Timelapse - Coast of Italy from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

I just returned from a wonderful 2 week production in Italy.   The trip confirmed that I still want to retire in Tuscany and that I am still madly in love with the Mediterranean.  Seriously - this is the place for me.

We shared some unbelievable food, wine, and sites in the Chianti region of Tuscany.   The second half of our trip was spent in Naples.   Napoli is an amazing city on so many levels and a place that I will definitely return to -  I can’t wait to go diving along the Amalfi Coast as well.

We took a boat ride along the coast and it brought back so many wonderful childhood memories of mine.  I spent many summers along the mediterranean with my father, ranging from Perpignan in the south of France all the way down to Corsica.

I have a LOT to share with you on this blog regarding the gear we used on this 2 week production (for a TV pilot.)  That will keep me busy for sure in the upcoming weeks on this blog as we brought quite a few prototype pieces with us - definitely stay tuned.

For now, here is a quick time lapse video of a beautiful scene from Napoli.    I love time lapses as much as anyone out there - but I think that they take on an entirely new dimension once you are able to actually move the camera itself.

In this case we used a Kessler CineSlider which is basically a motorized dolly that can do some pretty remarkable things.   I fell in love with this setup not only for time lapse - but also for video moves when we combined the motorized slider with the Revolution Pan & Tilt System.   I’ll be sharing a lot of behind the scenes video as I mentioned above in the upcoming 1-2 weeks to show you how this was shot.  For now here’s a quick snapshot of this relatively straighforward setup.  

This time lapse was shot on a Canon 5D MKII, a Canon 24~70mm 2.8, a Canon TC-80N3 Timer Remote Controller Unit a B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer mounted on a Kessler CineSlider, an elektra DRIVE and ORACLE Controller with a Manfrotto 498RC4 Ballhead supported by two Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 Carbon Fiber tripods.

I also wanted to make sure to thank the Italian Crew members - they were fantastic professionals that were also an incredible pleasure to work with!

Alfonso Gallardo - Gaffer

Matteo Zanchi - Key Grip

Davide Mastropaolo - Audio

Marco Coppola - Production Manager

Francesca Faccilongo - Researcher

Pierluigi Inarta - PA

Raffaele Sciscia - PA

Piero - PA

Allesandra Sansone  - PA

Jolanda Varriale - Makeup

Cristina Fileni - Makeup

Allessandra Amabile - Makeup

One of the biggest challenges for on set production with HDDSLR’s (or really any camera for that matter) is recording sound.  Unfortunately, no camera has an onboard microphone capable of recording sound that’s up to professional standards - to achieve such results you have to use an external audio device (I use a Sound Devices 744t) with a boom mic, lavalier mic, or both.

This of course means that once you get into the editing bay you have to sync all of your dailies to your recorded audio.  Because HDDSLR’s do not record time code this can be tricky.  I usually use my digital slate (by DENECKE) to apply a synced time code to the audio recorder.  The digital slate displays a running time code that the camera can see.  When I get to the editing bay, I pick a frame from the beginning of a clip where the slate is showing.  Using the time code that is displayed on the slate, I assign the clip a matching time code at that frame.  I can then merge this clip to the corresponding audio clip based on the time code and theoretically my audio will be synced.  Sound tedious? IT IS.

However there is an elegant solution for this by Singular Software called PluralEyes.  The program allows you to drop everything (video and audio) into one timeline and then simply command PluralEyes to sync everything in that timeline.  The program analyzes the waveform of the audio attached to your video, as well as that of the audio you recorded separately, and syncs them together on your timeline.  This is incredibly convenient, a huge time saver, and very cool.

PluralEyes is especially helpful when shooting multi-camera events (such as a concert or interview) because it lines everything up so that all you have to do in the edit is cut between your different camera setups.  No more syncing your video files, or even having to set up a multi track video project, because PluralEyes does it all for you - just by pressing a button.  It’s also helpful when you’re shooting in a guerilla or documentary style and there’s no time to jam time code - much less slate a shot.  And of course its useful to anyone shooting on an HDDSLR given the absence of timecode…

You can learn more by visiting Singular Software’s website.

HDSLR Bootcamp, Shane Hurlbut, ASC from Shane Hurlbut, ASC on Vimeo.

