Apr 09

From Skulls to Spam Cans — These Cameras Are SuperCool & SuperWeird

Turtleshell camera by Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs via Flavorwire
My homies over at Flavorwire ran a really cool gallery of cameras made out of unusual stuff--like trees, shells, and--like you see in the photo above, a turtle shell (no turtles were harmed in the making...only natural causes of death...)... Which got me thinking: cameras have been along so long, people have had the chance to do some really weird stuff with them. Though a lot of manufacturers might have you think differently, the body... read more ›
Jan 24

Buying Mics & Hacking Audio for Your DSLR Video Setup

Zoom H4n on D7000
HDSLR video is a great way to get high quality footage on a micro budget; and a great way to keep that budget micro is to be picky about what accessories are right for your setup.  I recently received an email question focused on this and--in particular--if I had to choose between the Rode Stereo Videomic or the Zoom H4n, which would I use?  So here's a little background on my thinking... 1. Cost. They... read more ›
Sep 27

Developing Your Photographic Style: Excerpt From A Chat with Zack Arias

I recently got a flood of questions via Twitter asking about developing a personal photographic style, which made me think about a million conversations I've had with my photographer buddies over the years... And I was wishing I had recorded those. And then I remembered that I DID have one that I recorded from an old chasejarvis LIVE with my pal Zack Arias. He's a fun guy, great shooter and very talented photography instructor. Here's... read more ›
Sep 01

Conversation with Vincent Laforet on Gear, Career, Vision and More

The following is a transcription excerpt from a conversation a while back on #cjLIVE between yours truly and my dear friend, Pulitzer Prize winning photographer and filmmaker Vincent Laforet where we discuss gear, professional career, creative vision and more. We've got it on video (link at end of this post), but I think the transcript is nice because you can skim the conversation in just a couple minutes. And there are some nuggets in there... read more ›
Jul 29

How To Build a Cyclorama Wall With [Mostly Naked] Ashley

Looking for a weekend project for your photo studio? Alrighty then. Thoroughly amused at the approach taken here in this vid by folks at EyeHandy, having mostly naked model Ashley showing us how to make a cyc wall. Funny though, if you can get past the scantily clad builder using power tools (not sure why you'd want to do that...but....), the truth is that the actual info here on how to build a... read more ›
Apr 21

Show Me Yours [Results]

A couple weeks ago, I made a call out to y'all: "Show me yours, and I'll show you mine". I was kissing winter goodbye and --as we patted on the ass on the way out the door--I wanted to see any winter photos you were interested in sharing. Well I finally made it through the couple thousand or more that came in. And whoa. Some great stuff - thanks so much for sharing the inspiration.... read more ›
Mar 11

Frame More Than Just Pictures — Frame Pixels Too

[The debate continues about whether or not iPads are good portfolios for photographers and filmmakers. But those considerations aside, one thing I KNOW is that the iPad is great for is displaying photo & video content in a gallery setting, or on a studio wall in a waiting area. So in pure coincidence with Apple's announcement today that the iPad2 is now available (early), Dartanyon has written up a post about how we made our... read more ›
Mar 04

10 Minute Film School with Robert Rodriguez

Robert Rodriguez
[Erik here with a quick guest post about some videos I wanted to share.  I find them incredibly informative and inspiring, and I hope you do to.] Robert Rodriguez is a special breed of filmmaker, a breed that we'll continue to see more and more of as filmmaking technology becomes increasingly accessible and affordable.  The do-it-yourselfers who are so technically savvy that they can oversee and drive every aspect of their production.  Since his first... read more ›
Jun 17

Chase Jarvis RAW: 12 Tasty Photo + Video Tips

95% of the gear I use to create high-end advertising images, videos, and commercials is the highest end stuff you can buy. Tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment and production often comes together for much of the commercial work you see. This gear all serves its purpose, and there's good reason for every single piece of it, but.... PROBLEM: I understand that, for a huge cross section of this community,... read more ›