Kevin Winzeler Photography Blog

Mount Superior in Utah - Free HD Wallpaper/Background for Skiers!

2012-01-25T15:55:00.022-07:00

So if you love Winter in the mountains, but are stuck in the office right now, staring at some boring picture on your monitor, check in below for a FREE wall paper download and mount this photo directly to your display for a pseudo vaca-chion! Or feel free to slap it up as your background on your 60" HD TV when you get home.

If you like this shot, share the KWP Facebook Fanpage love for future stuff like this.

Download the wallpaper:
1080p HDTV Skiing Wallpaper - download here
iPad/iPhone Skiing Wallpaper - download here
4K Resolution Timelapse: available for license, just shoot me an email. (Seeing the clouds dance around the mountain peaks and up the canyon is spectacular in full time-lapse format).

*Please note: downloads are for personal use ONLY. If you want to use this photo for commercial or editorial purposes or want a huge signed print for your wall, let's talk!

About: Yesterday was an absolutely stunningly, gorgeous (and every other adjective you can think of) bluebird day up little cottonwood canyon. After some much needed snowfall the sun came out to play and I spent the morning skiing and shooting a bit of active lifestyle photography as well as soaking in the beauty around me with some more casual scenic and timelapse photography. So here's my "shot of the day" from the adventures; the beautiful Mount Superior as seen from Snowbird and Alta Ski resorts in the cottonwood canyons of Utah.

It's up on my screen right now:

Kevin Winzeler | Commercial Sports and Lifestyle Photographer

If there's a cow in the road?

2012-01-16T16:04:00.001-07:00

Take it as a sign! Stop, look around and live life in the moment. (then take a picture)
Kevin Winzeler | Photographer

This photograph was created in Maui, Hawaii past the road to Hana.
More Landscape Photography

Pray for snow...

2012-01-09T13:50:00.001-07:00

...in the Wasatch!

After crossing the road late one afternoon in Little cottonwood canyon, it began to snow. It snowed and snowed some more and would not stop snowing. Large flakes floated out of the sky touching down on aspen trees, chalets, cars, and completely blanketing our photography equipment. I was smiling from ear to ear. It was the 2010. It was the week of the Salt Lake shootout and we were getting pounded!

It's January 2012. The snow is coming! I think.

(The 2010 Salt Lake shootout was an unbelievable week for both athletes and photographers pushing the limits each day to create some spectacular ski photography. I felt fortunate to be around world class athletes and photographers and lucky enough to take the best of show award at the end of competition. About the winning image: It was our first day and first run of the day. After a solid hike up the Fantasy Ridge cliffs above Solitude Ski resort, Pro skier Jason West decided to launch a 60 footer just to warm things up a bit. He stomped it. That image would win both "Best Air" and "Best of Show" for the shootout. )

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

2011-12-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

It's Christmas morning in Utah (not Autumn!). All I want is for Christmas is some Snow! I've been good this year. I promise.

This is my sweet little girl letting "daddy" take a couple of quick pictures just before heading to church in her new Sunday clothes. Family is amazing and that's all I really want for Christmas; to spend time with them. I hope you enjoy yours during this holiday season!

-Kevin

Kevin Winzeler Photography | Commercial Photographer

Self portrait

2011-12-20T12:42:00.013-07:00

Hi.
A self portrait from back in the day...
Peeling an orange, thinking hard :)

Kevin Winzeler | Sports + Lifestyle photographer

Published in Print: Editorial + Commercial Photography

2011-12-08T22:12:00.002-07:00

Here are a few photographs that I'm finally either able to post or just getting some time to post. Either way, it's always a pleasure to see both the editorial and commercial photography go to print. A sincere thank you to athletes, models, crew and clients for making these shots happen! Hit me below with any questions you have about behind the scenes or anything else that comes to mind!

