Cutting to the Chase, Jarvis @ Javits!

This years keynote speaker on the opening day of PDN's PhotoPlus was photographer, artist and innovator/extraordinaire, Chase Jarvis. The topic, The New Creativity and the Social Art of Photography. 

His opening statement: 'There has never been a better time to be a photographer' was a prelude to a discussion about new avenues that technology has has made available for photographers and visual artists. Chase went on to challenge all 600 in the audience and the tens of thousands watching a live feed, to embrace these tools, use them often to share your voice and vision with other like-minded individuals. 

Regularly squawking a similar message in my classroom, I felt like he was preaching to the choir, which makes this part pretty funny. 

As he's urging us all to share our own vision with the world, not a soul (a least that I could see) was shooting any pictures.  So to give him an instant and global shout out plus a hearty amen, I shot this pan and uploaded to my flickr stream, all during his round table discussion, which was fantastic, btw.

So shoot share and be happy.  Be on the lookout for the keynote and push yourself to apply any and all new technology to your own work.

iPhone 4, flipped to B&W and tweaked in PS Express and assembled in AutoStitch

Ironic beyond belief...

Heading out to PhotoEast for workshops and industry stuff, I pulled into the new long term parking lot at Midway just as the sun was setting.  For some time, I have wanted to photograph the small propeller wind turbines the city has installed on the roof the evening  sky and light looked great.  

Being that day (October 27th) was the windiest day in Chicago in decades (and my mom's birthday, Happy Birthday Mom! Celebrate by checking out her blog) one would think they would be spinning with enough might to power the entire parking garage and half the airport too, but no, securely tied in place, they were going nowhere, generating nothing.

Between trying not to get blown over and wiping the amazing amount of tears pouring out of my eyes from the gritty 50 mph gusts, I was struggling to hold the camera still and compose a decent photo.     

For some time now I've described my work Cultural Irony and while this particular image is not ironic on it's own, the situation and back story certainly was.

 :) 

Building your own cine style 5D MKII finder

Late in October 2008 I got an email to come to ProGear to check out the new 5D mkII live and in person.  Without a doubt it would be an hit, I don't think anybody knew at the time (well maybe Vincent Laforet did) just what a complete game changer this single camera would turn out to be. 

I truly feel as if Canon thought it would be a nice feature to capture the video already generated from the live view LCD that made its first prosumer appearance in the 40D, I don't think they anticipated just how this one little feature would change the face of commercial photography as we know it. 

By I digress... I went home after playing with the camera that night wondering how to adapt a professional video finder to this new and magical machine that was on its way to capturing the attention of the industry. 

New Career?

Thanks to the amazing Danyel Duncan, photo student and cage worker who was nice enough to shoot a picture of my madden voyage as a big-time auctioneer at this years annual charity auction, Imagine.  I have to admit it was a bit scary at first, but it turned out to be an absolute gas and an all around enjoyable evening downtown and all for a great cause to boot.

I personally had two pieces sell (whoo-hoo) with 100% of the proceeds going to the Chicago chapter of DIFFA, The Design Industry Fighting For Aids.

Shooting…finally!

For whatever reason lately, paperwork seems to be multiplying when I’m looking away.  As the pile was growing on my desk, I finally got to sneak away yesterday and shoot a picture of Dawn Heitsch of Grow Here, an architecture and design firm focused on growing food in Chicago.

Even if it was just for 30 minutes in the studio,  it was enough to be completely refreshed.  I shot her in two setups, a more formal sitting and this one here.  The scuffed up wall of the studio seemed to fit the image nicely.

Dirk

Zeiss 18mm test

A little while back I bought the amazing new 18mm Zeiss in an EF mount for use on the full frame 5DmkII.  I’ve always loved wide angle lenses and while I was stuffing the piggy bank in the name of the new 14mm mkII Canon when Zeiss announced this lens, which comes in much cheaper then the Canon. It would be a perfect complement to the 25mm Zeiss I've been using for video.  Since getting it a couple months ago I’ve shot it on a couple of jobs but I haven’t really done as detailed of a test as I usually do on a lens.  Attached are some test shots made on the way to the Apple store on a perfect Chicago afternoon. 

The lens does amazing well in a variety of situations as you would expect any lens carrying the Zeiss name. Several have complete tonal ranges, from the brightest of highlights to the deepest dark shadow areas and in each situation it performs swimmingly, even the shots with the sun in the frame.  The only word I can think of is ‘buttery’ which doesn't really describe a darn thing until you see the results on a decent monitor and then you will agree, ‘buttery’ is a perfect word. 

                                    

  

no really....

I think I'm really done with the book this time.  

Again, thanks to all the students that contributed their amazing images to this project, it’s a better book because of it.

front cover image, Ricky Kluge www.rtkphoto.com 

Now go and pre-order…  

Amazon

Borders

:)

iPhone 4 handheld shooting mount

With the iPhone 4’s 720p video there is an explosion of people using them to make everything from corporate films and music videos, commercials and numerous experimental films.  When you use them in ideal conditions the phone can produce some pretty remarkable results, keeping in mind it is designed to make calls after all.

Soon after I got my phone I realized the ergonomics for using it as a video camera are far from ideal. So, like so many times before, I began scratching some sketches in a notebook and after everybody was asleep I found myself digging through a box of spare parts and heading to the workbench.

Not long there after, I had a working grip that made the phone feel more like a camera.  Getting your wrist under the phone instead finger tipping the sides makes for much smoother shooting. With the grip on the left you can one hand it, if need be without worrying about dropping it. 

