Here is the long promised audio from Platon’s speech at the Eddie Adams Workshop from a few weeks ago.  It’s well worth a listen.

It’s one thing to have a few hours to photograph someone you know, or are being given a chance to get to know.   These days, when you’re asked to photograph a celebrity (or even just a CEO)  it’s more likely that you’ll find yourself photographing someone for a few seconds or less than 10 minutes - and that you’ll only be allowed to do so, if you agree to play by a long list of pre-determined rules.  

Pulling off an original image, navigating all of the politics, let alone capturing a moment,  is an art in it of itself.  And Platon talks at length about the process with incredible wit and frankness - and demonstrates how he has become a master of doing so.  

Enjoy and happy Turkey Day!  (If the Turkey’s putting you to sleep - this speech is sure to wake your right back up.)

CLICK on the embedded link above - OR CLICK HERE - to see the video in a higher AppleTV Resolution (still lower than the full resolution footage… no one wants to host footage that large - too much bandwidth…)  Special thanks to SmugMug for hosting this clip!  

I’ve had a chance to get a hold of the 5D MKII on several occasions - seven to be specific (2 of those nights were spent shooting the first film, Reverie.)   I’ve felt compelled to try to create something with it each time I’ve had the camera in my hands.    And I will admit this camera has brought me back the closest to the feeling I had at the age of 15 when I had my first camera and a few rolls of Tri-X to burn through.   Simply put - it’s so much fun and pure.

You’ll see some footage shot with Tilt-shift lenses from the air - my first time with video - as well as one of the last shots of the series that was shot with a full motion picture Steadicam rig.   All of the footage was shot with several different prototypes of the Canon EOS 5D MKII that I was allowed to borrow at different intervals - cut in Final Cut Studio, and graded in Color.  I’m still in the middle of post-productions with almost every one of these shoots - busier shooting than editing to be honest.  But I thought I’d share some of this footage as most of your are likely to receive your production 5DMKIIs sometime this week (those that put their names down first of course.) (more…)

Here is am in the grasp of Darth Vader (not the economy!) at ILM - Photo by Stacey Leong/ILM

I just wanted to post a quick update here to clarify a few things - and to tell you what I’m working on for this blog.

First - these past few weeks have been pretty mind blowing.   I’ve finally had a chance to relax with family for 48 hours in the sun, after an uninterrupted 8-week-whirlwind tour.

The first thing that I wanted to clear up is:  things are going well for me and my business -in fact they’ve probably never been better.  That being said, it’s important to be aware that we are indeed going through an unusually tough spot in our global economy.  This is not just one of those “normal” cycles - as some who are posting in the comments pages, seem to believe.  That’s my opinion anyway - and that was the reason behind my post “The Perfect Storm Has Arrived.” I wrote that article in response to a lot of the things that I’ve been reading in the press, as well as witnessing first hand - a lot of my talented colleagues are facing difficult times - and it’s tough to witness.  I’ve also had a chance to speak to some influential (and well informed) people in both Hollywood and Silicon Valley - and everyone is “feeling it.”  So I’m quite positive - but cautious as well.

On another front - I’ve had a chance to meet a lot of interesting people over the past few weeks - many of them visionaries in their respective industries.  I’ve been invited to speak and visit the campus at Industrial Light & Magic, as well meet some trend-setting people at Dreamworks Animation, Apple, SmugMug, and Disney.   Heck I’ve even met the guy who invented Dolby 5.1, as well as  filmmaker Stu Maschwitz who is also the author of the indy filmmaker’s “bible” “The DV Rebel’s Guide.”  Stu incidentally has a blog for filmmakers that all photographers should take a gander at: ProLost.

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Check out this great use of multimedia by photographer Robbie Cooper.  This demonstrates where I think one of the directions that I think journalism should be headed - a true mix of different media (or multiple uses of the same media as we see here - pulling stills from the RED camera.)   The fact that this is very well shot (great light etc) and fun to watch doesn’t hurt either - not to mentions that it’s a fantastic concept.

I’m on the road and don’t have my NYTimes Magazine here - but I can’t wait to see what the stills look like in the mag (they’re off of the RED video camera.)  I haven’t heard good things about the quality of stills off of the RED to date - but I’m looking forward to being pleasantly surprised.  They sure look more than good enough for the web (I’d say fantastic.)  

(VIA PDNPulse)

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.)