Rare Air: Michael Jordan

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.“ Michael Jordan

How do you make magic in three minutes ? That is exactly what I had to do, in that amount of time with Hall of Fame legend Michael Jordan.  I must say it’s always a pleasure to work with Mike.  He is a first class person whom I have known for a really long time.  He demands excellence on all levels every second of the day.  It can be intimidating to work around someone as talented as him but when you are at a shoot it is important to remember he is human, sometimes super human, but he puts his pants on one leg at a time just like we do (at least I think so!).

Always keep this in mind…keep taking pictures and remember to have fun doing it.

The photo shoot went something like this:  Got up way to early to make sure we had everything in place.  We double-checked everything, and then waited…and waited…and waited.  Then fifteen people walked into the room followed by Michael.  Everyone was on edge, with the exception of my crew; we had done this before, and we knew things had to move quickly.  Before you knew it after a few clicks of my shutter his manager was impatiently humming letting me know time was up and it was time for us to start breaking things down.

Somethings I learn from these kind of shoots: move quickly, know what you want. Also, watch the signs: once you have lost the client, you will never get them back.

Michael Jordan poses for a portrait

Photoshop Top 40 #4 – Navigation

Here is a good little  video from Lynda.com that helps with Navigation.

The Great Camera Shootout 2010

This is a three-part series on comparing Film to Digital on the video side.

Great Camera Shootout Video

THE GREAT CAMERA SHOOTOUT 2010 CAST: Jens Bogehegn (Web Series Executive Producer), Robert PrimesASC (Director of Photography), Philip Bloom (DP – Color Profiles), Gary Adcock (Digerati), Ryan Emerson (Colorist) and Steve Weiss (Web Series Director). SPECIAL APPEARANCES BY: Shane Hurlbut, ASC, Stephen Goldblatt ASC, BSC Stephen Lighthill, ASC, Rick McCallum, Stu Maschwitz, David Wexler, Kevin Shahinian, David Robin, The Bui Brothers and more.

Canon’s EOS E1 video plug-in for Apple’s Final Cut Pro

Canon’s EOS E1 video plug-in for Apple’s Final Cut Pro was released today. This new plug-in allows simple and easy transfer of video content from Canon’s EOS DSLR cameras directly into Final Cut Pro. The EOS E1 video plug-in takes advantage of Final Cut Pro’s powerful Log and Transfer feature, which allows users to select and mark the video directly while it is still on the camera, add custom metadata and ingest the clips in the background so the editing can begin immediately.

The EOS E1 video plug-in is a free download. The plug-in is compatible with Final Cut Pro 6 or higher and currently supports Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D and EOS 1D Mark IV cameras.

Real or Not

Have you ever wondered how much is real on tv or the big screen?  Well, I think this little video will show you how much things change on the editing room.  To save the cost of adding items, the green screen or blue screen have changed how things are manipulated on the computer.

Model and Property releases made Easy!

Finally there is an application that lets photographers and other creative professionals make model and property releases right on their iPhone.

Application Gap

Easy Release by ApplicationGap replaces inconvenient paper release forms with a slick, streamlined application designed by professional photographers for professional photographers. Easy Release lets you collect all the data and signatures you need right on your iPhone, then mails a PDF and JPEG of the release right to you. Easy Release uses industry-standard and proven legal language that is accepted by the world’s leading stock photo companies, like Getty Images and iStockphoto. Plus, Easy Release supports 12 different languages, so you can get the release you need, no matter who, or where you are shooting

.

Beautifully Departed

Once in a great time, You get some wonderful jobs that get creative and expressive at the same time.  This is what happened when two actors and producers, Kerry Cashion and Gina Travis,  came to me about a project that they were working on.  It was their goal to create a movie poster for their pilot, Beautifully Departed.  It was nice to sit down with both Kerry and Gina and get the over all direction of the show so that I could come up with something that took it to the next level.  Our goal was to shoot in a funeral home, but we all thought it would be nice to have something outside since it was a lovely day on Feb. 21 in Hickory, N.C.  We received some great tips while on set of this shoot and decided to take a more gothic look at this very funny show about a funeral director and her best friend.  Thanks to both of them for allowing our crew to take this back a few steps and then rise to the occasion.

Gina Travis and Kerry Cashion of Beautifully Departed

Lady Cats Photo Shoot

After the photo shoot, there is always more work.  Here is a short video that shows some of the things that goes on when you are trying to capture that special moment on a photo shoot for the Charlotte Bobcats Lady Cats poster and more.  You can see some of the images on the Charlotte Bobcats website.  Also visit Kent Smith Photography for more images from this shoot.