This reminds me of the Solaris (The remake, movie meh, music=great) original score by Cliff Martinez.
My barometer is always whether or not I can remember something it in my head afterwards, and if I do, did it fit the movies mood completely.
Posts Tagged Interest
Carlos Serrao
Apr 6
I was just looking through Esquire’s supplement “The Big Black Book” which detailis all the things an urbane individual would need to know for upscale, meet your hedge fund manager at his home in the Hamptons, type dinner parties. But there’s a photo spread at the back of magazine by Carlos Serrao that looks amazing.
Ignore the bottom left image: This was shot by Barnaby Rope, also in the same issue.
Here’s a video:
His website is definitely a lesson in simplicity and functional flash.
www.CarlosSerrao.com
Things I think are awesome: The full screen, zoom, and background color change features, and just how seamless everything runs, including the loading of all the thumbnails at nice viewable sizes.
Website Designed by chewingthesun.com
I wish this were real.
Tauntaun Sleeping Bag, complete with gooey internal organ patterned liner.
.We had Jeff Lipsky as a guest speaker in our Entertainment Photo class this evening.
http://jefflipsky.com/
Besides being a great celebrity photographer, he’s an all around nice guy.
He shared his experiences as a photographer, reiterating the common gems that get glossed over far too often here at Art Center. Reliability, adaptability, hard work, perseverance, and just being someone who’s pleasant to work with. All common sense, but it feels as if people expect jobs to be handed to them on a silver platter upon graduation.
His comments also left me with the feeling that I’m too rigid while shooting, too tied into the lighting set up that I don’t tune in to my interaction with the subject as much as I should. I think I need to find a happy balance between my existing setup and a Keep It Simple Stupid workflow that makes things a little more accessible.
Also, what better excuse to post Naomi Watts in something that might as well be underwear.
Photo by Jeff Lipsky
Amazon Justice
Mar 30
Now, I’m not a Halo fanatic, but I do enjoy the game and the world it’s set in. But nothing garnered my attention more than the ad campaign devised by T.A.G. San Francisco.
I order the thing on Amazon and realize a month later that nothing showed up in the mail. I contact the seller, get a rushed excuse and don’t see anything for another week. Finally, the helmet shows up but without any of the actual content.
Thank you amazon.com for your swift judgment in my favor for a full refund of the purchase price. Now I have a trophy of my geekdom and an interesting product shot for the hell of it.
Shoot Details: Because of the large golden reflective surface of the helmet, I had to get a giant 4×8 piece of foam core and cut a hole in it for the lens to pop through. Even then it was a lot of retouching to get all the lines and seams out of the visor. Other than that, it was fairly simple, rim light and a softbox, with a background light for separation.
Entertainment Weekly Shoot
Mar 30
Not too long ago I had the opportunity to accompany Entertainment Weekly Photo Editor Michael Kochman on a photo shoot for the magazine.
He teaches a class called “Entertainment Photo” at Art Center and tries to give us an inside look at what the world of celebrity portraiture is like.
So one week he sent us a last minute email asking if any of us were available to come down and be a fly on the wall for one of his shoots.
No details, no location, nothing. It felt like it was either a clandestine gathering of legendary actors, or a ruse to get people to actually want to come to something that might be somewhat boring.
Luckily for us it was the former. At a very small studio in a sketchy part of Hollywood, we waited, munching on craft services while waiting for the stars to show up.
In walks Anthony Hopkins, followed by Sharon Stone, Malcolm McDowell, and Louise Fletcher. Some of the greatest villains ever on the silver screen.
The group was photographed by Art Streiber who was able to pull everything off without a hitch. Every photo coming up on the monitor was perfect. Of course that’s what you get from years of experience, and subjects that know exactly how to look good in front of a camera.
The spread: (Check Art’s site for better images)
Jealous
Mar 16
I would have to say, shooting anything at CERN would be my dream assignment.
So when I stumbled upon this Strobist post, I pretty much went a particular shade of Hulk green with envy.
Image off of Strobist
If you’re not familiar with his site, David at Strobist creates homebrewed professional lighting setups using simple speedlights and modifiers. Reading his post I realized how valuable those little things are, being so caught up in the world of studio lighting and 1200ws power packs has made me forget that tight spaces can’t deal with large lights. His technique definitely works for its compact and easily adaptable style, but I would love to get in there with a full setup and get some great environmental portraits.
Generic Brand Name
Feb 17
If you’ve never read William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition, it’s a great read and I highly recommend it. The main character works as a cool hunter, figuring out what’s trendy and marketable eons before it hits Urban Outfitters. She does, however, have a strong aversion to corporate symbols and logos, quite notably, the Michelin Man.
So why bring up a postmodern sci-fi novel, other than how amazing it is that Gibson foresaw things like youtube and alternate reality game advertising, I identify with the absence of corporate branding.
There’s something about being emblazoned by someone else’s logo that I find disquieting.
If a brand sells a promise or a lifestyle, how do I detach myself from all that is associated with that image.
I don’t mind the brand itself, but I don’t want everyone to know that I’m wearing it, or more importantly that it speaks on my behalf. Same goes for even patterns and graphics that make their own statements.
It seems as if quality and simplicity sell for a premium nowadays. In a global marketplace where trends and manufacturing move at a blistering pace, purchasing an item that will last years whether it’s a winter coat or a pair of shoes is almost impossible. Those vendors that do create something of a high enough quality and classic enough style are so few and far between that their wares fetch large sums.
A Smattering of Music Videos
Feb 10
It’s been a while since I’ve seen some cool ones. But here’s what I’ve found interesting over the last couple months.
Royskopp: What Else is There
Director: Martin de Thurah
I love the light, tone, color, and how everything looks like a cross between a Crewdson and a Vermeer.
Bat for Lashes – What’s a Girl to Do
Director:Dougal Wilson
I still really want to utilize that horizontal lens flare somehow. Plus synchronized BMXing.
Sigur Ros – Glósóli
Director – Arni & Kinski
I like things that feel epic.
Bjork – Wanderlust
Director: Daren Rabinovitch
Seriously, it’s Bjork, when has she not made an amazing video.
Not really a music video, but something I’ve loved since I’ve discovered them.
Plus it’s notable that Josef Kosinski the director is getting ready to do Tron 2.