Fuse Archery | Catalog Cover 2011

Hoyt Archery | Opening Catalog Spread 2011

Hoyt Archery | Catalog Cover 2011

Location: Wasatch Mountains, Utah

Alpinist Magazine | Contents Page Opener

Athlete: Kara Bankhead

Location: Indian Creek, Utah

University of Phoenix | Cover / Inside story

About: Christoph Malzl

Client: Real Salt Lake

Client: Skiing Magazine

Location: Snowbird, Utah

Client: University of Utah | Salt Lake International Airport

Skiing Location: Solitude, Utah

Athlete: Jason West

Thanks for checking in...

Kevin Winzeler | Commercial Photographer

2012 Sports Photography Calendar - Trail Running Cover Shot Explained

2011-11-29T15:44:00.006-07:00

Every year I receive numerous request about my photography calendars and despite the tremendous work that is involved, it's rewarding to see the finished product. A huge thanks goes to the athletes included within and my wife for getting it to print!

So for those asking, go here to purchase: 2012 SPORT/ADVENTURE CALENDARS ON SALE NOW (just $10)

About "The Cover Shot": This years cover shot comes from a shoot for Mountain Hardwear/Montrail this past year in Lake Tahoe, CA featuring ultra trail runner extraordanare, Max King. Max has way too many titles and accompanying list of victories to include here, but suffice it to say that he's wicked fast (sub 4:40 miles on pavement), ridiculously smooth (off-road) and one of the best athletes I've had the pleasure to work with on a photo shoot.

We had a back-to-back days that were just plain brutal including working our way over several snow covered areas on the flume trail that were normally dry this time of year. In all we ended up traversing about 6,000+ vertical feet on two consecutive days (First scouting and back to shoot the next day with gear, crew and athletes) to get to this location and meet our shoot objectives of environment long-range photography -- 'rave run' type stuff.

Initially, I had another shot picked out to shoot near this location (see below), which we had discussed in our pre-production days that would provide an awesome environmental sport image. But like any other location shoot, once I'd nailed what needed to happen according the the brief, I began exploring for additional compositions. This was a moment for me to push the creative direction and shot list just a bit further and capture something unexpected and engaging. We explored the trail and found just up from our first location a piece of overhanging piece granite rock that was intriguing both compositionally and aestically. I decided to rally the troops (who were well spent) and shoot this local also. The set-up took about a half an hour as I employed a favorite rig I like to call the 'mini heli'; essentially a camera mounted boom pole that allows me to get an 'mini' aerial perspective of a location very quickly and with minimal gear. This was the perfect location for the mini heli!

We rigged up the 5D Mark II (no grip) with a 15mm fisheye, and a 4x6 sunbounce reflector and started exploring the trail from this new perspective. The late afternoon sun worked well to backlight the runner and we bounced a little fill into the front. Thirty minutes later we had a few takes that were solid and we called the flume trail shot a wrap!

Check out more trail running photos from this shoot in a recent case study here: photography case study with Mountain Hardwear

(Another Trail Running Shot from the Flume Trail)

Hawaii Photography and Timelapse

2011-11-07T15:02:00.002-07:00

I'm on vacation this week in Oahu, Hawaii and in theory "away from the camera" for a few days, but that's nearly impossible to do in practice. While I am away from the commercial photography routine, I can't help but get out and shoot some beautiful scenic and landscape imagery while here. Look for updates to this post with new photos and possibly some film or at least time lapse shots during the stay. Points of interest to include The north shore beaches and surfing, Pali Lookout, Makapu'u beach and point, Waikiki, Diamond head, Honolulu, Pearl Harbor and more. I'll also add that although Oahu is spectacular, I must say Maui, Kauai and the big Island are even more amazing. If you are planning a trip, particularly a photography trip and choosing one island, go for Kauai!

For starters, here's a time lapse photography sequence from the Pali highway.

