15 Bands I Listened To A Lot In 2009 (not necessarily from 2009) The XX(Young Turks) Grizzly Bear (Warp) Animal Collective(Domino) Visqueen(Local 638) GIVE Seattle (www.giveseattle.org) [...the rest of the music list and lots more lists after the jump. click the 'continue reading' link below for more good lists...] -- (music continued...)
And I could go on forever, but I'll spare you. You've got some stuff to add to these lists, I know you do. Or better yet have other lists to share? Tell us all in the comments. Happy 2009. Bring it on, 2010.
Typically, the end of each year marks a time for celebration.
In that spirit, each autumn our studio has an anniversary party where we celebrate with our clients, business friends and co-collaborators. It's an eclectic mix of about 600 people, from graffiti artists, restaurateurs, musicians, ad execs, city officials and the whole spectrum in between. Everyone lets their hair down and unwinds with the mission of having a darn good time.
This year's event was no exception, however something rather exceptional DID happen.
For a bit of childish fun, we set up a photo booth using state-of-the-art camera and lighting equipment and captured 21,112 photographs in under 5 hours. That's more than 1.5 images every second--the camera shot almost continuously for the duration of the party. That's gotta be some sort of bizarre record or something... The resulting "movie" of those photographs tells a pretty funny tale. Please indulge me here in a little bit of goofing... If you're not hip to some intermittent debauchery, some tomfoolery, and the occasional PG-13 flasher, don't watch this. If you're lighthearted and have been there before, watch and enjoy. And stick with it. Just when you think it's on repeat, somebody ups the ante... [click 'continue reading' link below]
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Huge thanks to everyone for celebrating with and and especially to the bands that played our party:
For those techie types, this kind of firepower is only made possible with the Nikon D3, Broncolor Scoro A4s lighting, and SanDisk Extreme Pro 32G card. Check out my gear page if you're interested. Huge thanks to those folks as well.
Have a great weekend.
[And if you're interested in embedding this video, feel free. You can get the Youtube window to format vertically by changing the height to 740 and width to 480 (or anything on that proportion.)]
Introducing "Director's Cut" my latest music video and the latest track from the electronic duo Head Like a Kite (this time featuring MC Tilson).
If you're a photo/video lover, a music aficionado, a do-gooder or any combo therein please pass this along. We created this pro-bono and it's my hope it'll inspire you and your friends to pull out $7 for 30 exclusive tracks from Seattle's hottest bands as a part of our GiveSeattle.org project. Included in this uber-affordable compilation are exclusive tracks from Fleet Foxes, Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), and many more. And a reminder that 100% of sales--every cent of that 7 bucks--goes directly to Art Corps and Seattle area food banks.
If you're a photo/video nut like me and you want to know more about how we made this little video inside a video, complete with behind the scenes photos, hit the 'continue reading link' below.
-- 1. Concept/Treatment. Ever felt like you're staring in the movie that is your own life? The drama, the celebration, those stranger than fiction moments. Life can be a mysterious state where you're sometimes not sure if you're awake or dreaming. The lyrics to this song are a stream of consciousness about precisely this. I wanted some visuals to match. Some elements to match reality, some that don't make sense, and some that toggled Tilson (the guest MC and "star" of the vid) both IN and OUT of that state.
2. Mood.Head Like A Kite are all about a party. They're all sorts of crazy talented, but they don't take themselves too seriously. It's refreshing. And it was important to them the the video reflected that. Hence the "cartoon-y" feel to the video. 3. Constraints. Given a. that we're making this video as a part of our holiday project to raise awareness for our fundraiser; and b)that we've set some "loose" parameters on ourselves and other vid makers for the project that we want them to be simple enough to be shot in one take or thereabouts.
4. Mechanisms. The mechanisms we used to create all three of above are pretty simple: First, we filmed a path in an around our studio WITHOUT the lead character except for the very beginning and the very end (so he could pop in and out of his life), but WITH the band popping up in various places, timed with the chorus.
"I close my eyes so I can watch the dreams suspend night. All of this time the movie reels spin in my mind"
That was shot in 3 takes.
Second, we sewed those 3 takes together into one movie. We made it black and white and we projected it a screen, at life-size proportions.
Third, we put MC Tilson in front of that screen and filmed him "inside" the projected video while he delivered the lyrics and moved throughout the lifesized world we created according to a series of choreographed moves that had him moving in and out of doorways, up stairs and around corners. We made it just real enough to make it believable but seem to the trained eye that somethings just not quite right (ala the awake/dream state.
Hope you dig. Here's some photos to show you our setup.
Please visit www.giveseattle.org and download our #1 selling album in Seattle right now for just $7. Help those less fortunate and get some great new tunes.
Meet the stars of my Nikon Festival video: Joshua Roman (cellist), Saba Mohajerjasbi (Sabzi playing the Beat Gorilla), and Ellie Sandstrom (choregrapher/performer), and check out how we made my 140-second film in just a day and a half.
Reminder: there's still 6 days for YOU to enter your 140 second film into the Nikon Festival and let yours truly--along with Rainn Wilson (from 'The Office') and Justine Ezarik (iJustine) decide if your vid should capture the $100,000 cash prize. I'd love to see your entry when submission period ends and my judging begins at midnight on December 15th.
For more deets visit www.nikonfestival.com, the festival's Facebook page. To stay tuned in, you can also follow the festival on Twitter via @nikonfestival. --
Get out from behind the computer and shoot something you've been dying to shoot today. It's easier that you've lead yourself to believe, it costs less than you think, and is more fun than you remember.
In fact, tell us all in the comments below what you're going to shoot today or tomorrow or this weekend. Don't be worried that someone's gonna copy you, because it won't happen. If you're doing it right nobody CAN copy you.
