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Downtown Los Angeles - 5D MKII Infrared image with 24mm Tilt Shift Lens- ©2009 Vincent Laforet (5D MKII converted to infrared by www.irdigital.net )
We’ve made it to Los Angeles - and all is going absolutely great. I started the day on a music video set this morning (the dressing room upstairs was set up in a production studio where S&M movies are shot - complete with Y shaped beds suspended from the ceiling with chains - definitely felt like “LA”) and later in the afternoon I was helping out a friend with some time lapse photography for an Audi commercial being shot in downtown Los Angeles.
I’ve been meeting some really cool people out here - many of them just as fascinated as I am with new gear and things that “have never been done before.” The shot to the left is a digital infrared shot with a 5D MKII and the new 24mm T/S from Canon from this afternoon.
On a personal note, my daughter Eliana Lanai Laforet (aka “LaLa”) was born seven weeks ago and is absolutely amazing. We’re almost done unpacking and we’re really liking the vibe in Manhattan Beach - I hear it’s rained 15 out of the last 19 days back in New York City!
Anyway - I do plan to start posting again here now that things are settled down a bit - but I suggest you subscribe to this blog from this point on - as you’ll be automatically notified when something new is posted.
Downtown Los Angeles - after sunset - Canon 24 mm Tilt Shift lens - ©2009 Vincent Laforet
The long and short of it is that between the move, the new baby and work - I’m finding less and less time to post regularly. The other issue is that I’m finding that many of the new jobs / productions I work on don’t really allow me to post for weeks or months until they’re completed - just something that goes with the territory and is expected of course. By the time I’m cleared to share photos/clips/info, I more often than not find myself working on something altogether new and forget to write about what I did weeks ago. I’ll try to get better at this. For example, today’s production mounted an Arriflex 50mm Anamorphic lens to a 5D MKII - it was a pretty amazing sight! I’d love to share some pix of the rig or even some of the footage with you of course - but can’t for obvious reasons (the commercial has to come out first!) So stay tuned - or more to the point: subscribed.
Note: The Canon 5D MKII that took the first image was converted to IR by www.irdigital.net
77 Comments so far
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Hey Vince!
Nice to hear you’re “coming back”.
I always enjoy your posts and so do tons of people here.
My Feedreader was awfully monochrome for the past couple months.
Thank you for the work you put in to entertain us.
Comment by HT 06.23.09 @ 4:34 amHi Vincent, what do you think of the 17TS-E? Should it be considered if someone already has the 24mm?
AlainP 06.23.09 @ 5:25 amVery glad to see your post again Vincent!
Strange, but EXIF of the second picture says that it’s 24mm.
Comment by Boris 06.23.09 @ 5:40 amHey ! Long time no read ! Welcome back on the web ;-D Ok, just kidding, but we miss your creativity as a feed… Glad to see that everything is fine, felicitations pour l’heureux evenement.
From your fan, based in the Philippines ! Cheers
good to read that you are back 
are the more updates coming about the jamie o´brian movie? maybe some more behind the scenes? i just loved those…
Nice to have you back!
After your previous blog post, the one about Life giving away pictures for free, I’d thought you’d quit photography!
All the best!
Comment by Jonathan Stokes 06.23.09 @ 7:24 amGreat to see you back - and congratulations on the birth of your daughter! Looking forward to seeing more blog entries. The behind the scenes posts from Hawaii were fantastic. Any news on when the completed film will be ready?
Comment by Paddy Benson 06.23.09 @ 7:54 amNice one Vincent. Ironic that this post covers a whole bunch of stuff I love shooting.. IR, Timelapse, Music Video.. Well cool. Don’t be one of the bloggers that say they’ll have more time to post shortly.. and that post is a year old!
Comment by Sean McCormack 06.23.09 @ 7:54 amGood to have you back.
FYI the Smashbox studio photo industry Soiree is this week
Here is the info
http://pixfeed.blogspot.com/2009/06/smashbox-industry-soiree-4-625.html
Also, If you are in need of a good assistant out here. You can call on me.
http://brianfaini.com/assistant.aspx
I really like the tilt and shift lenses. I love out focus sensation.
Comment by Fotografi 06.23.09 @ 11:32 amAs another former NYer, welcome to the west coast. I look forward to hearing more about your projects and activities.
