erik hecht | Chase Jarvis

Sep 04

Time-lapse Photography on the Quick & Dirty [tech]

_How many seconds of time-lapse video can be produced in two hours? _How do you set up your camera for time lapse? _What kind of gear do you need? _What kind of results can you get with a $200 camera vs a $5,000 camera? I sat at the top of Signal Hill in Capetown, South Africa a few weeks ago to shoot some timelapse for a video project I'm working on. In the process, I... read more ›

Aug 06

What the Foap?! How to Sell Your iPhone Photos [But is it Worth It?]

The iPhone application Foap says $10. Actually...$5 after they take their cut. Here's the rundown... Foap is a micro stock photography app made exclusively for iPhone photography. You upload your photos for review using their app, and then when/if they're approved they become available for purchase in their market for editorial or commercial use by third party companies. There's no end to the number of times a single photo can be sold (at the fixed... read more ›

Apr 12

Selective Focus Can Be Your Friend — Tilt Photography on the Cheap

Hey photo friends - Erik here. While I'm typically the video guy around these parts, I wanted to hop on the blog to quickly tell you about a piece of camera gear that I’ve been enjoying lately. I picked up a Tilt Transformer from Lensbaby about a month ago and it’s now a permanent piece of my walk-around photography kit. The Tilt Transformer allows you to mount your Nikon lenses to a Micro Four Thirds... read more ›

Feb 14

The 50 Greatest Cameras of All Time?

Hey photo friends, Erik here. I recently stumbled upon Photography Monthly’s article on “The 50 Greatest Cameras of All Time”. I was a little surprised that my beloved Olympus E-P3 didn’t make their list, but I put together this little collection of some of my other favorites with some bits of information about them for your perusal. And whoa are there some doozies in there. The list is fascinating, lots of history and indications of... read more ›

Jan 24

Buying Mics & Hacking Audio for Your DSLR Video Setup

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 ›

May 31

Open Discussion: Why Go Retro?

Hey all, Erik here with a quick guest post about a subject that’s raised a lively debate in our studio. Everyone on our crew has long been shooting with Polaroids, rangefinders, micro 4/3 cameras adapted to accept vintage lenses...even processing digital images to look like they came out of an old dusty camera. Surveying the landscape, it’s clear this tide has been rising for a while now and we’re not the only ones attached to... read more ›

May 06

60 Second Landscape Challenge

Erik here with a quick little weekend video challenge for y’all. In the spirit of Chase’s 60 Second Portraits, we've been toying with AND wanna see some of YOUR... 60 Second Landscapes. So here's a challenge from us to you: Grab your video-capable capturing device and hit the streets/mountains/beaches/what-have-you’s and roll a quick one minute on the best landscape you can find. Perhaps shoot a bunch and then select your favorite. Then, post your results to... read more ›

Mar 30

Essential HDSLR Gear: The Rode Stereo Video Mic

[Alrighty gear heads. Erik here with a continuation of the series of posts where I elaborate on the gear that I consider essential for my video job here at CJinc. I previously discussed how the Zaucto Z-Finder helps me guarantee the visual quality of my video, and in this post I'll explain how the Rode Stereo Video Mic ensures that my BTS footage will have respectable sound too. Perhaps more importantly though, how it allows... read more ›

Feb 24

Erik’s HDSLR Video Essentials: the Zacuto Z-Finder

Our digital cinema guru, Erik, wanted to take a minute to chat gear with you. This is his second guest post, so please give him another warm welcome... This post is another installment of a series that our staff is doing about the gear that we consider essential for our work...the stuff we don't leave home without. When shooting behind the scenes videos and even some of our commercial work, we shoot with HDSLRs whenever... read more ›

Dec 30

Reason #2,525 Why I love HDSLRs [Erik’s Guest Post]

[Reminder: Since each of my staff are experts in their own right, you’ll be seeing more and more posts from these talented people in weeks and months to come. Today, Erik--our video guru--takes you on a ride down the HDdSLR road to extol yet another reason he loves this cool new format. (It also is a pretty fun recall of some fun behind-the-scenes moments from 2010.) Take it away Erik...] My interest in becoming a... read more ›