I'll tell you right now, in 10 minutes I'm going to begin shooting a music video and some stills today for Head Like A Kite.
But what are you going to do? Who's got the huevos to tell us all? (Trust me this is for you, not somebody else. Just engaging your brain and writing the words is half the battle.)
The holidays are a time for cheer, but they're also a time for giving. As such I've joined forces with some friends here in Seattle to help bring you GIVESEATTLE.ORG.
GIVESEATTLE.ORG is simple: we've compiled more than 30 amazing tracks from some of Seattle's best bands/musicians and wrapped it into one compilation that is downloadable for just $7. And 100% of the money goes directly to support Arts Corps and Seattle Area Food Banks. (Yes you read that correctly 100% goes to those in need).
Please download this amazing compilation NOW at www.giveseattle.org. And also important: Please tell your friends. This music is not to be missed.
To promote this unique form of holiday giving online, a handful of us are making music videos. We're aiming to...[click 'continue reading' link below] --
...make these in one take, or close to it, with zero budget. These creative restraints are resulting in some really simple, beautiful concepts. This is the first one, featuring the band Fences, directed by Brad Curran over at CityArts. (Separately, you may recall us featuring Fences as part of our SFEAD project too...beautiful stuff).
We'll release one video each week or so throughout the holidays. I'll be posting them all here. I hope you enjoy.
The list of partners who have come together to create this is too long to mention here, but please check them out here on the GiveSeattle.orgpage. Happy holidays and please give your $7 in exchange for some great new music. -- Get my every move: Follow Chase Jarvis on Twitter Get exclusive content: Become a Fan on Facebook
"I hate cameras. They interfere, they’re always in the way. I wish I could just work with my eyes alone." -Richard Avedon
I had some sushi this week with David DuChemin, author of the new book VisionMongers: Making a Life and a Living in Photography. David's a great guy--and one of the few photography authors writing today--that actually gets it. It's not about gear or gimmick or guise. It's about vision. Developing it and putting it to use. If you're looking to do some in-front-of-the-television "black friday" shopping for that photographer in your life (ahem, yourself) this would be an excellent investment of your $29. (Amazon VisionMongerslink.)
Anybody already got a copy and care to share a review of VisionMongers or David's other book, Within the Frame, below? [click 'continue reading' link below...] --
[Hey, FWIW, I just got a tweet from David's @pixelatedimage account that told me his ebooks are on sale today only for 50% off. Errr, that's $2.50. Pretty wicked pricetag electronic books bearing such titles as: Ten Ways to Improve Your Craft and None of Them Involves Buying Gear. You can buy his ebooks at www.CraftandVision.com] -- Get my every move: Follow Chase Jarvis on Twitter Get exclusive content: Become a Fan on Facebook
Thanks and Giving. For USA readers, today is a holiday where we're encouraged to take pause and give thanks for all the wonderful people, health, things, and moments in our lives. For the international readers, I'd encourage you to join in.
I'll start with the THANKS. Most every year, I find that what I'm thankful for boils down to health, family, and community.
Health. I'm thankful that I have had mine for almost every moment of 2009. Traveling and working as much as I do can often take its toll on health, but it rarely does mine. I believe that creating a life for yourself that you want to be living means a lot toward personal health. I'm also thankful for whatever gene I got from my parents or luck I've continually received on that front. So thankful.
Family again played a gigantor role for me in 2009. My wife Kate is my superhero, my inspiration, and my best friend. I'd be swimming in circles without her. Dexter, our giant cat who thinks he's a dog, continues to show me how to love unconditionally. My Dad stared down cancer and... [click 'continue reading' link below] --
...kicked its ass this year and my mom celebrated her 11th year of being cancer free. They both somehow laugh more each year and keep getting younger despite adding a few more wrinkles. I was humbled again by the warmth and unwavering generosity of my in-laws, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my brother and sister in law for co-creating my first, one and only nephew. He's both a lover and a little tank at the same time ;) A great reminder of how every new life is so precious. I'm again thankful to my aunts and uncles and grandma with whom I grew yet again closer. I wasn't around as much for them this year, but in true form they were always there for me. Our extended family continues to inspire, and they remind me so eloquently--and seemingly without effort--of what that word 'family' really means.
Community. In 2009, 'community' was a constant reminder of what made my life rich beyond my dreams. When I say community, I mean my friends, my co-workers, my co-collaborators, my neighbors, and most definitely YOU. The staff at CJinc brings the love, the passion, the hard work and the dedication to the table everyday, not just Monday thru Friday. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude and inspiration. YOU, the photography, art, design, and popular culture community that exists here, on other blogs and virtual salons, gives so much value to the world. Especially as the web somehow more and more viscerally connects translates/maps back into the "real" world. This is a wonderful thing to celebrate. YOU are a wonderful thing that I celebrate and I'm thankful beyond words.
I've said it before, but it must be said again today: Within the thousands of comments posted and the millions of visits each year, I draw a ton of strength. I laugh inside when you thank me for this post or that, because in my brain I'm so thankful for your words, your support, your visits, your comments, your ideas, your links to this site, and every ounce of your energy that is spent on your daily visit here. You are the guts and, in many ways, the driver of this pile of words and videos and pictures. I'm thankful. To the max. Now the GIVING portion. Giving back should be a core component in everyone's life. Sometimes we're better and sometimes we're worse at giving back, but the action should always be a part of both your moment and your horizon. It's easy to give back at a distance, but this year, between now and then end of 2009, try giving back in the trenches. Hand someone a wool hat on the street, give your old camera to a student in need, get involved with Help-Portrait, Blue Earth, Youth in Focus, your local 826, the Red Cross, or some other grassroots-dependent organization that requires you to do something rather than just write a check or click 'submit'. You'll feel better and the world will get more of what you have to give: the experience of YOU, not just your tax write off.
