FilipFotography

Expressions of Life

2013-11-11T16:59:00.002-08:00

“To have a full stomach, to daze lazily in the sunshine--such things were remuneration in full for his adors and toils, while his ardors and toils were in themselves self-remunerative. They were expressions of life, and life is always happy when it is expressing itself.”

― Jack London, White Fang

July 4th, 2013

2013-07-16T19:32:00.000-07:00

James Earl Jones reads Frederick Douglass' speech "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" (July 5, 1852).

"What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour."

--Frederick Douglass

"Carolina Rally Sessions" Ep. 3 Sandhills

2013-07-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

A snowflake tickled my eyelash reminding me of my surroundings. It was early morning in the Carolinas and I was in the middle of a forest of dense pine trees trying to keep my hands warm. The cup of coffee helped, but it was much colder than I had anticipated. As a few more flurries fell and my thoughts wandered off, I heard a rumble in the distance. At any moment there would be man made thunder charging through the trees and over these sandhills.

"Carolina Rally Sessions" by NoKo featuring Sebastian Kokoszka and Janko Cars. This is the third episode of a series of rally videos filmed in North Carolina. All the way from the Smoky Mountains to the beautiful Outer Banks be prepared for a glorious fusion of nature and machine. This episode features our camouflage Subaru WRX blasting through some Carolina sand in our gorgeous sandhills.

NOKO
Driver: Sebastian Kokoszka @jankocars
Camera/Edit: Philip Nowak @filipfotography
Additional footage: Meegan Rally Videos
Music: "The Outskirts" by Trampled by Turtles

"Grass Widows" - A North Carolina Timelapse

2013-06-03T13:17:00.001-07:00

Another installment of "A North Carolina Timelapse" featuring new music from Iron & Wine. "Grass Widows" is a soothing track reminding you of the beauty of nature and our seemingly forgotten surroundings. As the song gradually takes you on a journey through your thoughts and desires you can feel the breeze come out of the speakers nearly forcing you to be outside. The new album "Ghost On Ghost" is a slightly different sound for Iron & Wine adding a jazzy feel to the great singing and songwriting of the past. I personally really enjoy it and recommend you have a listen. All the footage was shot near and around Raleigh, NC.

"Your very flesh shall be a great poem”

2013-06-03T10:31:00.001-07:00

“Love the earth and sun and animals,

Despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,

Stand up for the stupid and crazy,

Devote your income and labor to others...

And your very flesh shall be a great poem.”

--Walt Whitman

Fourteen Hours To Iowa

2013-04-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

It was about 4am somewhere in Ohio when I turned the keys in the ignition and nothing happened. Not even that click sound. I had shut my car off and left my headlights on while I waited for the construction worker to flip his sign from "STOP" to "SLOW." Thankfully I was driving a stick-shift and quickly remembered I could get a light push and get it started in first gear. There were a few cars waiting behind me but I was quite nervous about approaching their vehicles in the middle of the night to ask for help. Luckily there was a cop parked on the side of the road. I decided to get out of my car and go ask him for help. As I approached the cop car it occurred to me that this might look a little unusual to the policeman. My first thought was he was gonna get out of his car, tell me to stop and threaten me with his taser. So I put my hands up and felt like I should slowly walk up without any sudden movements.

The police officer cracked his window and asked, "You need some help?"

He had a very gentle and friendly voice. I immediately put my arms down, noticing there was nothing to be scared of. I began to explain that I needed a push because I turned my engine off and left the headlights on, thus, draining the battery. As I was about to mention that I was also rocking out to some random radio station, the officer interrupted me,

"Well let me give you a push so you can get her started before we let the traffic through"

As we headed back to my car he asked, "Where ya' comin' from?"

I said, "North Carolina"

He gave me a quick glimpse from head to toe and asked, "Where ya' headed?"

I responded, "uhh, Iowa."

We got to my car and I realized I had never actually done this before, I was always the one doing the pushing. I got in the driver seat like I knew what I was about to do, and as the officer pushed my car just fast enough, I decided to hit the ignition and throw it in first. It started up easily. I pulled over to thank the officer as I had to wait for the workers sign to flip around and say, "SLOW." The officer approached my car window and before I could thank him he asked,

"So, how long is the drive from North Carolina to Iowa?"