Longboarding Photography in Park City, Utah

2011-11-02T12:22:00.001-06:00

A friend recently pulled out a prototype carbon fiber longboard he's been working on and I had to get it on the hill for some photography and video splendor. There's much more to come on this emerging little company, but the board is unbelievably lightweight, ultra stiff and fast. Check out some photos from our Park City, Utah adventure. Some cinematography still to come!

Hit "Like" on the Facebook page for exclusive behind the scenes updates and giveaways.

-Kevin Winzeler
Utah based Sports and fitness photographer

Top 5 ways to stay in shape during Winter (Photography made the list!)

2011-10-17T14:35:00.000-06:00

What is your favorite way to get that much needed exercise outdoors during the winter months?

All too often I hear people grumbling about how much they "hate Winter, nothing to do, can't wait til Spring, are sick of shoveling, getting fat and lazy, have to put off the exercise routine and wish they lived somewhere else...." Since Winter is right around the corner, let's chat. First off, this blows my mind. How can someone strongly dislike one of the greatest seasons of the year?? I'm bias of course, so after taking a step back and before shipping them out of my home State of Utah, I usually reply that "they just need to find something that is FUN, something they can enjoy". I reassure them that it (fun) is out there to be had for everyone and will usually result in great way to stay fit!

So, let's hear it! For those of you who stay active outside all winter, what do you do? Ski? Snowshoe? Nordic ski? Snowboard? Ice hockey? Run? Ice Fish?
(Fact: 100% of all ice fisherman consume more calories than they burn, so scratch that off the list)

My top 5 ways to stay active during Winter (outside):

1) PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO:
From photographing winter sports and lifestyle imagery in the Wasatch mountains to the breathtaking scenics and landscapes of Bryce, Zion and Arches down south; I don't have to stray far from home during the winter months in Utah to take pictures. So how exactly does photography keep me in shape? Find something you love to do creatively and you'll be amazed at how motivated you are to climb, bike, hike and haul yourself to the best place to do it. The pure addiction of capturing beautiful imagery constantly keeps me exploring even when the days are short and temperatures cold. My sports photography usually requires a combination of keeping up with elite athletes and hiking into pristine locations all while porting way too much gear on my back. It's a full body workout to say the least! But even when I head out for a relaxing landscape shoot, my mind is looking for subjects and colors, shapes and textures, light and compositions. I'll be pushing a 160 heart rate for an hour and not even realize it because I'm sidetracked with my adventure to find the perfect image. So find a creative outlet and you'll stay active and in shape as result.

2) SNOWSHOE:
At least once a week, I like to head to the hills on shoes and explore nature at a slightly slower pace. This is your ultimate stair stepping machine for you gym folks; a great way to burn a huge number of calories and get a full body workout.

3) PLAY WITH THE KIDS:
Kids love snow! Their enthusiasm for the white stuff will quickly spread as you bundle them up and roll around with them. The heart gets pumping quickly when trying to keep up with my two kiddos romping around in the snow. Sledding, Snow angels, Building igloos and Snowman; it's endless fun and activity.

4) SNOW SKIING:
Nothing else out there will keep the thighs toned during the Winter months all while keeping a grin on your face quite like a chest deep powder turn. Get out to your local ski resort or into the backcountry for a truly refreshing and rewarding workout. One of our local resorts here in Utah, Alta, has a 'Ski Free after 3' program every day on Sunnyside lift. So don't let cost get in your way here.)

5) TAKE A WALK or JOG:
There's something purely magical about taking a walk while gigantic snow flakes gently fall all around you. Just pull on your down puffy, hat, gloves and boots step out the front door and into a blanket of whiteness for a few miles. Make sure to have the hot chocolate boiling and fireplace stoked for your return home.

33) SHOVELING:
Errr not. Shoveling my driveway did not make the top five list, but it is a solid full body workout, for those curious. And my wife's favorite!

If you still can't find anything good to say about winter, then yes, pick up and move! :). Okay, I guess you are free to jet to your second home in the tropics and work on your tan. But rest assured, you. will. be. missing. out.