Lastly. If you feel so inclined, share with us in the comments section below some things YOU'RE thankful for. Anything sincere. I'll select a handful of comments at my discretion, I'll track you down, and I'll send you a signed book, or an iPhone app or something else.
Thank you. I mean it. Have a great holiday weekend. And don't forget: "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." - William Arthur Ward
Creating a strong emotional connection with the viewer is without a doubt the most important criterion in a successful image. Nothing will ever supplant that. Beyond that, however, there's a whole bunch of second tier, more "mechanical" techniques that we creatives can cook up to elevate our images and create visual interest.
One such technique is compositional in nature: creating cool angles and unique perspectives. It's what makes P.O.V. shots cool, it's the mojo in those classic 360 degree shots from The Matrix and the super-cool car commercials, and it's what make those slick overhead shots on Monday Night Football all really sing.
In the 2:41 of this Chase Jarvis SHORTS video, I illustrate the what, where, how and why for a contraption that we built in-house that's helped me make some of my most-asked-about...[click the 'continue reading' link below] -- ...(how'n the hell did you do that?) images from The Blakes music video, from Laura's Story video, and from images created for Apple, Brooks running shoes, Hasselblad Masters and others. I've used all sorts of lighting AND Nikons, Hasselblads, RED motion cameras, even the Phantom HD motion camera in conjunction with this contraption.
A quick spin thru the portfolio section of my site will reveal that I've got a good bit of use from this sucker. We call it "Ground Control". Watch the vid and you'll know why. --
I can't help but think that somebody forgot to dot an i or cross a t somewhere, because yours truly has just been asked to give away $100,000 of somebody else's money. Yep you read that correctly. 100. LARGE.
That somebody is Nikon, and I'm not alone in this endeavor. I've got some accomplices: Rainn Wilson (from 'The Office') and Justine Ezarik (iJustine). The three of us have been charged with choosing one winner in the Nikon Festival: a short form video contest that was the impetus for my creating the short film above - check it out! Love your feedback... But I'm not entered in the contest - that's YOUR job. Create a 140 second video that simply shows a day through your lens.
Details about the contest, when you can pickup your 100 grand, more about my film, and a debut of Rainn Wilson's short film after the jump... [click the 'continue reading' link below] --
My Film: First of all, it was a blast making this little shortie. I hope you enjoyed. I never really named it, although the working title is Dancing with Bachzi. And it chronicles my day collaborating with 3 close friends: the amazing prodigy cellist, Joshua Roman; the slickest DJ producer I know, Sabzi, of Blue Scholars and Common Market; and the most elegant and arresting dancer I know, Ellie Sandstrom. We had a blast with this--I'll show some behind the scenes stuff in a future post.
The Contest: I'm psyched that Nikon has stepped up like this and is legitimately backing us creatives! Props to them. They're letting Rainn, Justine and me choose one filmmaker to hand 100 grand cash AND letting you pick a second winner who will receive $25,000--the people's choice award. And both winners also get a Nikon camera kit.
What would you do with the winnings? Whatever you want, of course. Wouldn't it be killer if the winner of either prize (but especially the biggie) would take a year off and do something creative with the money, something that they loved?
The basic guidelines for the contest are simple. Between now and December 15th you create and submit a 140 second film. Starting on December 16th, us judges begin sorting through all the submissions and announce a winner in January.
I shot my little flick on the Nikon D300s, but you can use ANY camera. That's right. Nikon is cool enough to recognize that not everyone uses Nikon. In truth, it's one of the reasons I'm psyched about this contest. Nikon has created an environment that supports ALL photographers and filmmakers, regardless of equipment or format.
The thought of getting to drop a huge pile of cash into the lap of someone from this community has me beside myself. I'll be keeping tabs on the submissions and stuff through the course of the festival. You can do so via the contest site, @nikonfestival, or via it's Facebook page.
In the meantime get out there at build a movie around YOUR DAY. Be it serious, funny, emotional or otherwise, just go for it. As a parting nod, I just had to embed my fellow judge funnyman Rainn Wilson's vid. It's simultaneously hysterical, bizarre and smart.
[Update: just got an email from Zeke at Trade Secret Cards. He wanted me to let you know he's already sold about 25% of his inventory in just 3 weeks. He's hoping to have unloaded the 5000 number by the end of the year... Let me put some of that money back into the photo industry... He's also posted a YouTube clip of a photo tip I gave him from the interview here.]
I love it when people--especially members of this community--take ideas and run with them. This one is no exception...
A couple months ago, I was approached by blog reader and founder of a company called Trade Secret Cards, Zeke Kamm. He had a business proposition: He'd come to Seattle, pick my brain about various different pictures in my portfolio and then he'd put together a pack of 22 glossy, high-end cards that illustrate "how to" re-create each picture. Soup to nuts. Diagrams, equipment used, what I was thinking, etc. He sells 'em and gives us cut.
We agreed to his proposal and for about $20 you can--starting today--buy these illustrative card packs here at www.tradesecretcards.com or at national photo retailers like Midwest Photo. Cool idea on Zeke's part - 100% his thingie.
And, fwiw, what's with our 10%? I'm giving it away. Here's the fun twist. I'm putting 100% of our cut back into the photo community. Zeke has printed 5,000 sets of cards. They go for roughly $20 each. So if my math is correct, we'll give every dime of $10,000 bucks back into photo community if Zeke sells all his cards.
How shall I put this money back into the community? You tell me. I'm all ears. Let's not put the cart before the horse, of course, we've got to help Zeke sell these cards, but I'd love to get your ideas in the comments below about how you'd like to see the money spent back into the community. My 10% is actually your 10%.
Another card example and link to other cards after the jump. Click the 'continue reading' link below.