Comment by Daniel Sheehan 06.23.09 @ 11:34 amnice to see a bold “1″ on my bloglines feed for your site… it was starting to gather dust 
Very nice to see you posting again. Congratulations on the move and the addition to your family. One question on the infrared image you posted. The exif data indicates a 1/250 sec exposure, so I’m assuming this was taken with an IR converted 5D MkII. If that’s correct, who carried out the conversion?
Comment by Dave 06.23.09 @ 4:42 pmFelicitations pour ta petite fille!! et pour le reste aussi:-)
Comment by William 06.23.09 @ 4:53 pmNot interested in attending the soiree?
http://pixfeed.blogspot.com/2009/06/smashbox-industry-soiree-4-625.html
Comment by brian faini 06.23.09 @ 5:33 pmNice to see you back in business.
Good luck with your new family member.
Thanks for this nice pics.
Comment by CEEA 06.23.09 @ 5:34 pmHey Vincent, welcome back, we’ve (your eager followers)been having a blast while you’ve been away
Congrats to your baby girl, hope she’s fine and mom too of course.
I see you really have been bitten by the tilt-shift bug so when can we see the first tilt-shift shot of your little princess?
Good luck in LA and see you around!!
Comment by Michael Bolognesi 06.23.09 @ 6:07 pmVincent, my dad & I totally enjoyed the workshop this past Sunday; it was a great way for us to spend Father’s Day together. I hope you had time after the workshop to spend with your family; thanks for sharing the day with us. Question: who’s the manufacturer of the 3 ft rail supported by the monopod & tripod? Enjoy LA!
Comment by Roland Balik 06.23.09 @ 7:02 pmI too really enjoyed this weekend with you and the Canon folk. Glad you took my suggestion to post to the blog again. HaHa. Look forward as always to see what’s new here! Thanks.
Comment by Steve Henry 06.23.09 @ 9:13 pmVincent -
I emailed you that I found someone that violated your copyright that I saw on the internet, did you get my email?
Comment by Mitchell 06.23.09 @ 10:50 pmHey Vince, glad to hear you and your family doing good in your new digs.
Im up in Santa Monica if you ever need a hand with anything or I know a few people who are good and reliable.
Maybe Ill see ya around!
Dustin
Vincent Laforet Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 12:27 am
@dustin snipes, Dustin - looking forward to getting together again
I’m looking forward to the updates. Hope the family is taking the move alright.
Comment by Mike Ignatov 06.24.09 @ 2:20 amThese tilt shift photos always blow me away. I look forward to the coming posts. It’s always interesting to read.
Comment by Boston Photographer - MWynne 06.24.09 @ 10:00 amI just checked this site two days ago wondering if you were okay. Great to hear this and glad things are going well for you and yours.
Comment by Aaron 06.24.09 @ 10:19 amWill you try a video with the IR 5D MKII??
Would love to see what it looks like.
I have a 20D converted to IR, very unique images come out of this format.
Harry
Vincent Laforet Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 12:29 am
@Harry, I have - it looks very very interesting. I haven’t had a time to shoot something longer form yet - but do plan on doing something soon.
Vincent: Did you get my message about meeting my friend John F. ?? I never heard? - congratulations on the baby. Cheers, Rusty
Comment by Rusty Jackson 06.24.09 @ 8:35 pmhttp://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/06/magic-lantern-firmware-supercharges-canon-5d-mkii/
Just ran across this and was curious what your thoughts are on this? Is this something that you would find useful considering your experiences with the 5D Mark II(maybe once it is out of beta)?
Congrats on the addition to your family!
Vincent Laforet Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 12:31 am
@David Bornfriend, The long and short of it is that getting audio levels doesn’t justify the risk… if Canon hadn’t come out w/ a new firmware allowing for manual control - then it would be a different story.
Vincent,
Happy Father’s Day (belated) … just enjoying hearing your interview again on FXGuide-Red Centre (episode #27)
Have you had a chance to meet up with Rodney Charters (DP of “24″) yet?
Rodney has been using the 5D on “24″ and used five of them on a CBS Pilot “Washington Field”. (Love to hear an interview with both of you, one day …)
Peace,
J-Dog
p.s. Big thanks for the push for manual control on the 5D …. loving every second of it on my camera!