I know that many of you who read this blog regularly are interested in learning opportunities and workshops, so I thought I would pass this along…

My friend and fellow Explorer of Light, Shane Hurlbut, ASC, is putting on an HDDSLR Bootcamp on August 28th and 29th in Los Angeles.  The two day course is pricey at $3250.00 - but you’ll get what you pay for. Shane has spent the last year and a half running around with these cameras and perfecting his technique and workflow.  During that time he even shot a feature film - “Act of Valor” - entirely on HDDSLRs.

The bootcamp is designed as a crash course in all things that Shane and his team have learned over the past year and a half of HDDSLR production.  It aims to educate others how to turn these prosumer cameras into something capable of shooting motion pictures.  Shane is a true believer in this technology (what he has coined as “digital film”), and its a rare opportunity to be able to learn from someone of his experience.

**UPDATE - Shane is graciously offering a discount of 40% on the bootcamp to all of my readers - bringing the price down to $1950.00!  If you are interested - email Lydia@hurlbutvisuals.com with the subject: BOOTCAMP - LAFORET DISCOUNT**

Check out more details on the bootcamp by CLICKING HERE.

Jared Abrams from Cinema5D stopped by the studio on Tuesday to sit down and chat.  He caught me at an interesting time, as my crew and I were in the midst of packing for our trip to Italy (leaving today!).  We still had time for a good talk though, and he even got me to expound on my love/hate relationship with gear - notice all the gear strewn about in the video - we packed 22 bags for the trip!  The interview is embedded above, and you can read more at Cinema5D.com.  (Sorry for the poor audio quality - apparently they had an issue w/ audio on their end.)

I also had the chance this week to talk over the phone with Scott Bourne - who many of you may already know - for his Photofocus podcast.  I am featured in episode #45, which you can listen to for free by either subscribing to the Photofocus podcast feed - OR - streaming it from iTunes.

Ciao!  I’ll be updating from Rome next.

Redrock microRemote preview from Redrock Micro on Vimeo.

Well… the only thing better than posting this promo would be for me to actually have it in my hands for the job I’m currently prepping for… I’m leaving for a 2-week job in Italy on Thursday!

If you think no one else out there is more excited about this than you are - you’re wrong… I am!

Details on availability: still slated for summer of 2010 - basic wireless remote for iPhone in the $1,500 range and it goes up or down (wired is cheaper) from there, depending on the configuration.

For more details go to  Redrock Micro’s site.

Well the results are in with a little over 300 votes and counting - and here are the 3 images that rose to the top (see galery below.)

The winning image was a clear favorite - and one of mine as well.   The second place image was definitely in my top 5 as well as the image of Times Square - and many picked that one as their first choice.

I personally found this to be a very interesting experiment - it’s not something I’ve ever done before - other than with other editors - usually 1-2 photo editors at most.   The largest group of people I’ve ever had to do an edit with me was at National Geographic.  There were a little over a dozen editors in the projection room - all weighing in on what would make it into the magazine… Presenting one’s photographs to a room of such heavyweights is an experience I won’t soon forget…

Although I haven’t had that much time to truly analyze the results - it did re-affirm a few things for me that I’ll expound on after the slideshow below…

Top 3  of NYC Aerials - Images by Vincent Laforet

The beauty of photography and with art in general - is that everyone experiences it in their own unique way.

When I was in my teens - I never used to understand big-name artists who refused to define their art work - or refused to have others do so for them.  They liked to have other people interpret their work individually.  Over the years my opinion has evolved.   As I got the chance to work for large papers and magazines - I got the chance to have my images be seen by a wide variety of people, and  I learned that people found beauty or interest in images for so many different reasons (beyond what the photographer originally intended.)

I’ll never forget the first time I received a letter from someone who had a very strong emotional response to an image that I considered pretty unspectacular (the image was shot for a run-of-the mill newspaper assignment) - it was a hand-written letter about an establishment than had been torn down, and apparently  that establishment meant a lot to that person - enough for them to write me an 8 page letter thanking me for taking the time to capture the establishment “with the respect it deserved”   I had a  few more similar experiences and eventually I learned to appreciate that everyone sees something different in a photograph - and finds different meanings to attach to it - relative to their eye, their life, their history.