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And lastly, if you like the Trade Secrets concept, Zeke has also done a set with my good friend David over at the Strobist community. Buy those too, also available at the Trade Secret Card site.
Short notice is the best notice. If you're in Toronto or NYC this week, I'd love to cross paths. Here's what I know:
First. This Thursday November 12th at 7:30pm I'm excited to be giving a chat about creativity on behalf of the Canadian Association of Photographers and Illustrators. Open to the public - please tell your mates. I'll also be signing The Best Camera Is The One That's With You. Books will be on sale there as far as I know. I'm speaking at the Gladstone hotel, reserve your tickets here. Some sort of social debauchery or requisite tomfoolery will surely follow.
Second, I have some business in NYC on Friday and Monday. Which leaves me mostly free on Saturday and Sunday (November 14 and 15). As such I'm thinking of getting people together to take pictures and be social. Actually, slightly more formal. A free "underground" event of sorts. If you're interested, pay close attention to my @chasejarvis twitter handle and my Facebook fan page. I'll post details there soon. Hope to see you. --
I wrote about Jeremy Cowart's great idea for a collective "give back" holiday project earlier. Behind the scenes, Jeremy and a handful of fellow photogs have been doing some legwork. There's now a Help-Portrait site with more information and inspiration. We're all planning to help. Please consider getting involved. Tell us below that you plan on it too, and then begin to organize your efforts and/or efforts in your area now.
I've had the good fortune of being invited to join distinguished hosts on a handful of photo industry podcasts recently. Here are a few links if you might be interested in hearing us yap. Many thanks to the gracious podcasters below.
Of all the behind the scenes stuff we've showed in recent vids, the one techie thing that far-and-away led to the most questions from readers was the part in this video where I'm photographing X Games uber-skiers Simon Dumont, Colby James West, TJ Shiller, Peter Olenick, and Nick Heine in New Zealand using strobes at 8 frames per second. That's right, all that stuff for the SanDisk campaign you remember reading about earlier. Rail slides and 100 foot airs. 8 frames per second. Strobed.
I know why you had questions.
To be honest, I too didn't think it was possible to shoot any pack at 8 fps for 40 or so frames straight, covering more than 100 feet of distance without frying something or something whimpering out. ...Which is why I tested the concept a number of ways before the shoot. The above video briefly chronicles those tests, the actual shoot, and the cool results.
More images, 2 lighting diagrams, a full gear list, and a couple more tech points after the jump...[click the 'continue reading' link below]
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Using this idea, we got results like this:
From the diagram below, you'll see that we've got one Broncolor Scoro A4s pack run off a Honda 3k generator. I've moved the heads so they're each front-lighting the rider. My VALs (voice activated light-stands...ie humans! - thx McNally for that term...) are in place and are pointing the Broncolor Unilite heads with Par reflectors at the subject (sorta like shooting a machine gun). The first of the two heads picks up the rider from takeoff to about mid-flight. The second head picks up the riders from about midway thru flight to landing, some 100 feet down the hill.
The other lighting diagram I sketched (below) outlines similar stuff to the one above. We've again got the Broncolor Scoro A4s pack, two heads with VALs, but this time we're running one of my time-tested "sandwich" techniques... a light on each side of the subject. Here, it's Simon.
And that gave me results like this:
Unreal, eh? We actually had to remove about 8 frames during the making of this composite since there was so much overlap... For you techie's, here's a gear list: Nikon D3 Nikkor 14-24mm lens Nikkor 24-70mm lens Broncolor Scoro A4s pack Broncolor Unilite heads Broncolor Par Reflector SanDisk Extreme Pro card 32GB Pocket Wizards Aperture (to process) Photoshop (to make layered file) Honda 3.0k generator
What to do if this sort of equipment is outta your budget? Try renting stuff. Experiment. Use some of that birthday money from your mom and teach yourself how to use this stuff. And here's a secret: try pickup after 3 on Friday. Rent for Saturday. Most places are closed on Sunday, return gear Monday. 3 days for the price of 1. Don't tell them I told you.
And some tech details: _Camera set to its maximum sync at 250th of a second (fastest base sync speed for camera) _Camera set to its highest frame rate - this case 8fps _Camera on a tripod (for ease in compositing frames later in post production...) _Broncolor pack output scaled to about 60% or less of full power to keep up with 8fps. Your results must vary. But you should know this is an absolutely incredible statistic. A 3200 watt-second pack at 60% (roughly 2000 w/s) at 8fps for 40 frames or more until my camera buffer was filled. _Remember from this vid, and the vid I did last friday it's the super short flash duration that's really stopping the action - not the shutter. _For more on the shutter/flash duration thing, check out the kissing cousin to this vid here, the Chase Jarvis TECH: High Speed Photography vid. _We're using Photoshop to create the layered file...shooting on a tripod, laying each frame of the jump on top of the other and masking away the unwanted parts of each frame to reveal just the rider on the background...
Lastly, hope this has been informative. I hadn't intended to do a video on this, but there were so many questions about it--plus I truly didn't think this was possible--so I just had to put something together. Lemme know what you think. -- Get my every move: Follow Chase Jarvis on Twitter Get exclusive content: Become a Fan on Facebook
I've been on the road almost non-stop since we shot the SanDisk campaign in NZ last month, but I'd promised that there was a bit more followup to come as we wrap up post production back at the studio. In this vid, for example (in the spirit of the oldie-but-still-relevant Chase Jarvis CURRENT: 32 Questions vid) I jam through a selection of about 30 questions I'd been asked via the online channels, from creative direction to shoot concept to tech specs to gear.
And a heads up. At your request, I'll be sprinkling in just couple more vids from NZ in the next couple weeks--at least a TECH about lighting and another RAW.