Just about the same time I emerged from the basement, a friend sent me a link to the Owle Bubo, a commercially available product designed with a similar goal.  The Owle comes with a Vericorder mic (that is incompatible with the iPhone 4) and a silicone case that keeps it in the mount nice and snug.  Each corner of the Olwe has a ¼ 20-tripod mount that is great for mounting it just about anywhere and anyhow.  The unit also ships with a two-part macro/wide angle lens of pretty decent quality…for what it is.

My grip, while looking nowhere as svelte as the Bubo, uses a plethora of spare parts.  It is essentially a Metz handle mount bottom bracket with a Hasselblad ergonomic flash bracket handle topped off with a Stroboframe accessory shoe which is perfect for mounting an LED or Sennheiser MKE 400 microphone.  I should note that the Sennheiser mic works swimmingly with the phone without needing adapters.  Initially I had used a car mount to mount the phone but it didn’t hold it securely so I bought the cage portion of the Zacuto iPhone mount, which holds the phone perfectly secure.  Even though I’m not at all crazy about putting any lens whatsoever in front of the already tiny lens and sensor of the phone, I added a magnetic wide angle lens to the front which works OK…a bit dreamy when heavily backlit… I’ve already ordered a higher quality wide-angle lens.

The light at the end.....

I might be mistaken but I just might be done with the book.  I actually tried calculating how much PepsiMax I drank while I was writing and shooting.  While the gallon count may never be known but I have to say, it sure did the trick. 

My portion of book is done and will be out early December.  I have to say I would be nowhere if it weren’t for the amazing students that shared some of their fantastic imagery with me. 

Here is the portion from the acknowledgments in the front of the book where I get to thank them:

“A huge debt of gratitude needs to be paid to my students whose energy and enthusiasm makes every day at the college feel like a weekend.  I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate being able to work around you, with you, and for you each and every day. I especially need to thank a group of young professionals who were so kind to lend their fantastic imagery to this project. Your images truly make these pages jump! Not necessarily in order of appearance, the students whose images appear are Britton Black, Stephanie Remelius, John Karl Brewick, Nick Provost, Robert Vreeland, Ricky Kluge, and Tyler Lundburg.” 

Please click on their sites and check them out for yourselves:

Nick Provost:   nickprovost.blogspot.com

Britton Black:   www.brittonblack.com

Ricky Kluge (for the cover photo):  www.rtkphoto.com

Stephanie Remelius:   www.stephanieremelius.com

J. Karl Brewick:   www.jkbphotografix.com

Tyler Lundburg:  www.tylerlundberg.com

Robert Vreeland flickr.com/photos/shapeshadestudios

Dirk 

phones, films and fun...

So tonight is my first big ‘iPhone-as-a-movie-camera-and-editing-platform’ shoot with Barbara Karant at MSI.  In prep, I shot a little video Monday night of the boys on a post-dinner bike ride to test out the phone and the iMovie editing software that you can use on the phone.

What the camera lacks in tonal range and what iMovie for the iPhone lacks in functionality (remember…it is still a phone after all) is more then made up by the fact that the entire video was shot, edited and soundtrack added on a phone that fits in your pocket!

Both as a society and as professional creators of imagery, moving and still, I don’t think anybody has really grappled with the long-term ramifications of this kind of functionality.  Sure the technology isn’t going to replace my MKII or a Panavision as it has some obvious drawbacks but think where this technology will be in five years. 

If the goal is to tell an interesting and compelling story and get it out to the world, then this phone has made a quantum leap in delivering that ability to the masses. 

Everyone is now free to make a bad film!

Here is a link for an HD version:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGfFcTsIuJc&hd=1


The other thing I found interesting was the packing list for the shoot, it looked like this:

Fully charged iPhone 4

Custom made handle bracket for greater handheld stability (photo to follow)

Tripod with fluid head

Bug spray

Water, coffee and gum

That’s about it…easy peasy.

So, enjoy my babies and the minute long test film while you ponder the future.

Awwww jeez!!

Alright, I got my first iPhone, a shiny new iPhone 4 and I have to say I’m hooked.  I got it on Sunday and I’ve been shooting pictures and video like crazy.  So much so that I set up a Flickr account to post the images straight from the phone, it’s a kick!

Here is a link to the flickr account:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52311086@N08/

Look for my first iPhone HD film that will be shot and edited on the phone in a couple of weeks.  Rock star architectural photographer Barbara Karant is taking our Architecture and Interior Photography students to the Smart Home at Museum of Science and Industry for a shoot and I plan to be in tow with my camera err phone in hand.

Here is a couple of my first shots -the train platform below was the first shot I made with it.

Harrington at NeoCon, 2010

Here is a short film project I just completed.  It also served as an editing test for my upcoming Multimedia class.  I wanted to see how well my older 13-inch MacBook Pro could manage the MKII files.  FCP was quite sticky at times so I tried iMovie which ran surprisingly smooth if down sizing the file is OK for your use.

The majority of the film was cut w/ iMovie, then FCP for a little bit of color finessing and the end credits. 

I shot with Canon’s 14mm, 24mm–70mm, and the 100-400mm L lenses along with the Zeiss 25mm for the Merlin stuff.

Thanks to Professor Kliq for the kicking soundtrack!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsKyWHV1o4s

Enjoy!

Psychedelic aftermath?

What looks like Dexter Morgan making a stop in the 60’s, are the remnants of Interior Design instructor Peter Klick’s experimental design class.  Here are some pics of the project: http://www.flickr.com/photos/klickli/sets/72157623185742161/

quite odd…

America America

Linhof Super Technika III w/ a 65mm Super Angulon on 4x5 Velvia

the new studio heads have arrived!

without air holes or anything...