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For some of you that may be following me on Twitter - you may have seen some video from a little over a week ago of our takeoff that I sent from my iPhone during the flight.
Here is a video that my pal Robert Caplin shot and that Laia Prats edited. I’ve got to admit that I fell to the ground laughing when I heard their choice of music… that combined with some great onboard audio reminded me so much of the epic helicopter scene from “Apocalypse Now.”
If you want to see a slightly more “serious” version here’s New York Magazine’s video on this same shoot - if anything fast forward to second 0:46 for a shot of us flying less than 20 feet off the deck - now that shot is SICK.
Major props goes to pilot Mike Kwas of Liberty Helicopters for a simply outstanding job navigating us so artfully between 2 boats, air traffic, and buoys! This was definitely neither the first nor the last time he and I have flown together.
If you want to see the true look of a professional who’s focused like no other - check out Caplin’s video at 2:03. Now that’s a PRO in the ZONE!!! Not to mention that Mike Kwas had 4 Profoto 7Bs w/ Bitubes BLASTING in his face! We used those to have a bit of sidelight at sunset and triggered them from the helicopter with Pocket Wizards. As Mike Isler (my main guy / technical advisor) says in Borat voice - it was a “great success!!!!”
As you can see - we all had a blast - I had a great great time going back to NY after 6 months in LA w/o a flight over my #1 favorite place to fly over in the world! Thanks to Jody Quon and Alex Pollack of New York Magazine (see link to the article for this piece here) for making this happen!
You can also read Robert Caplin’s account of the flight here.
19 Comments so far
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That’s nothing Vince. I did the same thing hanging off of an RC Helicopter. 
(Just kidding…that was pretty cool.)
Dan Havlik 12.18.09 @ 4:54 pmSocial comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by vincentlaforet: New blog post of aerial shoot over NY - http://tinyurl.com/ydujmef - real cool videos from @robertcaplin and @laiaprats…
Trackback by uberVU - social comments 12.18.09 @ 5:24 pmHey so what did Robert shoot the video with?
Robert Reply:
December 18th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
@bahram, I shot the video with my two Canon 5D Mark II’s.
Awesome vincent. it must be nice to get paid to fly over such a beautiful city…i was probably out and about while you were flying over my head 
keep it up!
Pretty nice video… i love helicopter rides, especially over New York in the dark !
Comment by André Weigel 12.19.09 @ 2:10 pmterrific shot, your work rocks, i admire your energy, dedication and drive — it’s truly inspiring.
downside to this shoot — a huge carbon footprint for something ultimately very unimportant — how many gallons of fuel were used by the chopper and boats? do any of us have a responsibility to conserve resources when possible?
Cameron Davidson Reply:
December 23rd, 2009 at 12:56 pm
@dqm, I also shoot aerials from turbine helicopters. The carbon footprint for a turbine helicopter is very low. The turbine is incredibly efficient in burning Jet-A fuel. Myself and the pilots I fly with all buy into TerraPass plus several pilots I shoot with are members of 1% for the Planet. A group formed by the founder of Patagonia. Each member donates 1% of their gross to environmental groups of their designation.
There was far less of an environmental footprint than you suggest.
Cool man, I want to ride in one :). Hey what’s up with the MK IV video you shot? would love to check it out. did canon give a reason…seems kind of strange to turn down that kind of promotion/buzz. i also work for a big multi-national corporation, but trying to guess what they need to “figure out”…the math seems pretty simple to me. unless the pre-prod camera had some technical flaws and those were present in your video…that’s all I can think of…
Comment by Luke 12.20.09 @ 1:23 amExcellent, as usual. I tried to zoom in within the video to see what kind of glass you were using. It seems to me it was a zoom wide angle -?. No idea. Also, and since I have seen you packing really big for any photo shooting I was wondering why did you only used that one this time. The stills look amazingly sharp and well lit, so I figured you had good reasons for only using that lens.
I’d be great if you’d address that in future post (if any) on this latest work of yours. Choosing the right gear is always such a headache for aspiring photographers like me…
Thanks a lot, Master.
Best Regards,
- Juan
Vincent Laforet Reply:
December 23rd, 2009 at 2:25 am
@Juan, I used a Canon 24~70mm 2,8 a mainstay lens for almost everything… esp. aerial work -
[...] his blog, Vincent has posted his an alternate video of the shoot made by Robert Caplin and edited by Laia Pratts. “I’ve [...]
Pingback by Video: Vincent Laforet shoots Hudson honeys for New York mag « Stockland Martel 12.21.09 @ 10:02 amLooks like a blast. Of course, we always forget the real fun — schedules, story boards, permits, weather…. Maybe you should do a video of that one time.
Now my question — where are the strobes?
Vincent Laforet Reply:
December 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 am
@Ty M, If you looks carefully toward the end - you’ll see Dustin helping aim them at the fireboat FROM the yellow water taxi… two
Profoto bitube heads with sport reflectors and 4 7B unites powering them… it’s at 1:52 on Caplin’s video to be exact
seems like a really dumb idea. Who cares about this couple. No wonder the media is in trouble
Comment by billy 01.19.10 @ 12:31 am[...] taxi a NY Fireboat, a handful of Pocket Wizards and the soundtrack for Apocalypse Now. The blog posting talks more about what’s going on, and it’s worth the read. The funny video from Robert [...]
Pingback by Vincent Laforet Takes to the Skies « Digital Photography 02.03.10 @ 1:48 pmThe perfect！These articles written too great,they rich contents and data accurately.they are help to me.I expect to see your new share
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
December 18th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
@Dan Havlik, Nicely said Dan
Well done - and thanks!
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