The Redrock Micro DSLR Cinema rig for the Canon EOS 5D MKII

Canon just posted an interview that I did with them a few weeks ago on their site. In the interview I discuss how the “Reverie” video came to be, my experience with the 5D MKII during the shoot, as well as some upcoming projects and thoughts on where this is all headed.  I usually cringe when I see myself quoted in print - but this little interview turned out quite well, I almost sound like I know what I’m talking about!  You’ll see a video half way through the article that shows the 5D MKII mounted inside a Redrock Micro rig.   You can also view an alternate edit to the behind the scenes video edited by  Andre Costantini (who cut Reverie) for Canon’s site.

A few of you may have read the article “The Cloud is Falling” that discussed my outlook for the photography industry in some detail, less than half a year ago.  That article was the impetus behind this blog in fact. My overall thought back then was that the still/print industry was fundamentally changing - both due to technological advances and market forces - and that still photographers needed to embrace new ideas and technologies.

   A lot has happened in the past 6 months - most notably the economy (and on a more positive note, game changing technological advances such DSLRs that shoot 1080p video.)   My outlook for the print industry is now quite dire - in many ways this economic downturn may lead to an incredible series of layoffs and failures in the upcoming year that our industry has never seen before.  What I assumed would happen over the next 3-5 years - may happen in the next year or two - precipitated by this economic downturn that we’re experiencing.  (The stock market (INDU) in case you haven’t noticed -  is approaching its lowest level in more than a decade.) The purpose of this post is to make sure that all photographers are aware that 2009 may be an incredibly tough year for everyone - and for you to make sure that you prepare yourself for it. (more…)

For years now, I’ve been waiting for someone to take full advantage of the web and to allow photographers to better connect with their audiences.  I’ve always found that traditional media rarely offer up a way for photographers to connect directly with their readers/viewers.   Photoshelter has just recently released a little widget that allows anyone to embed flash galleries in their (and other people’s) websites.   This tool allows photographers to easily share their images - and perhaps to generate some income.  In this case - you can simply view the photographs within the widget - and if you’d like, you can purchase a print as well.  

I think this has a tremendous potential - so much so, that I’m going to try to encourage you to embed this gallery into your personal sites (or publications!) by applying all of the profits from these print sales for the next 30 days to a student internship/scholarship… (more…)

Had a really close call with a very very close family member today - as close as it gets.    Could have been fatal - but turned out ok.  Head traumas are so dangerous, and when mixed with internal bleeding can turn on a dime.  

Any way.  All is good.  Everyone is fine. (Broken skulls excluded.)

Things have been incredibly busy for me over the past few weeks - and the outlook for things has been awesome.  And just like that all could have come crashing down.

I’m being cryptic on purpose because I really don’t want to get into personal matters on a public forum.

The point of this post  is simply to remind me (and you) to always keep an eye on what is important in life: family, friends - and all else is far secondary - if even on the radar.   Be safe out there.  Always make a point to “seize the day,” but make more of a point to spend as much time with your loved ones - no matter how crazy busy you are.

Being busy is a voluntary thing.   So is spending time with family.  Make a point of doing the latter.  

Family and friends are all that matter in the end.  

Peace.

(No probing comments please on this post.)

I just got this press release from Allen Murabayashi the CEO of Photoshelter this morning.   Seems like there is hope for those that have their images “trapped” on the DRR servers.  Photoshelter has been in discussions with Diablo Management and they have been able to get them to extend the server “up” time for just a bit longer - YOU HAVE UNTIL 11:59 PM PST tomorrow (October 31st) to move your images off…

Hats off to Allen and Photoshelter for making this move - I’m sure that he and everyone and that industry sees that DRR shutting its doors w/o notice is not good for anyone in that (or our) industry…  very smart PR move…

So move quickly… I wish you the best in throughput luck (may the data transfer gods be in your favor!  I hope you all can get most of your stuff off of those servers in time!)  It sure sounds like this is your very last chance to get anything off those servers..period (unless you know a judge…but I’m not going to get into that…) (more…)

It’s no secret that I’ve been a fan of Photoshelter over Digital Railroad since the beginning - and the reason for me was clear:  I knew and trusted the people and the technology at Photoshelter.

Both are online photo storage sites where professional (and amateurs) store backup copies of their work online  - and in some cases originals. The idea is that having all of your work on your hard drives/RAID in one location is not the best backup strategy, storing them online on professional grade servers is a great idea - not to mention that both Photoshelter and Digital Rail Road (DRR) offer a variety of other services to sell your photos to others as well.

I know a lot of people who work for Digital Rail Road and have struck up good friendships with them - but at the risk of making enemies - I will say this:

Shutting down the DRR online storage site - and giving all of your customers less than 24 hours notice to retrieve their data - is ABSOLUTELY INEXCUSABLE.     Many companies (such as the VII Agency) have come to rely on DRR to run their businesses - and it’s outright irresponsible to expect them to be able to get all of their content off of your site with any notice shorter than one month - or at the very least a few days. (more…)

QUICK UPDATE:  The Workshop is full at this time.  Please send an e-mail to workshops@vincentlaforet.com with “NOTIFY ME” in the subject header - if you’d like to be notified when the DVD/Video/Online release of the workshop video becomes available. 

I’ve been planning a photography workshop for a few months now - and have recently decided to include a section for photographers wishing to make the transition into video as well.   The full-day workshop will be held at the Apple Boston Market Center, in Boston MA on Sunday November 2nd, 2008.  

We will cover Apple’s Aperture software in depth - and I will share with you the workflow that I have adopted for both my commercial photography business - as well as the more deadline-driven editorial photography that I do out in the field.  

Basically, I will show you how I run my business and the tools that I use every day.  

I will show you how I manage my entire photography library within Aperture, as well as other tools from Apple and 3rd party software:  ranging from Apple Remote Desktop, to special features in Leopard (such as Automator) to a number of utilities, plugins (Viveza), and delivery methods (Transmit) that I use on a daily basis not only to produce and prepare my images, but also how I run the business side of things (OmniFocus, Kerio Mail Server.)  In short - I will share most of what I have learned over the past 3 years of running my own business (on the technology side) - after leaving my role as a staff photographer after close to a decade.  This will comprise 2/3 of the day-long workshop.

The last third of the workshop will focus on the transition to video/film.  I will bring the Canon 5D MKII  that I used in the making of “Reverie” along with hardware from RedrockMicro and will discuss my transition into video and some of the initial challenges that I faced.   This will NOT be a Final Cut Studio Tutorial however - we will look at some unique workflows especially adapted to the 5D MKII and output strategies via Compressor that will be relevant to all photographers/filmmakers interested in video/web/DVD delivery of the content they produce.   (more…)

I will be joining a bunch of talented people next week at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue.  Here is the schedule for the upcoming week:

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The Eddie Adams Workshop was a great success.  I’m sure everyone came out of it having learned something very special - I know that I did.    We’re all trying to catch up on life and work - not to mention rest.   So here’s a quick article from PDN that talks about what we did there.  

I’ve also gotten permission to put up audio of Platon’s speech at the workshop - which is easily one of the best I’ve heard in my years at the workshop - and likely the best speech I’ve ever heard from a “celebrity” photography - although that title diminishes what the man produces - it is just a small part of what Platon does.  I and others were incredibly impressed with his wit, his intelligence - and how approachable he was.   One of my only regrets was not getting time to spend with him at the bar one night - as I was walking past to go do some portfolio reviews, I caught a glimpse of him surrounded by a few students who were soaking his wisdom in.   I have to admit to being quite jealous of those students - I sure hope they didn’t take a single second of that time with him for granted.