Lastly, lemme know what you think of this loose Q&A video format. If it sucks, tell me. If it you're able to tolerate me yammering on, I could streamline this video work on my end of things (add it to my podcast too), answer a heck of a lot more questions than I'm currently able to via email, and it would add a layer of discourse that's currently not there. Feedback please.
First, a huge thanks to those of you who have sent me photos of yourselves with my new book "The Best Camera Is The One That's With You". It's been fun and inspiring and great to see the book in far-off places like Japan and Paris. Lots of new faces and some familiar ones.
But more than that, you've got me fired up. I just stumbled across this link on my book's Amazon.com page (directly beneath the image of the book) that allows you to "share your own customer images". What? This could be fun. I'd love to see more of these images, and I'd love a place for you to see them...so call me crazy, but I thought we'd pull together a little game. First, here's what you can win: Every week from now till the end of the year (11 weeks) I'll pick my favorite photo of someone with my book, and I'll send that person a signed, limited edition print from the book. I'd love to see images of you with the book in fun, far off places or on your couch, in the Sarhara Desert, or heck, at the Apple store (on sale there too!). Think garden gnome. Anything fun/interesting. And then, at some point during the game, I'll pick one entry that's the most interesting or fun and I'll fly that person--all expenses paid, airfare, hotel, & meals--from anywhere in the world, to spend a day with us at the studio in Seattle. We'll do lunch. And probably some other fun stuff too. "Winners" announced via Twitter and Facebook. Second, here's how you play:
[UPDATE: the rules below outline that you must post to both Amazon and Facebook. For those of you that can only post to FB because you're not an Amazon customer, don't sweat it. But keep two things in mind. 1) Don't think of this as a crazy "competition" I'll be looking at both places to find people to send prints to... If you can't post to Amazon, I'll understand and 2) this is as much as possible about having some fun over at Amazon.com... so keep that in mind. If you can post there, please do... now back to your regular programming...]
1. Buy the book if you can or want. (Amazon.B&N.) 2. Take a photo of yourself with your The Best Camera book (or a borrowed book if you can't swing one), or just the book if you're shy but extra points for people in there, and make it fun, interesting, creative, or simple. 3. Upload that image to my Amazon.com "share your own customer images" link. 4. 'Become a fan' on my Facebook fan page. And under the "wall" tab in the 'what's on your mind' window atop the page, write your name WHERE YOU'RE FROM and a url if you'd like. Click on the 'add photos' icon.
[Click 'continue reading' link below.] --
5. Based on geographic location, fun factor, interest level or anything else that catches my eye, I'll select one "signed print" winner every week from now till the end of the year and I'll announce that weekly winner on my Facebook fan page and via my Twitter. 6. And at some point during this whole mess, I'll host one person to come visit us in Seattle - all expenses paid.
It's that easy. And remember ANY CAMERA. It's not about the camera - it's about the fun pictures of you and my art book.
Enter as many times as you like. Entries should start immediately - the week has already begun.
As an aside, I've received tweets that the book has sold out from several places, but generally speaking... _You can find the book online at Amazon,B&N, and Borders. _You can find the book at your local bookstore. _You can find the book at most Apple retail stores (stoked! how sweet/lucky is that!) _And of course, if you don't find the book at a place you want to see it, request it. That always does the author some good.
Please have fun with this. Spread the word. I'll love to see you getting clever with this little book (and clever with Amazon - has anybody ever done this?)
-- [btw, if you're at all worried about what places like Amazon and Facebook can do with your images, then read the fine print. Would they ever use a quirky image of you with my book to "advertise" Facebook? God I'd hope so, but I'd bet my shooting finger that it would never happen in a million years. My hope is that you're not bothered by those things given the context...these are supposed to be fun snapshots of you with a quirky book ;)]
Hopefully you were tuned in the previous coupla weeks to our play-by-play campaign shooting for SanDisk in New Zealand. Well, we're back in the states, digging out, editing and what not, and as promised, we've got more content from the trip to post. In this Chase Jarvis TECH, I'm responding to hordes of you who asked 1)why are you shooting so many frames? 2) why in the world are you shooting on a tripod? and/or 3)how do you create sequenced frames of the skier or snowboarder atop the stationary background?
Hope this answers all three questions and a little more. [Additional videos/links from behind the scenes in New Zealand after the jump...]
In the 5 short days it's been public, thousands and thousands of images have been shot, edited and uploaded with our new iPhone app, Best Camera. Watching the images roll by on the visualizer on the phone and the site have evaporated hours of my life, and made it better. Some really impressive imagery.
Of the those thousands of images, I'm awarding Dan Marshall the fully unlocked iPhone 3Gs for this lovely image of a little girl. I tend to like more abstract stuff with the iPhone, but perhaps that's why I'm attracted to this shot. It's different from my usual and there's a great story within this image. Seems that you all liked this image as well...it's seen thousands of views and has nearly 100 thumbs ups...so our tastes are somewhat in line here. I get the feeling it could be a snapshot, a fine art piece at Yossi Milo, or the anchor to a bigtime ad campaign. Wonderfully transcendent. Consider checking out Dan's photographer page of images uploaded with Best Camera in just a handful of days. Looks like he's been using just the 3G, so now he's got himself the suped-up 3Gs. Congrats Dan.
Check out other images voted "popular" by the community here.
We now return you to your regular programming. Dan, ping me offline to get your phone.
...that was in the couple days before and after launching The Best Camera ecosystem. But I loved it, because working hard to create stuff feels good. It’s not everyday that you get an opportunity to launch a book, or an iPhone app, or an online community, let alone all three. The experience has been exciting, humbling, scary and energizing all at once, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to you.
...And since that first 24 hours, it’s been getting better by the hour. Wow. I am humbled. And I Thank you thank you thank you.
