Shot this video with nothing more then two inexpensive video cameras. On the road, and being so impromptu, all I had was the Kodak Zi8, and the Canon SD960 IS.
Cazz is very talented, which made this shoot a pleasure .
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This is one of my favorite places. I decided to do a full HDR 360 to capture the essence of the London Bridge located in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Most of the images of this bridge are shot at night or the golden hour before sunset. To capture a different view, I decided to add slight drama to the image by using the golden hour just after sunrise. Location scouting was based on were I could place the sun with the full intention of having the sun creeping over the top of the bridge and flare on purpose. I used two different apps on my iPhone to gage precisely the position of the sun . Knowing this I knew the 15mm fish eye would give me the lens flare I needed to accomplish the image. To view the full 360 panoramic click the image below. This can also be viewed full screen.
On this project, my partner John Trotto and I were contracted for a combined video/photography shoot in Los Angeles, CA. The client, L.A. Spas, required 32 product shots in their manufacturing plant including underwater photos of the spa jets. We accomplished this in two full days of shooting. The sales video, which will be played on their website and in showrooms, features their swim spa. It was shot on location in a beautiful L.A. suburb. Underwater video footage was required to demonstrate how a swimmer uses the powerful jets for a workout or the spinner jets for hydrotherapy. Creative provided by Arrowhead Advertising L.A. I like the challenge of shooting a 360 Panoramic with HDR and adding models. This client also requested the height to be able to see above the pool elevation. I normally use a fisheye 15mm in these situations but due to the height, 24 to 30mm worked out to be the best. Adding models with HDR can be a little tricky. Any slight movement can cause ghosting. The solution was having them fixate on close subjects within three feet. Two 180’s were shot first before the full 360. Besides the video the full 360 Pano can also be viewed by linking to the images below. When I’m not shooting with the high-end cameras I like to experiment with these small easy to carry video cameras. These cameras are actually quite sufficient for using footage for web use. In good light I was very surprised with the quality. In low light situations they function quite poorly. I used the Flip mino HD for all the main footage and the Kodak Zi8 for cutaways and B roll. I shot this in Cleveland and Boston. The cameras were mounted on light stands with ball heads instead of tripods. Ninety percent of the audio was used from the Flip mino HD. I augmented and backed up the audio by using a combination of an Olympus digital voice recorder and a Sennheiser ew 100 G2 mike. Using a slate slap I was able to sync the audio very easy in Final Cut. The clips were changed to Pro Rez 422 in MPEG Streamclip for easy non rendering in Final Cut. The ending was done in Apple Motion. My client on this project, Gundpartnership in Cambridge Massachusetts, requested that we add lifestyle people to these architectural shots. These images were purely HDR, with no lighting added. Adding additional lighting for fill would offset the the ambience that the lighting design had. Since shooting HDR is all about bracketing, the exposures could get to be very long. Adding people, not one but several, made this a challenge that I really love. Using wide angle lenses would help with the depth of field and give me more latitude for using faster shutter speeds. As it turned out, there was no movement or ghosting from the people in the shot. This was accomplished by having every individual use different visual points to concentrate through the brackets.
When I’m shooting architectural photography, there is nothing better than being able to photograph the before and after of the project. My client, Marous Brothers Construction, with their Design/Build Division, and as one of its biggest supporters, did an outstanding job in bringing back this building which was built in 1921 and shuttered for decades since 1985. With Westlake Reed Leskosky of Cleveland and Bradford Watson as managing architect, the Theatre is a true asset to the Gordon Square arts district. I found this project to be picture rich with plenty of opportunities in the 16,000 square feet to shoot . The lighting being as is, and not to be disturbing the ambiance, HDR with Photomatix software worked very well. After reviewing my options, I thought this would be very appropriate to shoot a 360 Virtual Reality view of the main theatre. My pano head is dialed in perfectly for parallax, but due to the slope of the theatre and the seats, the pano head could not be off one centimeter. This made it a challenge to shoot in an aisle between seats. Most of the control points in the software had to be done manually. I debated with myself on whether to shoot the 360 in HDR. I decided to shoot the screen and ceiling in HDR and blend later in post. The software I use in these situations are PTgui, CubicConverter, Pano2VR, and, of course, Photoshop. You can view the main theatre 360 VR here. I shot the front cover for Properties Magazine and the article images. I did this at twilight time encompassing two hours and at least 100 bracketed images. In this situation, the sky and interior lighting need to be in sync. Getting the correct sky exposure is the key. You can read the complete article in Properties Magazine.
As an architectural photographer photographing a football field means being really creative. We are not talking about a stadium with elevations we are talking about a field. The obvious way would be to add height into the image as to shoot above, capturing the expansive flat plane of the perspective. When height is not an option, angles need to come into play. The rule of thirds takes on a whole new meaning. Here we are dealing with a flat area, 360 feet long and 120 feet wide, and shooting ground level for the most part. When the field is new, texture and lines help with the composition. Shooting on a day with clouds adds drama and helps with perspective. I have photographed quite a few of these fields. The best way, when height is absolutely not an option, is to shoot in Virtual Reality 360 Panoramic. This gives the client the ability to zoom, view texture, and capture the essence of the flat plane perceptive. To view this panoramic 360 VR
Quite a few photographers and clients ask me how I shoot in HDR or High Dynamic Range. I shot a little video in Sedona’s West Fork Oak Creek Trail which I found to be the perfect situation. The high canyon walls offer a striking contrast between the sky above and the canyon floor below. The software I use is Photomatix. I believe this to be the best software in producing HDR images. The video was shot with a Flip mino HD which I find to be very impressive for such a small camera. |
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Copyright © 2010 Frank Salle Photography and Video - All Rights Reserved |
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