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…)