Launch is fun, but it’s where we want to go with this thing now that’s important in the big picture.
Overall, I want to continue to celebrate pictures. I want to continue to grow thebestcamera.com and the visualizer in the app, into a seriously remarkable place for viewing pictures. I am blown away by what I see there everyday as you’ve been choosing www.thebestcamera.com in the sharing menu. There are currently hundreds of pictures being added there every hour. If you haven’t stared at that thing, and if you haven’t been voting from your phone (ie giving the thumb’s up) to images you like, the community has been missing your input. Give it a shot...[click the 'continue reading' link below] --
For those of you who were rightly concerned about the Facebook captioning issue, apologies abound. It was an unintended hiccup that inserted a placeholder caption ‘uploaded with Chase Jarvis’ Best Camera’. We missed removing it during testing. You should know that we fixed it within 24 hours of launch and subsequently re-submitted the refreshed code to the app store for approval. Simple work arounds are listed in the FAQ’s.
For those who want to upload to Flickr: every Flickr account has an email addy for uploading. Send to that address from the share menu in the app. More elegant solutions soon ;)
Of course there are a million ways for us to improve what we’ve created, many of which we’re already aware. If you’ve got ideas or suggestions, I want them. I am listening. That said, please don’t put them in the comments below. We’re collecting your ideas via the submission form on the support page.
While we’re gathering feedback, I don’t want to look too far into the future or into the past. After all this ecosystem is still only 2.5 days old. What I’m really hoping for is that we focus on using this shiny new toy. Just like your mobile phone camera has one button and you can have lots of fun and discover what’s possible with that one button, I’d love for you to crank on our version 1.0 of Best Camera and see what you can make it do for you. Have fun with it.
For those in this community who have written me asking how you might help this app further succeed, the answer is pretty simple: 1. tell your friends online and in the real world; and 2. rank the app and write a (hopefully glowing ;) review in the iTunes app store. That’s in large part how other people in the world discover and buy apps.
And the same goes for the book....the initial rounds of The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You are beginning to arrive on your doorstep from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders. For those of you who sent email and asked to further help out...just like the app, please tell your friends and rate/review on Amazon, B&N, Borders. Thank you thank you.
Lastly, wanted to remind you that on Monday, September 28, I’m choosing my favorite picture that’s been uploaded to www.thebestcamera.com and giving its creator a brand new, unlocked (yes unlocked) iPhone 3Gs loaded with the Best Camera app. I’ll ship it anywhere in the world. Hope to see your photos there this weekend. --
Dozens of you chimed in last week about wanting to see some of the gear we were using in New Zealand for the past 10 days, so here's the bounty. Might sound funny, but it's quite stripped down for us, based on the creative direction that you saw here.
Regardless, hope you get your fill here... and the Shamwow reference is just a funny pop-culture, infomercial joke. We like to soak up our spilled beers with Shamwow, but don't clean your lenses with it! More NZ wrap up still coming...
If you've been following along here during my play-by-play for the past 9 days, you already know...
Who I've been shooting for: SanDisk Who I've been shooting pictures of: a few of the world's best athletes What I've been shooting: skiing and snowboarding Where I've been shooting: Queenstown, New Zealand When I've been shooting: dawn till dark How I've been shooting: fast moving action, motor-driving, naturally lit and strobed
The only thing that's been missing has been the why. Until now. SanDisk has just today announced their new line of of flash memory cards, the SanDisk Extreme Pro. That's what these images have been about.
Atop this post is a super rough mockup of one of the campaign images I've been working on. Here, Colby James West does a Cork 900 Tailgrab. You can expect to see some more shots like this hit the media this autumn. I think the creative direction does a pretty clear job of illustrating the point, eh? Simple, clean, and an obvious story.
And I have to say, I've been working my butt off all week, but it's been interesting because, unlike shooting most other jobs like automotive, energy drinks, or running shoe gigs, I actually get to use the product as a part of my craft. I don't know much about speed tests and all that technical mumbo jumbo--that's best suited for labs in Silicon Valley and press releases, but what I do know is that I never waited on these cards, and I shot 25-frame RAW file sequences all day without running out of storage. For this sort of high-volume, high-energy environment, those are game changers. And I was only shooting the 32's...they're shipping 64GB cards as well.
Watch the video after the jump below, and you'll see how much fun it was working with these amazing athletes. You should also listen for my shutter, motor-driving, as it'll clearly demonstrate that shooting with these cards was sort of like shooting a machine gun that never ran out of ammo. Enjoy the vid, but there's still more to come. Lots of editing, more behind-the-scenes shots, outtakes, post production, and a few lingering videos from our work down under [click 'continue reading' below to see the video...]
[Update: reposted the above vid in a refreshed post here since I had new work from the campaign to show and since SanDisk just made an announcement. But do check out the crew vid below - takes a village to make something like this come together....]
As promised, we've dug out from all the data and our primary function of actually shooting this SanDisk campaign enough to show you an initial look of the actual work. These video clips aren't deliverables for us, but rather they're cool, quick and dirty behind-the-scenes clips highlighting the scenarios from which our still image deliverables will come. Although the finals stills won't be selected for weeks--when we get back to the ranch and work that out with the client, AD's, etc--this stuff here should give you a wicked sneak peek, and we'll be sure to post some obvious outtake stills when we get another tiny breath in our schedule.
