“Sometimes it may seem that new problems crop up as fast as we solve the old ones (sometimes faster!), but that just means we’re moving — that we’re getting better and stronger. Anyone that wants to compete with us has to learn the same things, so problems are just mile markers.”
“It may seem sometimes like we don’t know what we’re doing. And it’s true: we don’t. That’s a bit scary, but you can take comfort in knowing that nobody else knows how to do what we’re doing either… so there are no experts in what we’re doing. Except for us: we are becoming experts as we do this.”
Still Motion is sharing information and it’s not hurting them or their craft in any way. It’s nice to see people, companies and groups doing this, it just feels good.
What have you shared lately? Go out and share the wealth…..it’ll make you richer.
Last week while wrapping up a product photography shoot I was asked if I could grab a quick group portrait of my clients warehouse crew. I was kinda caught off guard but I said sure, why not. Knowing this bunch of dudes wasn’t going to go for the classic “everyone get in close and give me a big smile” type of portrait, I decided to shoot them a little more dramatically. I walked around the warehouse until I found a good spot with a towering backdrop of boxes…..perfect! Next I positioned them in an arc around my focal point and got the camera down low on the floor for a more powerful angle…..nice. Last, I asked them to fold their arms and give me a bad-ass stare……rad!
My client loved the photo and said they look like the A-Team. I couldn’t be happier with the shot, I think it conveys who they are and what they do. I love it when a plan comes together!
On March 26th everyone around the country that works at Olukai took the day off to “giveback” to their local communities. People donated their time to charities, taught children, planted trees, others did beach cleanups and volunteered. The good folks at Olukai asked me document their local Aliso Viejo giveback, a food drive for Standup for Kids. All shot on the 5DmkII….hope you like it.
Lance Armstrong’s “It’s Not About the Bike” is a great book. His battle with cancer and his determination to return to cycling is truly inspiring. After reading the book you really get the sense that it’s not the bike or fancy equipment that has allowed him win the Tour De France seven times, but rather his indomitable will. I’m not saying he could grab your childhood Huffy with training wheels on it and smoke the peleton, but I’m sure he could swap bikes with any of his competitors and still win.
A couple days ago Chase Jarvis launched a live online training website called creativelive.com. It’s going to be similar to other online training courses but cover more creative outlets than just software like photography, painting and lighting to name a few. They are going to have experts like Vincent Laforet, Art Wolfe and David duChemin showing you their workflow and all types of tips and tricks. I noticed immediately from tweets and blog comments that a lot of amateurs loved the idea but a lot of professionals hated it. It’s easy to see why the amateurs loved the idea, who wouldn’t want to learn from the experts within their field? It would be like getting a free bike lesson from Lance himself! What I found troubling was that the professionals had such a problem with it. In general they were upset that these guys were going to give away all the industry secrets and thereby educating amateurs how to take their jobs. I think if you are a true professional you should have nothing to fear by training or educating someone. Just like Lance isn’t scared when someone buys a $12,000 bike and a bicycling 101 DVD.
You have to ask yourself, what makes you a pro? Is it your $8,000 camera? Is it your L series prime lenses? Is it your fancy lighting setups? The truth is that it’s none of these things. What makes a person a professional is more than just their equipment, its about how they approach their craft. Vincent Laforet would still be Vincent Laforet if he decide to switch from Canon to Nikon. The same goes for Chase Jarvis if he decided to switch from Nikon to Canon. The equipment doesn’t matter. Both of those guys could pick up a $200 point-n-shoot camera and still take great photos while having their personal styles emerge. It’s not their workflow or equipment that makes them professionals, but rather their passion and creative vision.
Professional equipment is getting more affordable every year putting pro tools in the hands of more and more amateurs. Online training, tutorials and YouTube educations are not going away anytime soon either. The fact is, if you are scared that creativelive.com is teaching an army of amateurs to one day take your job, then you are not a professional. You are just an average amateur with pro gear who hasn’t found out what sets themselves apart from their competitors. If you want to be a true professional you have to compete on another level other than expensive equipment and fancy workflows. Lance is right, it’s not about the bike. What makes a professional is passion, determination and creative vision…..it’s not about the camera.