I have always found  that to be truly fascinating.  If you look at the second comment on the initial post - you’ll see that Jared loves a certain image based on where he once lived…

“Tough call Vince. I am partial to NYC grew uk on 75th and Amsterdam 10,17 and 2. Love the lighting. Thanks for asking for input. Cool idea.”

One of the biggest lessons one learns as  photojournalist - is that we are there to highlight everyday life.

We’re there to find the beauty in the everyday - that is far too often overlooked by others.   If you think of it - the images here are just simple images of a city shot at Sunrise and Sunset - there was no historical moment or event attached to them in any way.   I used to say that photographers go out there looking to make the ordinary - look extraordinary…   Most people I photographed would tell me “don’t waste your time taking picture of me doing my jobs - it’s BORING!”  And I would respond:  ”It may seem that way to you - but to many your job is quite fascinating.”

I cherish reading comments from people who think that Tilt-Shift “is cool, but with a city with so much detail, it seems a shame to blur so much of it for no apparent reason other than the fact that you can…”  a statement that I could not possibly disagree with more… but that’s totally fine!  The next comment that followed said “I really like the tilt shift ones  giving the skyline a miniature feel to it.”

While one of my favorite sayings is indeed:  ”Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should,” I personally love to shoot the city with Tilt-shift lenses - because it allows me to focus the viewer’s eye on the one spot I’d like them to focus on.   I find that NYC can be visually overwhelming - or just plain overwhelming in just about any category really!  Sometimes less is more…  Maybe in a year or two I’ll stop shooting Tilt-Shift images and do something else - who knows?  I sure don’t…

Jacob commented:

“NYC_15 stayed in my mind all the way to the end, I had to come back and find it. I can see where blurring, or out of focus shots can be powerful, but there, having it all in focus, to me speaks louder. The way that one section seems to be glowing out of rest of the city is great, but also seeing that reflection allllll the way across the water.”

Usually when you hear something like that - than an image stayed in someone’s mind all the way to the end - you know you’ve got a strong image.  Not surprisingly this image also received the largest number of votes.  And while I did shoot the image both with and without a Tilt-shift lens - the one without the effect obviously won out - and I agree.

Max asked where the pictures would be used - and that’s an incredibly relevant question.  These will be used in magazines and in commercial ads perhaps someday - but for now they are part of a larger body of fine art work that I am putting together.   I can tell you for a fact that seeing these images (especially the tilt shift images) on a 30″ monitor or on a 60″x40″ gives you an ENTIRELY different view and experience as a viewer.  It’s night and day relative to the small size you see them in the web gallery - I cringe when I see the images this small on the web… I’d love to be able to share them at full res… but can’t for obvious reasons.

The X Shape in #50 kept coming back as well as a big favorite.  Geometric elements and crossroads are always great things to look for in any photograph.

In the end - the biggest thing that was reaffirmed for me is a lesson that I learned a long time ago when I showed my portfolio around to editors.   One of the most important lessons that I’ve learned is that you (as the photographer) need to know WHO you are showing your portfolio to, WHAT they do in the world of photography, WHAT TYPE OF STYLE of photography they like (commercial vs editorial vs fine art for example) and listen to every bit of criticism from the editors looking at your work - but also: make sure you know what it is that YOU are looking to accomplish.   In other words if a newspaper editor rips your work apart - you may indeed not be destined for newspapers.  BUT… perhaps your work is just not suited for newspapers.  You may find that a fine art photo editor absolutely loves your work!

In other words - always take into account WHO is critiquing your work and WHERE they’re COMING FROM before you start to shred your work or portfolio to pieces.

Editing one’s portfolio is also something that’s incredibly difficult for just about any photographer.   At one point I would hand out tally sheets to a number of photographers in my newsrooms photo department and average out the results.  It can work to help you eliminate the clear duds - but I wouldn’t recommend you put your portfolio together that way… it’s not about finding the highest average score… it’s about finding WHO YOU ARE as a photographer / artist and what you’d like to say.  It’s about finding what the images as a whole - as a series - say about you as a photographer… kinda like a film…but different.

