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I’ve gotten e-mails from 4 people asking if it would be possible to do a second hands on workshop with the Canon 5D MKII in Atlanta on the first week of October.

Apparently there are 5 people on the waiting list with Canon as well.

If we can get over 8 people together to commit to the workshop - I can do another one on October 6th as I am staying in Atlanta that week due to other commitments.

Please post below if you are interested - the workshop would last all day on the 6th.   Don’t forget to include your e-mail in your post so that I could contact you directly.   The workshop would be just a little bit more expensive than the $300 that Canon charges as I would need to factor in the location/model/assistant costs.  If someone has a studio that they’d like to donate - then that would take care of most of that - I would offer free attendance of course in return for up to 2 people to that person.   I think the workshop would end up in the $350-$500 range for the day depending on the expenses.  Please let me know.

Here is a description of what we will be doing:

I’ll be demonstrating the 5D MKII’s video capabilities and some of the most popular accessories to help in the production of narrative pieces.

We’ll cover core skills from producing, directing, lighting and audio - to camera operation and editing.  We’ll shoot in the morning and during the afternoon we’ll edit, and eventually grade the piece (color correct) in FCP’s Color software - and talk about output as well.  Basically - almost everything that I know and that I can pack into one day.

UPDATE: THE WORKSHOP IS HAPPENING!    THE FIRST FOURTEEN (14) PEOPLE TO RESPOND IN THE COMMENTS BELOW WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE CONFIRMED - I’ll Keep 2 people in a waiting list if we get that far.

Teterboro Airport - NJ 2006. Image ©Vincent Laforet

UPDATE: I HAVE PUT UP THE INFORMATION FOR THE MARYLAND EVENT BELOW.

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Here are a few events that I wanted to let you know about  - in case these events happen to be in your neighborhood and you have some free time that day.

I haven’t done a good job of listing these events in the past - so why not start now right?

I will be having a gallery opening - that will focus on my Tilt-Shift work at the Matre Gallery in Atlanta, from October 8th through November 3rd, 2009.

I welcome you to come to the reception on October 8th, 2009 from 6p.m.-9p.m.

Fall Lectures / Workshops:

New York City, NY - September 17th - 11:30a.m.-2:30 p.m.

I will be speaking at the HD Expo at the New Yorker Hotel.

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St. Louis, MO - October 1, 2009 - 7:00p.m.-9:00 p.m.

I will be speaking at Schiller’s Camera Event at Hilton St. Louis Frontenac.

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Atlanta, GA - October 3rd - 9:00a.m.-6:00 p.m.

I will be one of 3 speakers at the Georgia World Congress Center

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Atlanta, GA - October 4th - 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Full Day 5D MKII Workshop (class is FULL sorry)

http://www.studioninehundred.com/

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Savannah, GA - October 5th - 7:00p.m.-9:00p.m.

I will be speaking at the Savannah College of Art & Design

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Atlanta, GA  - October 7th - 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

I will be speaking at the “Atlanta Celebrates Photography” - Savannah College of Art & Design - Atlanta - presented in association with the Matre Gallery.

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San Diego, CA - October 16th - 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

I will be leading a Live Video Shoot & Lecture - Essy’s Studio, 3350 Sports Arena Blvd Suite K-2, San Diego, CA 92110
www.georgescamera.com

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New York, NY - October 22nd - 24th - All Day at various locations including the Canon booth.

Photo Plus Expo 09

I will be teaching a HANDS ON Workshop titled “Cinematography with a DSLR” - 8:45 a.m. on October 22nd (real early I know - yikes!)

“In this 3-hour seminar, Vincent Laforet will outline some of the most common challenges still photographers are likely to face as they make the transition to cinematography. This presentation will focus mostly on using the new breed of digital SLRs to capture video, as well as discovering the technical advantages and hurdles they come with (especially when compared to other devices such as the RED camera and other traditional camcorders). Laforet will demonstrate many of the DSLR accessories available to achieve professional results on larger productions as well as the post production workflow including video conversion, basic editing and grading. A live shoot segment will take place with the participation of a few lucky attendees.”

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Baltimore Maryland - October 25th - ASMP Baltimore Chapter.