I smirked and said, "I'm comin' from Raleigh and I think its about fourteen hours to Iowa."
I thanked him, drove off and continued my overnight journey from North Carolina to Iowa, leaving him bewildered in the middle of the road.

Upon arriving in Iowa, Davenport specifically, I felt something good was going to happen. All of a sudden I was rushed into getting dressed and happily found myself drinking a delightful pale ale, overlooking the Mississippi River. A few hours later I was found interacting with a local artist whose studio happened to be above the bar. The following morning I came across some pictures on my camera from a rooftop, reminding me of the ladder I climbed the night before. And then the wedding began...

Vivas to those who have fail'd!

2013-03-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

With music strong I come—with my cornets and my drums,
I play not marches for accepted victors only—I play great marches for conquer’d and slain persons.

Have you heard that it was good to gain the day?
I also say it is good to fall—battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won.

I beat and pound for the dead;
I blow through my embouchures my loudest and gayest for them.

Vivas to those who have fail’d!
And to those whose war-vessels sank in the sea!
And to those themselves who sank in the sea!
And to all generals that lost engagements! and all overcome heroes!
And the numberless unknown heroes, equal to the greatest heroes known.

--From "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman

Snow and Ice - A North Carolina Timelapse

2013-03-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

Another quick North Carolina Timelapse with shots collected over the winter. Sorry about the music, I made it on my own. Shot with a T2i and magic lantern and some magic bullet looks added as well. More coming soon!

Stars and Fire - A North Carolina Timelapse

2013-01-01T15:21:00.002-08:00

Masonboro at Night

There was a bright red light peaking out over the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. We were on Masonboro Island in the middle of night when it seemed like the sun had decided to come up instead of the moon. The night brightened as if a torch had been lit miles up in the sky. I wondered if the sun just wanted to come back up for another go at it. Just as the moon came over the horizon it was as red as a stoplight and then slowly turned white as it swept across the night sky.

I quickly set up my camera and hurried to get the shot. The next morning I realized I focused on the beach right in front of me and not the moon. Arg... Kinda how my year went.

The music is by Warsaw Village Band and everything was shot in North Carolina with my Canon t2i and Magic Lantern. If you like it, subscribe to my youtube channel for much more to come. Happy New Years.

Geminid Meteor Shower Photos And Timelapse Dec. 2012

2012-12-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

Geminid Meteor Shower

Here are a few photos and a timelapse from the Geminid Meteor Shower in December 2012. You could see them falling all over the sky but I only manged to catch a few in the direction my camera was pointing. Watch the timelapse in HD and see how many you can find. There a couple of really quick ones. Sorry but my lens fogged up towards the end. Anyways hope you enjoy it. My brother and I couldn't move our necks the next day.

Here is something from wikipedia I thought was interesting...

The Geminids are a meteor shower caused by the object 3200 Phaethon,[4] which is thought to be a Palladian asteroid [5] with a "rock comet" orbit.[6] This would make the Geminids, together with the Quadrantids, the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet. The meteors from this shower are slow moving, can be seen in December and usually peak around the 13th - 14th of the month, with the date of highest intensity being the morning of the 14th. The shower is thought to be intensifying every year and recent showers have seen 120–160 meteors per hour under optimal conditions, generally around 02:00 to 03:00 local time. Geminids were first observed in 1862,[1] much more recently than other showers such as the Perseids (36 AD) and Leonids (902 AD).

"You Are Here"

2012-12-13T17:38:00.001-08:00

“O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring;
Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish;
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d;
Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;
Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me intertwined;
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.

That you are here—that life exists, and identity;
That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.”

--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

"Take Your Place"

2012-12-13T16:10:00.000-08:00

“I'm worried that students will take their obedient place in society and look to become successful cogs in the wheel - let the wheel spin them around as it wants without taking a look at what they're doing. I'm concerned that students not become passive acceptors of the official doctrine that's handed down to them from the White House, the media, textbooks, teachers and preachers.”
--Howard Zinn

“If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves.”

--Howard Zinn

"Two Paisanos"

2012-12-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

“Two gallons is a great deal of wine, even for two paisanos. Spiritually the jugs maybe graduated thus: Just below the shoulder of the first bottle, serious and concentrated conversation. Two inches farther down, sweetly sad memory. Three inches more, thoughts of old and satisfactory loves. An inch, thoughts of bitter loves. Bottom of the first jug, general and undirected sadness. Shoulder of the second jug, black, unholy despondency. Two fingers down, a song of death or longing. A thumb, every other song each one knows. The graduations stop here, for the trail splits and there is no certainty. From this point anything can happen.”