One of the best quotes I’ve ever heard during a portfolio critique was from James Nachtwey at The Eddie Adams Workshop.

He quietly looked through a students entire portfolio - and didn’t utter a single word.  When he reached the last image in the student’s book - he closed it quietly, paused for a moment and said:

“I’m afraid these photographs don’t tell me anything about who you are as a photographer.”

And that was it - portfolio critique over.  And definitely a quote for that person - and anyone - to disect and ponder for a long time.

Therefore - I think it’s incredibly important for me - and for you - to know what it is that we are trying to accomplish with our work.

If you go out there an shoot everything that moves, or if you find yourself shooting to make your publication or editor happy - I’m not sure you’ll find much success in this very saturated market.  I think it’s important to develop a style, and most importantly a purpose and then you’ll find that your career will start to progress on its own once you start to find your voice.

With that being said -here is a gallery of my favorite 15 images from this collection - somewhat in order of preference.

You’ll see some match the public opinion - and others not at all.   And that’s totally fine with me - it’s part of the thing that makes me love photography.

In the next few weeks I’ll go back to them and make a few variations in toning for a few of them - and create master files to add to my fine art print collection.   No rush.  The images aren’t going anywhere… they’re always frozen in time  - or is it the other way around?

p.s. feel free to CLICK ON THE IMAGE - to see them a little bit larger in a separate gallery.

My Selects - Images by Vincent Laforet

________

Last week I flew for an entire day over my favorite skyline in the world:  New York City.   I shot 5,952 frames from sunrise to sunset on assignment for a client.   You can read a very nice piece about it written by Matt Buchanan on Gizmodo.

BUT - here’s where this gets a little different - I’d like to give you a chance to help me edit the best images down from my top 55 - down to the top 3…

I’ve been editing images (and working with editors) for more than 20 years.

What always amazes me is how my preference for images changes with time - and that an edit that I do a few years from now will very likely be completely different than the one I do today. That’s why I never delete a SINGLE image that I shoot.

Therefore, I’m curious to see what other people think - in this case what YOU THINK (and see.)

Editing 5,900+ images down to the top 1% is relatively easy - editing the top 55 down to the top 3 is extremely difficult.

I find is that the final editing process can be EXTREMELY subjective.  One’s top 3 will change from hour to hour - one day to the next - all depending on your mood.

So here’s where you come in… go to thru the gallery below and leave comments on your favorite three images in the comments section of this blog (use the filename as reference.)

NYC_Sunrise_to_Sunset - Images by Vincent Laforet

The key is: you have to leave a comment with your top 3 of fewer images… I’d love to see if opinions are all over the place or consistent…

You WILL notice that some of the images are EXTREMELY similar - if not close to being identical.  Each is slightly different - either the focus point in on a different area, or the framing is slightly different.  Making the decision between two similar images can be the hardest thing to do…  Once you’ve made that decision - you rarely - if ever - go back as a photographer.  That tends to add a lot of pressure to the whole process - sometimes you just need to “feel” the best image… sometimes I find myself squinting my eyes to see what seems to “fill the frame” the best if you will… weird but true.  I know that once I’ve decided on one of two or three images - I’ll almost never go back and see the “rejects” ever again.

You’ll also notice that I’ve put the files up in chronological order for the most part.

Flying over NYC - especially since I haven’t done it in close to one year (I now live in Los Angeles) - is unlike anything else. I had a blast and it was great to see the city with a relatively fresh pair of eyes.   Matt seems to have had a great time as well, andbthe best part about reading his article for me was to see him stretch his writing wings and have fun sharing the experience with his readers and writing about everything BUT technology. Matt all too often has to write about the latest gadget for Gizmodo - and it’s always fun for me to see any great writer dive into a piece as Matt did with this one.  This profile is one of my favorite profiles that anyone’s written about me because Matt did a great job of communicating how HE experienced the flight.

The images were shot over 3 flights over the city - one at sunrise, another in the late afternoon, and the last one at night. One important note:  The vast majority of the flight time was dedicated to shooting an assignment for a client that had little to do with the NYC skyline. I spend maybe 10-15% of the time making these images - often to take a break from the assignment and allow the light to shift a little - especially when the clouds pulled in or out.  So in truth - I likely shot less than 1,500 images of the city - the other 4,400 were shot for the client.