Given that one of your biggest questions is always "how do you get access to work with particular talent, whether it's a fashion model, a celebrity, or--in this case--a world class skier or snowboarder?", I thought I'd rope in my good friend Christopher Jerard to help introduce this clip. Why? Because the short answer is that models come from a variety of sources. Sometimes we work with modeling agencies--we like a look or a vibe, and we book 'em. Celebrity stuff often comes via assignment and thru a lot of publicist and media/client back and forth. But HERE, I've reached out to Jerard -- he runs both Freeskier and Snowboard Magazines. Christopher has been our liaison to the snowsports superstars: Simon Dumont, Peter Olenick, Colby West, TJ Shiller, and JP Auclair. Watch them in action in the above video, then learn more about them and the rest of our awesome crew for the SanDisk job in the video below: Chase Jarvis RAW: NZ Crew. That's right, two RAW vids in one post. A two'fer if you will....
First, big Ups to my homies from Common Market for the music in the action vid above- they always crush it. Check them out here on iTunes.
And lastly, before diving into the crew vid: in response to all the inquiries pouring in via Facebook and Twitter, the video dSLR that we're using to pull most of this together is indeed the new Nikon D300s, shooting 720 HD video, complete with the 'auxiliary audio in' that we've been asking for...(and we're using this Rode Stereo Video Mic). We are fully digging this setup. Here's the B&H link for all y'all to oogle.
Here we are, already more than half way through our job here. Great stuff today, again working with some of the best skiers and snowboarders in the world. This little recap vid, shot at 9pm last night--just before heading back to the villa for some data wrangling--shows me pretty darn tired, but still kicking. I'm on camera with my friend Chris Jerard from Freeskier and Snowboard magazines. Chris is our subject matter expert and snowsports industry liaison.
I feel like we're finally dialing in our separate and additional workflow for sharing this stuff amidst all the other priorities we're balancing. So that should mean that we'll be able to roll some serious outtakes and a wave of more videos here tonight and tomorrow and the next day.
Planning to bust out a quick vid that answers a bunch of the questions you've been sending my way, so now's a good chance to shout 'em out if you have some--via comments or twitter, per usual.
If you can't see the vid, take a peek here at the vid link on my Facebook Fan page. For those requesting more youtube -- that's coming soon, I promise. --
When we head off to location, our accommodations vary widely. Most often we stay in hotels, sometimes we rent large flats or houses, but in almost every case, we have a central, community area for gear, data crunching and collaboration. I thought it would be interesting to give you a spin thru that main area in our current "basecamp" to give you a feel for it. In this case, we're staying in a large 3 bedroom flat, or "villa". Check it out.
Note: Historically my Chase Jarvis RAW videos have been somewhat polished, but in true RAW spirit, we're re-writing the playbook on that a bit to accommodate the behind the scenes endeavors we're creating on the fly here in N Zed. Hope that flys with you.
I also decided to call out and answer some "featured" questions that came in from you yesterday. Those, plus a bunch more links to other behind the scenes content after the jump...[click 'continue reading' link below] --
Yesterday's featured questions:
Szabi: One question I have right away is if you post process the daily material on the spot (as in in the evening) or do you shoot and shoot and shoot and then come home to Seattle and post process here everything?
We usually do very little, if any, "final" post production while on location. We occasionally do mock ups, color tests, or quick sketches of how stuff might look using basic Aperture and Photoshop stuff, but all the heavy lifting happens back at the ranch.
M.S. Kirk: How do you keep your hands warm and shoot?!?!!? I have tried different gloves, fingerless mitten combos and even heavy gloves that I take off to shoot with and I do not like any of them. I see that you are in a cold climate similar to what I live in so….help!!!
Funny, I normally wouldn't think this was super relevant question, but lots of people asked it - another reason I love fielding your questions... Short answer, in all my years working in rugged environments, I've never been happy with my handwear options. I've reduced it to just pulling my hands out of the gloves for any shooting that requires details movements. If it's just a matter of squeezing the trigger at the right time (as in I'm pre-focused, etc), I'm not so worried and can leave my gloves on...
John Sturr: Was the site [location] chosen by you or the client? Who determined the budget for the shoot -- and how?
Location was selected collaboratively amongst the stakeholders, but initially it came as a recommendation from us. Re Budget: we estimate costs and then collaborate with client to scale to particular budgets. That's pretty standard.
Whew. If you've tuned in at all in the past few days, you're aware of what I've got cooking. To my knowledge this is one of the first (perhaps THE first?) global, multi-week-long, play-by-play commercial shoot to have its behind-the-scenes life chronicled and broadcast almost in real time via blog, Facebook, and Twitter. This will be the deepest look into the black box of photography that I've been able to share to date. By a country mile.
So two things coming at ya here in this post. One, the overview of what I'm doing. Two, the why I think its cool.
First, the overview: 1. I'm working on the south island of New Zealand--and it's winter down here in the southern hemisphere.
2. The campaign I'm shooting is for SanDisk, the company that invented flash memory and is the maker of most of our industry's memory cards.
3. The subject matter is skiing and snowboarding. Some helicopter access, some terrain park, some half pipe.
4. The athletes I'm working with are some of the best in the world. Guys like X-Games gold medalists Simon Dumont and TJ Schiller. Epic.
5. My contractual deliverables for the project are quite specific, but you know me - I'm shooting a ton of formats. Everything from the Nikons and the Hassie's to video to the iPhone, so you'll see all sorts.
6. Since daylight is short in winter, since there are often weather holds, and since we're here for a couple weeks, I'm really making an effort to paint the largest picture possible. I'll dive into the creative process, art direction, interviews with the crew and talent, a little gear talk, hell, even production details that normally give me the willies to think about.
7. As I said in my quick intro vid a couple days ago- the content I'll push your way will be largely unpolished. It's a choice I've been forced to make between putting out polished behind the scenes stuff or putting out volumes of behind the scenes stuff. I chose the latter based on feedback from lots of you from this community. The video you see above is the most polished thing I'll put out. And we only had the chance to do that because today was day 1 of shooting and the weather crapped out on us.