So, what is your favorite way to stay in shape during the Winter? Comment below!

-Kevin Winzeler
Commercial Photographer in Sports, Active lifestyle and Outdoor work

Remember:
-The right gear makes all the difference. Most people avoid winter activities because they tried 'it' once and were too cold or uncomfortable.
-Be prepared. Make sure you check the local snow and avalanche reports to avoid any areas of danger - Utah Avalanche Center and REI put on some excellent courses to help learn about the backcountry here locally.

About the pictures:

This photograph was taken in Park City, Utah during a commercial winter shoot for Columbia Sportswear. For inquiries regarding licensing an image or hiring Kevin for an assignment, please send an email to "info (at) kevinwinzeler (dot) com" or call 801-319-8023. You will be replied to immediately. We look forward to working with you!

Autumn in Utah - Outdoor Photography and Video

2011-10-11T14:00:00.001-06:00

Today, I took a much needed break from the commercial photography routine to enjoy some fresh Autumn air in my own backyard. The fall foilage is in full swing along one my of favorite drives in Northern Utah and I was able to snag a couple of images during the morning outing. My primary focus was on the details using a mix of 100mm macro with Kenko extension tubes (for > 1:1 magnification) and 70-200mm with 1.4TC for some tight 280mm frames. During use of this set-up I was manually focusing toward the blue sky on a tight group of leaves and noticed that as I pulled focus back and forth the leaves took on an abstract shape almost like a group of birds taking flight! Check it out - image #4 below (click on the image to enlarge). I love those subtle discoveries that come when we patiently work a location.

I'm excited to see a few of these printed large! Speaking of...all images are indeed available as signed, fine art prints as well as available to license for commercial and stock purposes. Get in on the goods! You can also find more Autumn stock photography also in print.

I also shot motion and video clips of many of the still images, both slider and locked off shots (single 17 second clip to kick things off below).

-Kevin Winzeler

Sports and Active Lifestyle Photographer

Tech details:

Motion Clips: Shot on 5DII supported by Sachtler Cine DSLR Tripod/Head and Kessler Slider.

Photography: Shot on 5DII supported by Gitzo sticks.

Photographing the Ocean and Water.

2011-10-03T11:00:00.001-06:00

I love to photograph in and around water! There's always a sense of movement, energy and activity that makes me feel alive and excited to pull out the camera and shoot. Here's a few images that struck me as I was pulling some stuff together for a printed portfolio recently. Most of these pictures were shot during two separate trips to the Hawaiian islands, both in Oahu, the Big island and Kauai. Let's see some of your favorite water shots.

Another cover photo for Trail Runner Magazine!

2011-09-26T11:02:00.002-06:00

The most recent issue of Trail Runner magazine is Live! The cover photograph comes to you from our Mountain Hardwear/Montrail shoot this past Summer. The picture was taken overlooking the majestic Lake Tahoe and surrounding area as we headed up toward the infamous Flume trail. To get an elevated perspective we used a boomed Canon 5D Mark II camera (about 14' up) with a live feed to a monitor down below. Athlete and Olympic hopeful Max King was an endurance machine during our two day shoot. Thanks for making it happen Max!

New Adobe Campus site in Black and White (Photography)

2011-08-22T10:00:00.005-06:00

One of my current photography projects will span the next year or more as I document the construction of the new Adobe Systems site right here in my own backyard. The plans are unreal and it should prove to be one of the most stunning buildings in Utah when finished.

Here is a series of black and white photographs from the early stages of the project including some 'aerial' perspectives atop their 200' crane:

-Kevin Winzeler
Commercial Photographer

Smugmug video with Kevin Winzeler

2011-08-15T13:37:00.001-06:00

My website partner, Smugmug, recently dialed up this little promo video. I jumped at the chance to participate as their Sports and Active Lifestyle Photographer of choice and to have featured a recent cycling shoot here in the Wasatch mountains of Utah. For nearly four years, I have been a customer of theirs and have recommended their Pro service to someone on almost a weekly basis. Amazing work on this piece Anton lorimer and team! (In full disclosure, there was no pay for this).