Comment by J-Dog 06.25.09 @ 1:35 pmWelcome Eliana Lanai to this world and welcome Vincent to this coast!
Hope to see you soon,
Luca
P.S.
our baby Noah has arrived too http://www.noahprasso.com
Vincent Laforet Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 12:34 am
@Luca Prasso, Wow - congrats! Awesome Luca - e-mailing you now
Vincent:
I would like to see an IR video with the 5D. Do you think it is possible with a “normal” shutter speed (1/60) to shoot IR movie?
Cheers
Laurent
Vincent Laforet Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 12:35 am
@Laurent, Yes - shutter is not an issue w/ the modified MKII that I’m working with- with the manual firmware update - you can set it to whatever shutter speed you’d like - I set mine to 1/50th to get as close to 1/48th (motion picture) as possible. Not quite 24p - but ok.
Vince, been lookin for your post every day!
Good to see something new to learn from Argentina!
Congratulations on the birth of your daughter LaLa. A second young child is definitely adds more to the juggling act : )
Comment by Stoney Vintson 06.28.09 @ 4:54 amVince, after so much reading on your work I finally bought the MkII and a couple of lenses. youtube. search “onde voce foi parar”…. Wonder, if I do the swith to IF is it switchable back for normal shooting? I will be in town some time shortly, could I meet U @ any possible time?
Take care
Comment by cadu 06.28.09 @ 2:41 pmHey Vincent
How is it to edit a movie that is compressed with the anamorphic lens - there must be software that converts it into 16:9 for editing. How hard was it to set up on EF mount ?
also where the heck do you get these ideas from! heck why even bother mounting it to a 5D when you could mount it to a RED ?
Congrats on your baby girl!
Vincent Laforet Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 12:36 am
@Chris, The director was shooting everything with anamorphic lenses and wanted to see how the time lapse photography would match up. You never know until you try - and don’t forget: the RED is awesome - but it still has a smaller chip than the 5D and it’s noticeable.
Hey Vincent!
Nice to hear you’re “coming back” and congratulations for your baby girl !
Comment by Roberto 06.29.09 @ 4:39 amCongratulations on the new addition to the family. I hope the move continues to go smoothly. The warmer weather will likely be a nice change. Again Congratulations!
Comment by Jim Goldstein 06.29.09 @ 4:32 pmThanks for sharing those gorgeous images. I’ve never heard of the Arriflex lens but did a quick Google search and it was surprisingly expensive on ebay.
Great photos nonetheless. I’m a new follower to your blog!
Comment by Rowell 07.01.09 @ 4:33 pmGlad things are going well on a professional and family level. Please holler when you need an assistant. I do all of so cal.
Thanks for posting.
Cheers
Craig Stikman Glaspell
http://www.stiksandstones.com
Congratulations on your successful move and your baby girl. Thanks for posting the pics with the T/S lens.
Do you feel you’ll be using the T/S lens more often than others just for the creativity it offers..not only for still but video as well?
Cheers.
John V
Toronto, Canada
Vincent Laforet Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 12:38 am
@John V, Would love to yes - but I always feel the need to be careful not to overuse anything. T/S lenses are great for certain specific uses - sometimes they have the danger of becoming too gimmicky when used incorrectly.
Great to see you posting again. Looking forward to seeing more LA work!
Comment by David 07.10.09 @ 9:23 pmVincent, congratulations on your baby! And welcome to LALA land.
I know all about big moves (moved from London to LA with a 4 month old 5 years back) so I know how little time you have until things get sorted. Thanks for keeping us updated.
I find your articles interesting and your photography inspiring.
Cheers,
Nordin
Strange, but EXIF of the second picture says that it’s 24mm.
Comment by Vince123456 07.17.09 @ 11:42 pmIn the world of high-heeled shoes Christian Louboutin is the French people can not be ignored. In fact, I would like to ignore it can not be ignored, the brand will not do the red, female stars red under the soles of the feet will hold back your direct line of sight. The sole design is so smart, “seizing the line of sight” is a selling point so that women echocardiography, very narcissistic very sexy, imagine a red soles of men to follow their line of sight, the women must be willing to pay. “Red shoe” high degree of recognition, it’s another advantage of the female stars free advertising. See red soles is Christian Louboutin, no need to find a logo.
