another

Movie Still

Another project I've been doing is toying with the idea of shooting stop-motion fashion movies using a regular Digital-SLR. This is the final still shot from the short (10 second) movie that I did in the studio today. Not to be confused with shooting 'VIDEO', as in a 'camcorder' or something, what I am doing is actually shooting individual frames (like normal photography work) and then merging them together like stop-motion claymation. It's really an awesome process that gives really *awesome* results (in my opinion) as the quality of the image can be incredibly high (many times higher than even HD-Video) and the depth of field is much shallower than even many film-movie cameras. The catch? It's jerky old-timey 1918 frame rate. Very, very, choppy. But when coupled with fashion- it looks AWESOME. Here's the final frame. I'll post the movie itself sometime soon, but it's beauty so if your in America it's probably Not-Safe-For-Work (au-natural) but if your in Europe, then its not even on par with your average bottled water commercial.

Nudes

I shot some nudes today as a part of the rights managed beauty collection I am building. Great stuff. So much so, that it is actually going to be a *severe* problem to go through it all. This is a problem I am familiar with though, as the majority of the right managed beauty work that I have shot so far is so *vast* that I can't foresee me being able to sort through any of it for sometime. The plan that I have, is to wait until I get a new computer. (MacBook Pro- here I come! Well, not just yet though) That way I'll have a machine that is powerful enough to actually DEAL with the volume. My machine now is pretty strong, but it generally takes about five seconds to bring up a full image for me to inspect it. But multiply that by the thousands of pictures you go through when shooting stock, and suddenly you realize that you'll be spending DAYS if not WEEKS not even retouching images- no, just BROWSING them.

The idea anyway is to move to Paris, and as there will be a half year (or so) down time when I don't have any work and I'm learning French, I can occupy myself with retouching and organizing.

White

Here's an old shot that I just recently retouched to go into my collection. Nice and Clean!!!!

More behind the scenes

Here is the set up, and here is the shot. Enjoy it because it's rare I'll show my lighting setup. :-)

Behind the Scenes

Behind the scenes shooting for Iska Fisarkova.

Iska Fisarkova

Here are some preliminary shots for the Iska Fiskarkova campaign that I just shot the other day. A bit of retouching still needs to be done before I turn in the pictures. They look great though. Nice and bright.

Before Sunset

You would be surprised at the happy endings we meet in our life.

Seventeen.

By total chance the other day I got a message from a girl who wanted me to take her picture. Not expecting much, but with time on my hands I agreed and told her to come over.

Wow.

The girl shows up late. She's seventeen and has a face like Kate Moss. Great skin with soft freckles across her nose. Long, long, hair. She wants McDonald's. We get fries. She is a little bit short, which makes it hard for her in the business and as such, doesn't have an agent. Even so, she finds plenty of work from regular photographers just looking for someone to take pictures of. Most of the stuff in her book is 'glamour' with lots of heavy makeup that hides her features and styling that detracts from her beauty. I see through it though and I take her out in just her jeans and her shirt. She arrives from a photoshoot she had earlier and I ask her to take all the makeup off.

I shoot her as she is, with lotion and a touch of moisturizer for the lips. She's 17, from Slovakia and on her own in Czech as she has spent the past four days going from shoot to shoot that she organized herself.

Impressive.

We talk a lot and she makes for great conversation. I'm surprised because my general experience with teens these days are of young insecure model girls who are struggling to come to grips with the fact that society has offered to purchase their youth and beauty, but they aren't sure if it's an offer they can refuse.

France?

I got back from France again just the other day. I'm starting to get pretty serious about picking up and moving there. You can't get famous without working in Paris, that's just how it is. I know it's hard and its arduous and the competition is killer, but you have to do it. I'm starting to get that 'now or never' feeling. Simple put: There is so much going on there. It's ALIVE. VIBRANT. There are so many magazines there! So much cool stuff happening. I have always thrived on competition and I like the idea that you could be surrounded by so many truly great photographers. It's the only way to learn. Honestly.

Life

Ida is a swedish model living mostly in Paris. I discovered her. Me. Now she is fabulous and is always everywhere. This is her blog. http://idath.blogspot.com/ Amazing huh? Photographers really can change lives.

In Person. In self.

Last night I went out with a friend and I had one of those rare moments as a model where you run into yourself. It was pretty funny as I spent a few minutes talking to the bartenders who were looking at me with that, "don't I know you?" face before they realized I was on several large advertisments hanging in the bar. They gave me a marker and asked me to sign them before I left.

Yeah I'll admit it's a pretty cool feeling.

Contrasts.

Here is your picture of Zen for the day. Title: Filling Hotel Pool Location: Central Sahara Desert

Hanka in Sand

 
This is a pretty old shot by now. About two months, from when Hanka was visiting from london. I really want to try and get out to london sometime soon to see her and check out the city. London. 

Party

I was at a party last night for the agency Unique One. It was really fun even though I got there pretty late. I wanted to go to the brunch down at the 'river beach' this morning but I woke up late, and decided to wash my dishes (it had gotten pretty bad). Anyway here is a photo of me by Choze looking absolutly ridiculous with Miss Czech Republic from 2004. Yeah. I get silly. I have no shame.

painting

 

Yeah, thats a picture of me holding a giant painting of my head. Kinda cool huh? I traded a camera for it with a friend of mine who is a painter a few years ago. I only recently got the canvas into my apartment. (the photo is from the spring when Julien helped me carry it home) Before that it was hanging in a gallery space. But now it's in my living room. Looking at me.