Outdoor Photography Expo - Salt Lake City Wrapped!

2011-08-10T10:00:00.000-06:00

Thank you to all who attended my seminar on Photography Story telling & Lighting at last weeks Outdoor Photography Expo in my hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah. We had 95% of the audience stay after the session ended for an additional half hour. It was awesome hanging out with such an enthusiastic group of photographers, so thank you for coming out!

A special thanks also to the folks at PDN for making this happen in Salt Lake City! Great job. Also, thank you to my assistants as well as our volunteer athlete, Chris for putting in a solid 45 minute work-out during our live demo!

For those that missed the event, but would be interested in hearing what was talked about, I may present again locally (Utah) if there's enough interest. Hit "Like" on my facebook page and tell me if you're interested.

Thanks,
Kevin Winzeler
Sports and Active Lifestyle Photographer

Presenting @ 2011 PDN Outdoor Photo Expo! Topic: Story telling, Lighting and Adobe Lightroom

2011-07-27T00:59:00.004-06:00

If you are even remotely interested in photography, adventure or the outdoors, then you best be in attendance at the first ever PDN Outdoor Photo Expo. I received a call a few months back and was asked to present a 2 hour seminar on the topic of my choice. I was game! So, here are the details:

Topic: SHOOTING + LIGHTING

Lighting and Storytelling: Natural Light, Strobes & Adobe Lightroom [FA1]
Kevin Winzeler
Sponsored by Adobe

In this session, award-winning photographer Kevin Winzeler will take you behind the scenes and discuss lighting as a powerful story telling element. Light is the essence of photography and it will communicate radically different emotions and story lines based on it's use. By building your lighting knowledge and arsenal, you'll be better equipped to shoot the personal work that inspires you and deliver exceptional results to the clients that hire you. We'll discuss the nuances of lighting by utilizing both the natural light around you (reflecting, diffusing, shaping) as well as introducing artificial light (both small and large strobes) when necessary. Lastly, we'll discuss the use of Adobe Lightroom in your workflow to select and complete the perfect image. Bring your questions for a Q&A at the end. All levels.

Date: Friday, Aug. 5th from 8-10am.
Location: Hilton Salt Lake City Center
Register here: http://www.outdoorphotoexpo.com/ope/

Okay, here's what I need from you! If you are coming or tuning in via the web or at all interested in storytelling, lighting or lightroom, then what do you want to learn about during my session?? Let's hear it! Send me some questions here, on my FB page or tweet it. I'll pull from here for my Q&A at the end as well.

I do promise you'll see some brand spankin' new work as well as a LIVE lighting demo (shhhh). I'm stoked to share as much as possible within the two hour time limit. Come enjoy!

Thanks,
Kevin

Scouting near Interstate 15. Utah.

2011-07-14T23:18:00.000-06:00

A few photographs from the evenings scouting trip. The full-moon rise was unexpected and enjoyable; a wonderful evening to browse the local stomping ground.

Kevin
Sports & Active Lifestyle Photographer

A Portfolio Review - Photographers

2011-06-15T18:52:00.006-06:00

A couple of weeks back, I organized a portfolio review for a few photographers. The goal was to get some critical feedback and improve our respective portfolios. Work was done. Good times were had. Thanks for the feedback gents. Check out the 60 second time lapse footage below...along with some imagery at the end.

-Kevin Winzeler

Active Lifestyle and Sports photographer

IS EXERCISE FUN? (Sports and Active lifestyle photography & Film)

2011-06-02T14:09:00.001-06:00

Quick question for you today: IS EXERCISE FUN?

I'm really curious what ya'll think, so please answer the following in the comments below:

Is Exercise fun?
1) Yes or No?
2) What you do for exercise and what have tried before?
3) Why is it or isn't it fun for you?