The fastest way to learn a computer software program, technique or skill is now online tutorials and the ones from Lynda.com are the best. Have you ever needed to learn a software program but didn’t feel like reading the mind numbing manual or taking classes? You are not alone. The problem with manuals or books is that they are slow and it’s hard to pick out the relevant content you should learn from the stuff you’ll never use. The problem with classes is that the class is either filled with idiots that slow your progress or it’s being taught by a teacher whose skills and knowledge are out dated and no longer relevant. That’s why I believe the fastest way to learn are the videos on Lynda.com. It’s a website that hosts an online training library on every computer software, skill, trade and technique imaginable.
Since 2004 I’ve learned Photoshop, Lightroom, Flash, Dreamweaver, Joomla, WordPress, HTML, CSS, PHP, Premiere, After Effects, Final Cut and a ton of other programs in half the time it would take reading books or taking classes. They hire industry professionals to walk you through the program you are trying to learn (with examples) and give you all the tips and tricks they use on a daily basis. It’s like sitting shotgun while watching pros do their work….it’s invaluable! They even update the videos on the release of new software versions so you have the latest knowledge. If you need to learn a new program from scratch or simply polish up your skills then Lynda.com is definitely for you.
Wow! Zacuto really did a thoughtful comparison between film and dSLR’s. If you want to know what your dSLR looks like compared to film then you need to watch this video. I’m really amazed how well the dSLR’s held up. Of course the cameras loose detail in the highlights and shadows but that’s expected. Considering these are first generation cameras it says a lot about what the next generation of dSLRs will be capable of. In the video I think Shane Hurlbut says it best when he reminds us that we are viewing a compressed format, think about how much information is being stripped away from the RAW sensor for the sake of speed and file size.
This feature will blow your mind! Adobe is adding Content Aware Fill to Photoshop CS5 and it works brilliantly. If you do any work in Photoshop this will make your edits a breeze. I really see minutes and even hours being saved by this. This feature alone makes CS5 a “must have” the day it releases. By the way, that date is April 12th 2010. Adobe Launch site: http://cs5launch.adobe.com/
It took long enough but it has finally arrived! Here’s the details straight from the horses mouth:
Firmware Version 2.0.3 incorporates five enhancements to the movie function and a fix to the manual sensor cleaning function of the EOS 5D Mark II camera.
Adds or changes the following movie frame rates.
1920×1080 : 30 fps (changed – actual 29.97 fps)
1920×1080 : 24 fps (added – actual 23.976 fps)
640×480 : 30 fps (changed – actual 29.97 fps)
1920×1080 : 25 fps (added – actual 25.0 fps)
1920×1080 : 24 fps (added – actual 23.976 fps)
640×480 : 25 fps (added – actual 25.0 fps)
NTSC: PAL:
Adds a function for manually adjusting the sound recording level (64 levels).
Adds a histogram display (brightness or RGB) for shooting movies in manual exposure.
Adds shutter-priority AE mode (Tv) and aperture-priority AE (Av) mode to the exposure modes for shooting movies.
Changes the audio sampling frequency from 44.1 KHz to 48 KHz.
Fixes a phenomenon where communication between the camera and the attached lens is sometimes interrupted after manual sensor cleaning. (This phenomenon only affects units with Firmware Version 1.2.4.)
Download the new firmware here. Note: The link above is for the new Firmware version 2.0.4. It has corrected the issue with custom modes and manual sound recording.
I get asked all the time….”You can shoot video with that camera?” My reply, “Yep, people are even shooting feature films with these cameras (5DmkII, 7D).” Most people don’t believe me or simply dismiss the idea as absurd. Even video and film gurus still don’t comprehend how these little cameras can compete with the big boys. Well, the video below offers proof that these cameras can compete and are here to stay. Pacific Picture’s “City of Lakes” is the most beautiful DSLR footage I’ve ever seen. Be sure to click the expand button on the bottom right to watch in HD.
