DJ AM

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to shoot DJ AM on 2 occasions.  He was such a nice guy and so easy to work with.  My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Vegas from the Wynn

Sketches

The other day a friend asked how my creative process worked. I believe its pretty hard to ascertain how ideas come to be in my nebulous brain, but I can say that once a thought pops in I find the need to sketch it. Sometimes ideas are like dreams in that if you don't fix them in something solid you may forget them. Granted my sketching skills are on pretty low level, but there is something satisfying about going from an idea to a sketch to a final image.

Stopping motion on the RED for Stills

So, the silly gentleman with a ping pong racket in one hand and a tennis ball in the other is non other than me.  I may look still enough, but I'm giving my best Boris Becker swing impression I can. I did a quick camera test to see the motion stopping ability of the Red.  If you can get 24 frames per second you can get exactly the moment you want, right?   60 fps would be even better. Right? Well maybe and maybe not.  I'm now certain that there is still something to be said about a photographer going for one frame and getting it as opposed to just "filming" it and hoping the exact action happens at one of those 24 stops in a second. 

Are you seeing Red?

      The Red Digital cinema camera came out with much fanfare in 2007.  I believe it will be one a few tools like the original polaroid that changed the photo landscape forever. Sort of. Some might think it strong to suggest a "cinema" camera will shape the world of stills, but I whole heartedly disagree.  Wether your a Still photographer, in motion, or an agency person you have undoubtedly either been on set with one, seen something shot with one or at least heard the name red.   I wont go into the History of the company, or the technical specs, or think too hard about the yet to be released cameras.  No, what I will do is ponder what this new tool has already done and will lead too in regard to traditional still photography.  But, before I talk about photography let me speak of the Red's impact on cinema, its initial intended market.  From what I hear There seems to be two "camps" in the cinema world: One, the Red is toy not worthy of serious consideration. Two, its the wave of the future and the quality is amazing.   Camp one has some strong points. The Red is not 4:4:4 like some of its high end counterparts and has some usability issues to be sure.  Many high end productions refuse to use a "low end" camera and would rather shoot film or another Hi end Digital solution.   In the still world its like using a Canon 5d for say national print campaign.  Sure you could do it, but if you had the budget wouldn't you use the "best" tool? Camp two has embraced the Red and many productions have bought two reds for the cost of shooting film and scanning.  The low entry point has lured many, and at this point there are a glut of Red cameras (notably in los angeles).  It no secret that production in LA is (according to some )maybe 20% of what it was just two years ago.  Its not uncommon to see DPs letting you use their Red systems for "free" if you hire them.  This is clearly a consequence of a confluence of factors: There are over 5000 Reds sold (too much supply). AS mentioned previous, not enough work.  In a way The canon 5d that came out in 2005 had a similar effect on the still industry.  You could buy that camera for around $3000 and shoot a national ad campaign.  But, as we know its creative people who make great pictures and not cameras, so neither the red nor the 5D made the world a better place for art, rather they made it easier for people to get into which is a magnificent thing.  So, back to the big upheaval to still photography that is red.  Essentially the red is the first "Mainstream" camera that effectively allows one to shoot full motion (video) with the ability to pull quality stills.  Its not without compromise and problems, but this is the camera that will start the trend. More to come