Inspiration Monday: Time Lapse Photography

I was entrenched in some research for a commercial photography project this past weekend and found this time lapse piece of the Eyjafjallajokull (er...volcano) eruption in Iceland especially inspiring.  Excellent work behind the lens Sean Stiegemeier!

Favorite shots:
:34 Composition from the road feels like I'm going into battle as well as the movement of the dead brush, dust and smoke.  It also looks like a reverse graduated filter effect was used in post to create the desaturated feel on the road.
:48 Epic volcano shot.  So much power.
1:33 Abandoned DC-3 plane! I want to travel to Iceland just to shoot this.  Either some clothing mfg or magazine needs to jump on this location for their next catalog.

The other cool thing about this piece:  Dude only had two days off of work, but headed out anyway (self-funded) and created something epic.  Message to self = stop making excuses and go shoot.

On the technical side of this type of stuff, you may recall a recent conversation I had with another fella about some of the techniques here.


Kudos to these guys for their passion and patience!  Besides giving me the travel bug, stuff like this inspires me to be a better photographer.

What inspires you lately?

-Kevin Winzeler

Giving away a 16"x24", Signed Print. Join the Facebook Fan Page

Hey Guys and Gals,

I wanted to let my blog readers in on the Free Print I'm giving away on the "official" Facebook Fan page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kevin-Winzeler-Photography-and-Film/121038077926051?v=wall

Here's the rundown:
1) GO to the Facebook Fan Page: HERE
2) Become a fan. click the little "likey" button
3) "SUGGEST THE PAGE" to at least 20 fans (on your honor)
3) Tell us about it on the Fan Page
4) Cash in and look at the tropical Hawaiian ocean every day in your office or living room

Pretty simple and easy! (Contest ends Thursday, June 24th!)

The first image was taken on a peaceful morning at sunrise on the North Shore of Oahu near Laie.  The worn and weathered pillars stand still as the ocean washes around them.  

The second image, also from the North Shore is a surfers dream. There could not have been a more pristine setting as two long-time surfers made their way out to a distant break with long boards in hand. It's a favorite for sure!

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-Kevin Winzeler
Professional Photographer

CreativeLive w/Zack Arias - Photography workshop worth buying!

This weeks all about giving a huge shout-out to music photographer and educator extraordinaire, mr. Zack Arias.  I met Zack while teaching a course during Photocamp Utah and was super impressed by not only his photography, but by his personality and philosophy in life.

In short, he just wrapped up a teaching a 3 day live workshop with the creativeLIVE folks and absolutely killed it!  If you can scrounge up a few bucks ($129 to be exact) I highly recommend picking up the nearly 20 hours of live footage on all things studio photography- CreativeLive Info.  Whether you've never picked up a flash in your life or are a seasoned pro, you'll get your money's worth.  I'm half way through the content and picking up some sweet tips and tricks as well as being entertained by one funny dude.  Thanks Zack and crew!

BTW - the classes are free if you tune in LIVE and so check out some of the upcoming stuff.

That's all!
-Kevin
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Professional Photographers

Photographers: Shoot what you love! Exercise: find 5 Images you would DIE to have in your portfolio.

I love photographing in the outdoors, working with people and promoting an active and fit lifestyle. On occasion, I find dabbling in the world of architecture fascinating too.

Photographers - What do you love to shoot? 

Try this exercise:

1) Open five separate browser windows with five of your favorite photographers websites.

2) Save ONE image from each site that you would absolutely DIE to have in your portfolio.  Just one!

3) Create a collage of those five images, save it as a jpeg and send it to your phone, ipad, printer, desktop.

4) Study the photographs for 5-10 minutes each day and look for something new.  

-What emotion do you feel?

-Why do you connect with these images?

-What are some common themes across all of them (people, sports, products, food)?

-What interests you about the posing, lighting, camera angles and post-production?

-What would you change about the image?

Okay, I can already hear a number of you saying: "Ya, nice idea, but shouldn't I find my own vision and style?  I don't want to copy someone else's work." And while I completely AGREE with your thought process here, this is simply an exercise to help you find what it is you love about picking up the camera and taking pictures and deciding to pursue those interests.  What subject matter most intrigues you?  Do you know?  If every picture in your collage has a person in it, then why are you so bent on learning how to light and shoot inanimate products in a studio environment?   If the images promote fitness, sport and the outdoors, then why are you spending time and money learning how to promote your wedding photography business?  Vision comes from passion and this will help you visually see what it is you are passionate about shooting.  You probably already know, but we can all use a reminder from time to time.  You may find that you can shoot a variety of subjects and that your five images are completely diverse and span everything from sports photography to pet photography, but I doubt that will be the case.  So the message is not to steal or copy, but rather to focus and develop your vision and style.  

5) DECIDE to develop your portfolio around what it is you love to shoot.  The type of work you put out is the type of work you'll be paid to shoot.

6) Repeat this process once a year.

-Kevin

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Commercial Photographer