--From Tortilla Flat by John Steineck

"North Carolina Rally Sessions" Ep. 2 Dirt

2012-12-10T10:28:00.003-08:00

Introducing "North Carolina Rally Sessions" by NoKo featuring Sebastian Kokoszka and Janko Cars. This is the second episode of a series of rally videos filmed in North Carolina. All the way from the Smoky Mountains to the beautiful Outer Banks, be prepared for a glorious fusion of nature and machine. This episode features our camouflage Subaru WRX tearing up some North Carolina Piedmont red dirt and some nice timelapses near the end. Subscribe! More coming soon!

NoKo
Driver: Sebastian Kokoszka @jankocars
Camera: Cory Wagoner/Philip Nowak
Edit: Philip Nowak @filipfotography

Music:"Clarion Call" by Delphic

"Nature Remains"

2012-12-06T16:52:00.001-08:00

"After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on - have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear - what remains? Nature remains."

--Walt Whitman

NoKo And Janko Cars

2012-12-03T12:46:00.001-08:00

One of my new projects is NoKo Productions, a collaboration with a long time friend, Sebastian Kokoszka. Sebastian is a rally driver and Subaru master from Janko Cars who will be featured in all of our rally projects. He is an experienced driver with a very aggressive and entertaining style which I will try to bring out in our videos. We will be releasing a series of videos entitled "North Carolina Rally Sessions," filmed from our beautiful beaches all the way to the Smoky Mountains. Our first installment, will be released in the next couple of days. So please subscribe to our NoKo youtube channel in order to stay updated (http://www.youtube.com/user/pcn8581?feature=mhee). For now here are a few videos from the past couple of weeks.

Introducing "A North Carolina Timelapse"

2012-12-03T10:54:00.001-08:00

I have a tendency to stare into the sky. Whether I am looking at the sun fatten as it falls behind the Pacific Ocean or I am gazing up for the first wet snowflake of a North Carolina winter, the skies never fail to captivate me. Have there ever been two exact sunsets or two identical clouds? The sky we wake up to every morning is different than the day before. It is constantly changing yet always distinct, quite a motivating thought for me. You must keep your possibilities open and adapt them to your unpredictable life. Like storm clouds forming over a horizon of lengthy pine trees, life cannot be contained, it is different and unique for every being. Just like the sky I will gladly wake up to tomorrow morning...

Well, after that random thought, I would like to share a few timelapses with you. Both were shot in North Carolina with the fps override feature in Magic Lantern 2.3 at about 6 fps. Hope you like them, there will be more to come.

Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary

2012-05-29T13:40:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pics and quick video from the firework celebration for the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. I got quite a nice view from our roof. A nice way for the State of California to waste millions of dollars...

Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary Firework Celebration time-lapse from rooftop. Shot with a Canon T2i, Magic Lantern, and 50mm 1.8 lens. May 27th 2012. @filipfotography

Music: "Tamer Animals" by The Other Lives

Quartet Rouge Live at Yoshi's in San Francisco

2011-10-11T20:19:00.000-07:00

This one is a little late but here are a few videos from a wonderful night with Quartet Rouge at Yoshi's in San Francisco. I had no idea what to expect but right from the start they caught my attention with an amazing rendition of "Uprising" by Muse. And they kept it coming with songs from Oasis, Lady Gaga, The Rolling Stones, Green Day, and much more. It was quite difficult to film with such great music on stage, maybe next time I won't have to. You can watch the concert below. Its a playlist so you can skip to a different song if you like...

OccupySF March in Downtown San Francisco OccupyWallStreet

2011-10-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos and a video from the OccupySF march today in downtown San Francisco. It was a great day for a walk through the city... END THE FED!

San Francisco BART Protest, 8/15/11

2011-08-16T15:14:00.000-07:00

I decided to go check out the most recent BART protest yesterday, August 15th, and I was a little disappointed yet again. I understand that our civil rights and our safety were completely ignored when BART decided to shut down all cell phone service a couple of days ago. And I do believe we need to express our discontent, but shutting down a few BART stations and making it impossible for a lot of working, exhausted people to get home. Not a good choice. Was a protest needed? Yes. Were there a lot of people who just wanted to get home to their families? Yes. Did the protest achieve anything? Maybe. Just next time, lets keep the stations open.