Replica Louboutin site: http://www.replicalouboutin.com
Пора переименовать блог, присвоив название связанное с доменами может хватит про них?
Hi Vincent!
Congrats for your new daughter My wife is 11th week pregnant and we are very exiting!
I know you since you posted Revierie and your comments and your knowledge helps me a lot.
Just thanks and please keep us posted.
Regards from Mexico!
Vincent Laforet Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 12:38 am
@Eduardo Montellano, Good Luck to you and your wife Eduardo - sincerely - v
Yeah okay great, now the first thing I’m going to do when I get to (so cal) LA is blog. I’ll blog about my great life, new baby and how I’m rubbing elbows and even shoulders with unnamed industry “leaders” working on a hugely exclusive “thing”…
(Yeah, and then if some jerk, like this poster posts comments I don’t like, I’ll just pass him off and let the fanboys take care of him while not needing to listen to a thing he’s insinuating about my over inflated ego. But I digress, back to me, again…)
Then I’ll get in a plane/helicopter and do some real easy David Burnett derived images of LA (the city of lights) just like I did in NYC (and everywhere else for that fact) showing off that I have the super cool new Canon 24TS lens and can make more of those miniature looking photos. Aren’t those so shizz cool? Aren’t you guys secretly jealous of my super-wonderful-terrific life yet? How about my Pulitzer, I haven’t even wiped that out on you yet. (NYC-LA, I’m soooo, bi-coastal now.) Well, you should be, because if not, I’m still going to return to blogging just to give you a chance to be.
Keep it up “wonder-boy”, I and others are laughing at you, not with you. You and LA are all about entertainment!
Vincent Laforet Reply:
August 7th, 2009 at 12:46 am
@Nada, Blogs are such interesting beasts aren’t they? I often wonder why the act of simply writing down some ideas and sharing them with others can cause so much angst amongst a few. Never made any sense to me - neither these posts nor the angst. Life is too short. Never lose sight that reading this blog is purely optional.
Cam Reply:
August 9th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
@Vincent Laforet,
I think it is cool that you are jumping into film and bringing the still/video feel and experience to the motion picture world.
It should be a grand experience and it may be the right thing for you, or, you can live in both worlds, stills and motion.
I rarely read blogs as I don’t like to spend my time reading about others, I would rather do. But today I read yours for the first time in, I would say, a year I guess, and I have enjoyed seeing you grow as a photographer and how you have changed.
Interesting world we live in.
Vincent, I wonder if you can comment on the use of the 5DMKII+T/S Lens+Liveview as a sort of digital era view camera? Live view, which greatly enhanced the appeal of such a solution, still has its drawbacks due to the 3″ screen, in terms of achieving critical focus of a 21MP image. Would the Marshall monitor you recommended for video improve that substantially for still shots? Have you tried the Zacuto Z-Finder to comment on it vs. the Marshall for this type of work. Do either of those devices allow sharp focusing akin to viewing the ground glass of a view camera?
Comment by Ken 08.13.09 @ 4:12 pmVince, just watched a NYTimes “Last Word” video on Les Paul and was shocked (and delighted) to see your credit at the end. When did you produce this? Hope all is okay. John in Miami
Comment by JVB 08.20.09 @ 7:26 amI’ve really enjoyed making videos for webmasters. In the most recent recording session, we decided that it would be fun to talk about some of the “hidden gems” of Google: features, products, or tips that you might not know about, but you might like
Comment by UGG Boots Sale 08.29.09 @ 4:20 amWelcome to LA/South Bay. Nice to see some different perspectives of downtown LA.
Our photo group shoots around LA all the time. Please feel free to check us out.
http://lashooters.org/
heyy! OMG il luv demi lovatoo!!:D:D
reply me back cuz i need a answer for my question
who made the video of LALA LAND!??
THNKS
contact me by my hotmail thanks so very muchh
Comment by Habibe 11.06.09 @ 12:36 pmHey Vince, congrats on the move. Gotta love L.A.
Thanks,
Canvas Art
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
@AlainP, it’s obviously much wider - and the optics are superb. Not a great lens for the “miniature” look - too wide. But fantastic for traditional architecture photography
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