Let's hear it!

Kevin Winzeler
Sports, Active Lifestyle, Outdoor Photographer

Smile today. Celebrating active fitness and active lifestyles. Photography and Film

2011-05-24T12:37:00.001-06:00

There's something contagious about smiles. Even when your day is on the fritz and life's overwhelming, a smile can change the way we feel in an instant. The beauty of the still photograph over any other medium, including film, is the ability to capture an authentic moment and lock it away in time. Genuine smiles are fantastic moments in life. We need more of them! I mean, who can honestly look at someone full of smiles and not break out into a smile themselves? C'mon at least a smirk!? Smiley people rock!

- Kevin Winzeler

Photographer | Filmaker

Active lifestyles. Sports. Outdoors

Get OUTside of your comfort zone and try something new. Photographing in Zion National Park, Utah

2011-05-11T16:52:00.000-06:00

When's the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone? The feeling of fear that grips all of us the first time we step into unfamiliar territory is both terrifying and exhilarating, but the rewards are well worth it and it's amazing how much fun trying something new can be!

Last Fall, I photographed a group of business executives during an epic canyoneering trip in Zion National park, Utah. In a short seven mile span, these corporate folks experienced (for the first time) the vacuum packed feeling of putting on a dry suit followed by a neck deep plunge into frigid 48 degree water. Next came a series of seven rappels and slot canyon maneuvering (squeezing some not-so-slender bodies through some rather slender spaces).

At the end of the day, these folks were all smiles and ready for more; having left the world and comfort of iphone checking and business transacting and into activity, the outdoors and the rush of a life changing experience. Excellent stuff!

So, what are you going to do this week OUTside of your comfort zone?

-Kevin Winzeler

Active. Lifestyle. Outdoors. Photography.

Tell good stories. Forget the gear.

2011-05-04T13:45:00.006-06:00

At times we forget that it's the stories (not the gear) that inspire thought, provoke action and rekindle love. Well told stories through both photograph and film open our eyes and hearts to the possibilities around. New gear inspires us to spend money. :)

Thanks to DP and film maker Shane Hurlbut for this reminder - "Story is what matters most, not the tools. When I read a script for the first, second and third time I do not think about my responsibilities as a filmmaker, they are always at the back of my mind but not the go to reflex. I love experimenting with new technology. It’s like being a pioneer such as Lewis and Clarke, navigating the uncharted waters, or being the first man on the moon. But this is only a means to an end. You are trying to tell a story with images that enable people from around the world to share in that experience." More of Shane's post here

-Kevin Winzeler
Commercial Photographer and Film maker

Mauna Kea - The Big Island of Hawaii - Photography and Film

2011-04-11T23:20:00.046-06:00

Hey folks - I'm on the road again this week heading to Boulder, Colorado for a trail running photo shoot, but had to get a little Hawaii footage up as a quick preview from last months trip.

This footage was primarily shot near 14,000 feet atop the world famous Mauna Kea. Yes, high elevation and snow both exist in Hawaii! My primary purpose on the big island was to knock out a bunch of epic time lapse shots of Mauna Kea, telescopes, star trails, the Milky Way and more. As luck would have it, I had five days planned for the shoot and was skunked the first four out of five days! (All this on a mountain that boasts clear skies about 95% of the year) Thick cloud layers continuously gathered and vog, snow, rain and sleet pounded the top of the mountain for the first four days. I was a bit stressed to say the least. On the final day and night, the skies cleared and I snagged the resulting footage. For one nights work, I was pretty pleased with the results.

*As a little warning to those visiting and shooting Mauna Kea; when you blast up the mountain from Sea level to 14,000 ft. without taking the recommended time to acclamate at the visitor center, you will get altitude sickness! Coming from Utah, where I regularly spend time at 10,000 feet +, I thought I would be the exception to the rule, but the big Mauna Kea threw her wrath my way with a massive headache, insane amount of nausia and barely enough strength to lift my camera bag into the rental car; seriously crazy stuff! I barely held it together as I composed two time lapse shots, started my intervalometer and rolled down the winding road back to 8,000 feet to recover and get some rest for the night. My cameras survived and so did I.

