“Every photographer in all of history was a horrible photographer for some period of time. They learned, they grew, they had dark days, they persevered — that is the way of the artist.” -Zack Arias

Arias drives the mood swings of the creative process straight home in this narrative video. Spend some time contemplating his words. Via APAD & Click.

I tend to think that video was the right choice for this subject since I could use repetitive movements of the park’s water features and moving sculptures to carry the natural sound transitions, and having the chief architect talk about the park’s impact added some good insight and information. There were times while shooting this piece that I yearned for the still camera, especially when you look at how the art interacts with people. I’ll save those opportunities for later when the light is nicer. That’s the trouble with daily newspaper assignments carved around the schedules of multiple photographers. Sometimes you just have to shoot it when the light is at its worst.

Here’s the article written by critic David Bonetti in the Post-Dispatch, along with the video at STLtoday.

Stumbled upon the multimedia project We Are Sleeping Giants by Brooks Reynolds through Chase Jarvis’s blog. This is a splendid piece of creative and moody portraiture intertwined with a matching acoustical ballad by Everlea. In each of these photographs there seems to live a story that touches each one of us differently depending on our own adolescent experiences.

“Summer nights encompass some of the most unforgettable times of our lives.
There is a certain mystery contained in the darkness & tension.
In 48 photographs, ‘WE ARE SLEEPING GIANTS” eludes to the stories of youth, isolation &
nearly supernatural experiences during this annual epoch.”

Images from “WE ARE SLEEPING GIANTS,” copyright Brooks Reynolds used with permission.

I chose black and white for simplicity and consistency. Lately I have been learning towards it because it frees me from the color and graphic constraints that my mind constantly analyzes.  It lets me let go and play, since I have the bad habit of overanalyzing frames instead of actually shooting.  By combining a very simple piano piece by Kevin MacLeod and letting the piece extend a little longer than normal multimedia work, I hope to communicate a piece that is as much of St. Louis in the winter as my own emotional and behavioral response to it. Here’s the link to the same video, plus some very heartfelt comments from viewers, at our website, STLtoday.com

“I could feel the cold! So many of these pictures were untold stories, like the beautiful house with the furniture piled at the curb.What’s going on there? Thanks, Erik, for your observant eye’s view of the ordinary.”  – viewer and commenter Judy Stark.

Tire tracks in the snow, north St. Louis County, seen from Metrolink rail.

McCain supporter concedes, O'Fallon, Illinois.

The above image was taken with my Canon 1D Mark IIn camera. The tiny G10 let me focus on developing a good still photograph for the print edition without compromising the quality through a video frame grab.

For the next few weeks I’ll be using this lovely little camera for all of my video assignments. It’s an experiment we’re trying and one I hope succeeds. Stick around for a full review and samples. I’m curious of your immediate impressions based upon this short video.

Hurricanes are strenuous and scary to cover both before they hit and the devastation they leave behind. Besides being mentually grueling, they also take a physical and emotional toll especially if your home is in the path.

I’m trying to master layering — a pursuit I’m not particularly good at; a pursuit that is particularly difficult to master.  The attempt here is to capture several elements in one background that communicates *bike race* in a small town. I found this cyclist from Germany just as he was sitting down in front of a small knick-knack store near the main thoroughfare of town for the fifth leg of the 2008 Tour of Missouri.

In the slideshow, you can see how I engaged the subject and waited for more elements to converge in the scene. The cyclist looked at me for a few frames while his colleague and the store owner appeared. Then a female colleague stepped in as a photographer walks through (for a second time). Which one of these frames is layered correctly — if any? I need to rely on some better talent (ahem, you) to give me some better direction on how I could have shot this better. Should I have been closer? Tighten it up or let it loose? Does any of this even work at all? This feels like a Dear Abby letter.

There is almost too much here to see at one sitting, so either clear out your schedule for an hour or bookmark it and come back, because it deserves your attention.

Well said, although when Jorgen passed me this link a few days ago, he said:

Truth is, I’m secretly hoping you blog about it so more people check it
out.

There is nothing wrong with highlighting good photography, especially the confidence boost you get after watching Bruce Gilden’s video — the man is like a shark — he just lunges and shoots — I love it.

Video copyright WNYC

In the meantime, the videos are well produced (I don’t notice the video length or maybe it’s because I’m actually interested in the content). Either way, it’s well worth a long visit and you’ll walk away inspired. Thanks for the link Jorgen.

There was a long and humbling pause when I noticed that Jörg Colberg took mention of uncommons. This comes from an amazing blog that continues to shape my perspectives on fine-art photography and provides outstanding photographic content. He also posted a few more blogs here which quickly ended up on my RSS bookmarks.

Also, I’m constantly amazed at Nikon’s aggressive drive to get gear in the hands of photographers. Bill Pekala of Nikon NPS is arranging a camera loan for an extended use as I contemplate upgrading digital cameras. Lindsay Silverman, the senior technical manager for Nikon, passed along my request. Both of those guys are incredible, not to forget the staffs underneath that drive the boat. If you haven’t met these two, you should. Plus, I always see Lindsay’s write-ups in the pages of photo magazines, such as the Digital PhotoPro mag that always seems to send a complimentary copy my way.

Post staffer Emily Rasinski just published a stellar news video on the closing of a local elementary school. The growth of her talent is outstanding – she just picked up a video camera not more than a month or two ago. Check it out here. Also, keep your eye on News Videographer because I sent Angela a message asking for a critique.

Speaking of multimedia, I like how Colin Mulvany of the Spokesman-Review pretty much ‘threw down’ on the line between complaining and learning multimedia on his blog Mastering Multimedia. It’s like a put up or shut-up. Nicely said.

Dave Hill’s online work, website copyright Dave Hill.

One particular video, featuring the photo shoot of hip-hop artist Chris Brown, features a playground of technical goodies that I’d love to get my hands on. Check out the digi Hassy and the ring light (is that the Profoto?)

Goodies featured, video copyright Dave Hill.

Not only do you have to love a crew that uses trucks to unload all the gear, but you have to give it to Dave for taking the time to produce these videos. Not only are they educational in the sense of learning to light, but they are insightful into the life of a commercial photographer not a year older than I. Forget getting to sleep on time tonight, there are lessons to be learned here. Check out the videos by clicking on “behind the scenes” on Dave’s site.