Link here.

This will be a 90 minute lecture with Q&A.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Time:

7:30pm - 9:30pm

Location:

Loyola College, Knott Hall(Room B03)

Street:

4501 N. Charles Street

City/Town:

Baltimore, MD

Students at the LA CLL Workshop in June. Photo by Joshua Lipton

I will be speaking at a conference and leading a workshop in Atlanta on October 3rd and 4th respectively.  (Go to the Canon Live Learning site here and select Atlanta as the city and pull down the menu to list my name if you are interested in learning more or to register.)

I’m sorry that I didn’t list this sooner - but the good news is that there are a few spots left as of this posting.

On Saturday you will get to meet three different Explorers (one of them being me) and get to hear us talk about our individual experiences with stills and video in what is a mini conference.   Bruce Dorn and Adam Jones will be the other two speakers - they’re great!  I will be showing both my still work and discuss my transition into video/film - including Reverie and the Jamie O’Brien “Fist Look” project which is still underway.

On Sunday I will lead around 16 students in an hands on demo of the Canon 5D MKII and it’s video performance.   We will split up into two teams - shooting a very short “short” - with students given the chance to direct, DP, operate the cameras, do sound, lighting etc.    We will discuss shooting a narrative video/film pieces and discuss how the 5D MKII fits into that type of production.   Then we will get together and do it a second time with a second group (this gives everyone a chance to “play”) and edit the two pieces in Final Cut Studio.   I will also give a quick intro into FCP’s Color software - to grade (or color correct) the footage.

This will be the third time I’m doing this workshop for Canon (we did one in NYC and another in LA) and I think it’s fair to say that students had a great time and learned quite a bit at both of the previous workshops.

You’ll get hands on experience with the RedRock Micro systems, Marshall Electronics and Ikan Monitors, Glidecam, LitePanel

and several other necessary gadgets.

The Saturday event is located at the Georgia World Congress Center - here (googlemaps link.) And Sunday’s event is at Studio Nine Hundred. UPDATE: Class is full sorry!

Help-Portrait.com

Here’s a fantastic project that Jeremy Cowart is starting up that leverages the power of social networking and of photography. Chase Jarvis linked to a post from Scott Kelby’s blog and I immediately signed up today.

It’s called help-portait.com - and I’d like you to consider being part of it on December 12th.

Jeremy is a graphic-designer who switched to photography full time in 2005 - and he’s done some pretty fantastic work during that period of time.   I’m particularly impressed with the fact that he understands an often missed lesson that every photojournalist comes to understand at some point in their career:  Photographs are often not about YOU - but about the people/places/events you photograph.

My favorite quote from Jeremy:

“We don’t want to see your photos… this isn’t about you, or me, or portfolios…or lighting… this is about GIVING pictures- not TAKING THEM… it’s about… connecting…sharing - and most of all sefving for the pure sake of serving - it’s about helping people see the beauty of who they are…”

If there are any sponsors perusing through this site - pls let me know if you’d like to help in this effort.

Looking forward to December 12th!

And to those who want to find a yet another way to give back through photography - here’s another group run by a friend (Michael Muller) that I am also happy to be a part of - a fantastic organization:  Kids Clicking Kids - please check it out!

Above: These are a series of shots made with the unit pictured below - of a runner jogging down country roads, shot with a Canon 5D MKII and a 24~105mm lens (w/ stabilization turned off on that lens) during the Maine Media Workshops.  See a larger version of this video here.

I’ve just gotten my hands on a very promising gadget that I think is perfect for anyone using the 5D MKII in a situation that requires external stabilization.  The ATM is short for “Advanced Travel Mount” and was designed by Aerial Exposures primarily for aerial and ground based video (i.e. to shoot aerials from a helicopter or plane, or to shoot from a ground-based device such as a vehicle or even a boat.)  But something tells me that creative filmmakers will be able to come up with many, many uses for this unit that no one has thought of yet.

The Aerial Exposures ATM Gyro Mount on the flatbed of a pickup truck as part of class on the 5D MKII at the Maine Media Workshops. I was able to get fantastic results with the 70~200mm pictured above - set to 105mm.

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