8. There may be things you think are sucky or boring. But everything I'll post will be relevant to questions I've received or things I'm passionate about. It won't be candy coated, but I tend to have an overtly positive attitude, sometimes to a fault. I won't brood or linger when stuff goes sideways, but content will run the gamut of our experiences here in the trenches.
9. I want this to be as interactive as possible. For it to be a collective success, please send in your questions, comments, ideas. I'll do my best.
So that's the what I'm doing. The why I think this sort of thing is cool is after the jump... [Click the 'continue reading' link below...]
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Now the why I think this is cool. Generally I think it's cool because it represents a shift in several things:
1. The technology to be able to do this wasn't ripe until just recently. Now, that technology is right at our fingertips. Let's use it.
2. Taking on such an endeavor is a substantial workload add-on to the normal campaign effort - which tends to be all encompassing as it is. Posting images, videos and words while on breaks and/or in the evening after really long days can be rough when you're so deeply immersed in the primary task at had - making great pictures for a client who is paying real bucks. My crew is so effing hard working and wants to do more for the community; and SanDisk actually gets it - that sharing is cool. Those two things are sorta game changers.
3. Today almost everything in high-end advertising still lives under the tightest of wraps until well after the campaign has come out - or even longer - like forever. No one gets to share, disclose, or discuss much of anything, really. Historically speaking--for a myriad of reasons, some legit, others flimsy, spurious, and unjustly fear based--nobody wanted to be first in shedding light on the gritty details of how stuff really got done...the "making of the sausage" if you will. Regardless of the industry. But this--and other things like it--are signs that times are changing. Sure 90% of the commercial work that we pros do is still kept under wraps. And of the 10% that's even remotely "transparent", there are still many elements of those gigs that are kept under strict confidence and non-disclosure. But I love that its all evolving.
Lastly, like a woodworker loves a mortise and tenon joint, or a biochemist loves the cells in a rat's liver, I love what I do, in case you can't tell... and I hope you enjoy following along.
Scott uploaded this vid to my Facebook page from the Karl Strauss brewery at LAX and it quickly got over 100 comments/likes in about 15 hours. Since questions poured in from there and twitter, I thought I'd chuck the vid up here and scramble to answer some of those questions over a wimpy cappuccino here in the Air New Zealand lounge before running to our next legs to Christchurch and onto Queenstown.
Some of your questions in/around packing: Any special luggage arrangement w/ United? Insurance coverage of photo gear? What if one bag's missing at arrival?
_No special arrangements. That's what I was trying to get across in the video. Normally we use a shipping expeditor or ship gear as freight, but we were on too short a timeline to do either. Hence, the pain in the ass "gangster method" (hoping not to offend any gangsters who have tuned in...). In this method our goal is to...[click the 'continue reading' link below...for more answers and a few snapshots] -- trim down our gear to as few bags as we can and put all our camera bags and cases inside duffel cases so they don't look like nice camera gear, and instead pass as beat up luggage. What we can't get to our location via this method, we will have our NZ producer rent it. Monitors, lighting, extra glass, etc.
Since Scott, Kate and I all have elite status on United, we can each take 3 bags up to 70lbs. One back of clothes each, leaves us with the capacity to carry 2 bags packed with gear, or about 450lbs of gear total without extra charge. We use pelican cases or just the LowePro bags l to house the gear and then drop that into duffels lined with shoes and jackets for extra protection. Not ideal, but reasonably effective.
_Insurance. As the Executive Producer, Kate handles the insurance. She's off at a ticket counter right now, but my understanding is that we have worldwide insurance that protects our gear and rented/borrowed gear against loss, theft, or damage. I think our insurance goes thru Taylor and Taylor in LA. Tell them I sent you. We also occasionally have insurance for specific jobs, but since Kate's away, I can't ask her on that one now... I know our people insurance is thru our corporate policy and our NZ production company, The Search.
_If a bag is missing? Our tough luck. But in reality, it's often easier to recover a missing bag thru your airline than it is dealing with shipping expeditors via customs. ATA Carnets aside, shipping lots of gear (eg. if we shipped full kits + lighing + stands, etc, all in big cases etc, can sometimes cause headaches on the receiving end - especially if you're short on time. Which is why we chose to do it this way on this gig...we had no time in advance. The job cleared in less than 7 days before we shipped out (down payment check came at 9am Saturday morning and we flew out at 6pm that night) so we didn't have the luxury of time that we often have. Also, regarding missing backs, we make sure to distribute gear intelligently between bags so that if we lose one or even two, we have enough gear to make happen what we need to make happen. Also, recall that Scott and I each carried on a Nikon D3/D3x and a lens + batteries, cards and charger, to protect against worst case scenario. We're not going to the middle of the wilderness, but we're not exactly flying to NYC either, so our strategy is based on that stuff too... Will you show us workflow from click of shutter to delivery to client?
_That's a tall order but we'll do the best we can. We're a little understaffed since we have a lot of stuff going on around the clock back at the studio in Seattle while we're away, but we'll try to lay it out best we can from location. There will be more followup posts on return mid September as well.
Sorry, I know there are dozens of questions I'm not getting to here, but I'm outta time on this layover. I will address as many as possible throughout the course of this job.
Which brings me to a good point: please ask questions. If you don't ask, I'm left guessing at what interests you most.
I'll give a general overview of the job with as many details as I can when we get to our destination in Queenstown. In the meantime, I'm off to my next plane. Kate and Scott say hey.
. David's a great guy--and one of the few photography authors writing today--that actually gets it. It's not about gear or gimmick or guise. It's about vision. Developing it and putting it to use. If you're looking to do some in-front-of-the-television "black friday" shopping for that photographer in your life (ahem, yourself) this would be an 
, below? [click 'continue reading' link below...]
. Books will be on sale there as far as I know. I'm speaking at the Gladstone hotel, 
