Just landed back from Shanghai, via Barcelona and New York City, originating and terminating in Los Angeles. I’ve lost track of which way is up or down – and my body’s internal clock will take quite awhile to reset. The blog has been a bit quiet for sure – but the commercial TV shoot only allowed us free time when we were sleeping on the flights between continents – quite literally. I will share more on the behind the scenes of the shoot shortly – and share the commercial with you in late January.
For now – I found this on APhotoEditor.com – and couldn’t resist sharing this with you all – these were the “good old days” in Photojournalism… how we miss them all!
I know David Burnett pretty well and have had the opportunity to shoot alongside him at quite a few big events – and it’s a blast to see him so young and the world the way it was back then (TELEGRAMS!!!) Needless to say, David is one of the best of his generation – no question about it. David still has the same level of passion and energy today as he did back then – if not more! The fun part is, while I do feel a bit nostalgic about the “good old days” of magazine/agency photography – I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a blast over the past few weeks and months shooting motion… on with the times I guess!
A couple of months ago, San Francisco based photographer and founder of silberstudios.tv, Marc Silber, came down to my studio in El Segundo and sat down with me for an informal interview for his web series, “Advancing Your Photography.” We discussed my approach to photography, with an emphasis on how much time goes into preparing for each shoot. For the job I am currently on in Barcelona, I had to put together a kit of 22 cases of gear (all of which you can find on My Gear Page). It took the better part a week just to decide what was necessary to bring and how to pack it with the utmost efficiency.
One thing I have always been aware of as photographer, and now a commercial director, is that pre-production is key. In order to “capture the magic” on the day of the shoot – whether in stills or motion – you really have to have all of your bases covered before you ever make it to the shoot. Those wonderful moments in both photography and film can happen in a split second, and if you aren’t prepared for them, they will pass you by.
I hope you enjoy the interview with Marc, and if you are interested in more episodes of his web series, they can be found by visiting silberstudios.tv. There are interviews with Chase Jarvis, Joey Lawrence, and others. They are incredibly insightful and educational – I recommend checking them out!
(NOTE: Due to an unfortunate incompatibility between my version of wordpress and Marc’s I was not able to embed the video. Click on the image above to be taken directly to it, or click HERE.)
Last weekend I had the pleasure of sitting down in on a panel during Chase Jarvis’ talk at Photo Plus in New York City. Chase gave a great talk, but what was even cooler is that he invited a number of different photographer’s up on stage for a discussion on “The New Creativity and the Social Art of Photography” – panelists included Zack Arias, Jasmine Star, Rob Haggart, Joey Lawrence, and myself. I enjoyed being a part of this talk very much, and I hope that you will find it interesting. Chase’s entire talk is embedded above, and the around the 25 minute mark the panel begins.
Also 25 BONUS POINTS to whoever can tell me how the below video was shot – the angle and smoothness are astounding. Post your thoughts in the comments section!