Fortilive at The Rockit Room in San Francisco, CA

2011-08-09T23:42:00.000-07:00

The first video of many more to come with Fortilive. This is live footage of "Mic and Me" with DJ Greatpaid from the Rockit Room in San Francisco. It was a great show, hope you can get the live feel from the video. I had some help filming from Devin Williams and Adam Parmalee. Adam also did the sound. I did some quick editing and put the finishing touches on it with Mush. Please take a minute and subscribe to M12Media's new youtube channel so you can stay updated. More live footage and official "Mic and Me" Video coming soon...

San Francisco At Night

2011-08-08T16:54:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of San Francisco at Night. Every once in a while I go for a walk in the evening knowing that I am bound for a good picture no matter where I go. The city makes it quite easy for me. Well not too easy. The winds can be strong enough to make any long exposure quite difficult (as you can see in the timelapse). If you can handle the weather, there is always an amazing picture waiting for you around the corner somewhere in San Francisco...

A Weekend in July

2011-08-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

I witnessed something remarkable one weekend in July. It was on the coast of Southern California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I had made my way, quite awkwardly, around a gate that was supposed to keep the potentially "unsafe" wedding guests from tumbling down a long flight of stairs to the beach below. I probably should have obeyed the warning, but it was just too beautiful to pass up. As I marched down the steps, I walked to to the beat of the music above, but I had a different beat in my head. A very relaxed beat. It instantly reminded me of Scott and Dev and how at ease they seemed before, during, and after their wedding. It made me think, What really is the start of a healthy long-lasting relationship? I realized that before any relationship can grow in the right direction, both people must be at ease with themselves and with their lives. Sitting on the edge of the steps, with my feet dangling over the pacific, staring at a melting red sun, I noticed it was me who finally felt at ease...
Here are a few pics (more coming soon) from the weekend and the video is below. It was a remarkable wedding. I loved every minute. Thank you for an absolutely amazing weekend. Congratulations Scott and Dev, I wish you the best!

Is Winter Here Yet?

2011-08-04T23:12:00.002-07:00

Peter Nowak, Beaver Creek, CO

I'm not really sure how to start, more like restart my blog, but I've been dreaming of winter lately so I thought I would begin with some old stuff. If you have already seen these...sorry. I will be posting more recent material soon. Anyways, most of the pictures and footage are from Beaver Creek and Vail this past winter. I also went and got stuck in some sierra cement at Lake Tahoe for a weekend. The riders in the video are Bjorn Johnson, Aaron Johnson, and my brother Peter Nowak. And that's me with the yellow thrift store skis trying not to smash my then, brand new camera, into a tree.

I was lucky enough to fly back from Vail to San Francisco on some guest first class tickets. I was the only one in first class so I boarded by myself and was able to sneak a quick video on my phone. (I usually get yelled at when trying to film outside a plane) You would think flying alone in first class would be nice. Nope. The flight attendants wouldn't leave me alone. I knew everything about them once I got to California. The constant stream of bloody mary's and warm cookies was a nice touch though.

Beaver Creek At Night

Upon arriving in San Francisco, I headed straight for the coast with my girlfriend to meet up with some good friends at Pismo beach. We arrived on the beach at 4am in the pitch dark and could barely see where everyone else had set up there tent sites. So we picked what we thought was a good spot, shared some wine, set our tent up and fell asleep listening to the crashing of waves. Well we soon found out that we were sleeping in the middle of an ATV, dune buggy, and dirt bike highway. I crawled out of our tent to find all kinds of off-road vehicles kicking up sand and circling us.

The Island

Then, I spotted the ocean, tuned out, forgot about the noise and started boiling water. I quickly poured the water over some disposable coffee, stirred it, took a sip, looked around, and got a certain feeling of comfort. I felt at home, like I never left this place. I felt that we, human beings, belong in nature and nowhere else. We are not designed for anything but nature. And as soon as my mind felt at ease, an obnoxiously shiny dune buggy flew by our tent site reminding me of my not so natural surroundings. By the end of the day, I was also charging up and down the dunes...