One of the big issues with flying over a heavily populated area is to make sure you don’t hover in place for one hour in he same spot.  It’s simply unfair to the people below.  Therefore I tend to break up the flight into 5-10 minute chunks over and area - and go fly elsewhere for a few minutes and come back.  That’s where these images came in  - and hopefully helped reduce the pain on people’s ears below…

You’ll notice that the images were shot with a variety of lenses - including tilt-shift lenses that give a somewhat surreal look and feel to some of the images.   So if you have the time,  take a look through the images - choose your favorites (5 max) and leave a comment on the comment section of this blog below. I look forward to hearing your thoughts - and what YOU find interesting.

There’s really nothing like it in the world.

Night Flight over Chrysler from Vincent Laforet (shot by Mike Isler) on Vimeo.  p.s. I am wearing a full body safety harness UNDER my jacket…

On a related note,  I had a great lunch with my friend Scott Bourne a few weeks ago - and he mentioned something to me that at the time surprised me quite a bit.   He told  me that most of the people out there didn’t know that my background was in photography - according to him, most know me for my film/video work with HDDSLRS - Reverie, Nocturne, First Look and others …

I found that quite interesting  given that I have 20 years of experience in the world of photography. To be honest, when he mentioned this to me it totally threw me for a loop - but it also made a bit of sense given what’s happened in the past two years with this blog and the photo/video world in general.  It led to a very interesting conversation on how one’s perceptions of who one is - can sometimes be quite different than how people perceive you from the outside world…

I’ve caught people saying that I’m no longer a still photographer now - and that I have “moved on” into the world of filmmaking.   While I have definitely spent a greater percentage of my time in the motion world over the past 2 years  - I definitely haven’t “left” photography.   In fact these past two years have made me miss shooting stills in a way that I haven’t felt in a long time - and I have some big still projects coming up that I’m extremely excited about.   If I had to break it down - I’d simply say that the world of print is going through a very tough time right now - and the editorial (magazine/newspaper) budgets through an even tougher time… as they improve and hopefully come back to being close to what they once were - I can see myself doing a LOT more still photography.  In fact I’m not waiting!  I’m already in the process of working on 3 different short and long-term still projects.

Then today I saw that someone had re-published an old video interview of me (see below) from nearly 4 years ago and I thought I would share it with you because I think this interview was extremely well done and captured who I was then - having just left the staff of The New York Times and having entered the freelance commercial photography market for a little over a year at that point.  This brings me to to another interesting thing that I’ve noticed over the past two years:  even though I’m always focused on what’s happening now, what I’m talking about now in this very immediate world - people still somehow always seem to be reading 1, 2 or even in this case 4-year-old articles - of what I consider to be “old news.”

Towards the end of the interview - I mention that leaving photojournalism would allow me to broaden my horizons and try “new things.”   Little did I know what would happen to those horizons a little under two years later when I borrowed a prototype Canon 5D MKII over a fateful weekend…

BTW If you’d like to see some more of my photography and/or aerials of the city - feel free to check out my website. I’ll also have something very interesting to share with you related to photography in a few weeks…

Interview - Illya Friedman, Hot Rod Cameras from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

Last week, Illya Friedman, President of Hot Rod Cameras stopped by the studio to chat about the Canon HDDSLR’s that his company is modifying to fit PL mount lenses.  We discussed about the HDDSLR movement, the benefits of standard cinema lenses, and how modifying these cameras to fit those lenses creates more of an industry standard workflow.

As a still photographer who has made the transition into the world of motion, it was interesting to talk with Illya - as he pinpointed so many of the small differences between still photography and cinematography that account for large issues on set - many of which I have discovered myself over the past two years. Luckily for the end user, Illya and others have recognized these discrepancies and are providing a solution.  Check out the video above to learn more about how Illya is engineering these cameras to work with professional cinema lenses.

And of course you can always check out Illya’s site directly by visiting www.HOTRODCAMERAS.com.

PS- The lens featured at the end of the interview is the new 14-24mm T2.8 Ruby Zoom by FOCUS OPTICS.  Check it out by CLICKING HERE.