash and everything to do turkeys. And with being a thinking photographer.
More specifically, being a photographer who thinks like a turkey. Read more »>>>>
About this time last Friday I was in head-scratching mode, trying to figure out my light. Here was the challenge:
Teeny-tiny stage. Twenty three insane performers. No room to change shooting positions. Complex, low-level and fast-changing ambient.
I had been looking forward to it for weeks. Because I was getting to photograph MarchFourth, my absolute favorite band in the world. Lighting, pics and video, inside… Read more »>>>>
What's better than a new book from Dan Winters? Try two new books from Dan Winters.
Both are gorgeous; both are limited press runs. So if you delayed getting your copy of his Periodicals book before it went out of print, don't miss out this time.
Short version: Last Launch is a love letter to the recently closed space shuttle program; Dan Winters's America is like having a one-man exhibition on your coffee table.
Which is to say that, while we (hopefully) do improve steadily over time, meaningful growth happens in fits and starts. You have an experience of some sort, and after you come out of it you realize you will never be the same photographer again.
Now, while you certainly can wait for someone to hand you that experience on a platter, doing so is putting the ball in someone else's hands. Which is fine if you are both patient and lucky.
Or, you can do what architectural photographer Mike Kelley did, and decide to make it happen on your own. Read more »>>>>
Self-Taught via Self-Portrait: How to Turn the Lens on Yourself
Editor's Note: Need a willing victim for photos? Today, Sara Lando wraps up her series on portraiture, with an idea-filled look at how to turn the lens on the most available subject there is: yourself.
Also, be sure to check out the link to Sara's latest project at the end of the post.Read more »>>>>
Batting second in our lineup of fireside books is Eric Curry's wonderfully comprehensive Painting with Light.
If you have ever wanted to get into light painting but did not know where to start, Curry will take you gently by the hand and lead you into the world of creating beautifully complex pictures like the ones below… Read more »>>>>
Halloween Today, Super-Cheap Fog Machines Tomorrow
Just a quick reminder that tomorrow your local pop-up Halloween stores will be deep-discounting seasonal fog machines and bottles o' fog juice. Which are, of course, lots of fun for all kinds of photos...
Friday Night Lights Follow-Up: Don't Try This at Home. Or Away.
Remember last month's post on lens-axis fill flashing high school football? I promised to get back with you after experimenting with lighting a game with off-camera flash—way off-camera.
I spent a decent amount of time figuring out how to approach it: what flash, what beam throw, light position, dealing with the coaches, remotes, fill light, ambient balance, yada yada.
Here's what happened. Read more »>>>>