More Hawaii photography to come...this is just a test clip

-Kevin Winzeler

commercial photographer and film maker

Technical info:

Equipement:
Time lapse shots were taken on two 5D Mark II's with an intervalometer. File type: Raw
Lenses: 16-35mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8, 15mm Fisheye f/2.8 @ f/2.8
Support: Sachtler Cine DSLR Head and CF75 legs (shown above)
Other:
-Glidecam HD2000
-RRS - Plates and QR clamps
Packs: Clik Elite

Post-processing:

-Adobe Lightroom 3 (Import and batch processing of all frames)
-Adobe After Effects CS5 (clip assembly and key frames at 16 bits and export to ProRes)
-Adobe Premiere CS5 (cut sequence together)

Today's Message - Make time for the most important stuff!

2011-04-07T09:51:00.000-06:00

In the midst of creating that epic photograph, tweaking, your marketing plan, blogging, Facebook'ing, adventuring, directing, and whatever else you devote your 24/7 to, remember to make time for the most important things in life! Last week's post about my good friend Daniel and his paralyzing accident was a stark reminder about what those important things consist of for me. I'm grateful today for an amazing family, wife and kids, genuine friends, and the lens of faith that brings proper perspective and balance to it all.

-Kevin Winzeler

Husband, Father, Friend, Photographer

Comic by xkcd

Need your help! Athlete and friend, Daniel Velasco seriously injured in Paragliding accident.

2011-03-28T08:48:00.006-06:00

Hey folks,
I write today with a heavy heart and ask for your faith, prayers and financial support for a good friend! Last week, I received an email that stopped me in my tracks and made all the things I had planned for the day completely insignificant. My mind started spinning and I could barely focus on the photo shoot I was about to undertake. I learned that an amazing athlete and good friend, Daniel Velasco, had suffered a severe spinal cord injury as a result of a paragliding accident and may not walk again. We need to raise money as Daniel does not have medical insurance and has a long road to recovery. Read more and donate here: http://www.kauailovesyou.com/kauailovesyou/Daniel_Velasco_Fund.html

It was just over a year ago that I met one of the coolest guys I've come to know as I was recruiting athletes/models for a trail running shoot in Kauai, HI. Daniels girlfriend had seen a local ad posted about the shoot and responded with a recommendation that I use Daniel. The next day I was on the phone from Utah talking to a guy I hadn't met, but could tell he was going to be the perfect athlete to work with. Not only that, but he offered this random haole photographer from Utah (me) a tour of all the best trail running locations once I arrived and anything else I needed while on his home island. This guy was awesome, I thought to myself as I hung up the phone! Upon arriving in Kauai and meeting up with Daniel the next morning I was amazed at how generous he was once again to a complete stranger; his smile and zest for life were contagious and I felt like I had know him all of my life, like two old friends back together to hang out for a week of awesome action and fun. Our photo shoot carried out the next day and like many shoots required the 4:00am start time to shoot sunrise and a subsequent 12 hour day of shooting and non-stop running to follow. My classic, "one more lap" was echoed throughout the day as we moved back and forth all over the Naapali coast trail probably putting in 12-15 miles of running. He was unstoppable, never tired, had the form of a champion and the best attitude of any athlete I've ever worked with. We created some killer images that day for my client and as a bonus Trail Runner Magazine put one of our shots on their Fall, 2010 Cover. We were both stoked! Shaka! We've stayed in touch since the shoot even talking just the few days before his accident about how awesome it is to ride, run, surf and play outside. In addition to his trail running prowess, Daniel is an awesome triathlete (one of Kauai's best), mountain biker and surfer. He enjoys kite boarding and para gliding among other outdoor activities. The guy's passion is contagious and he lives and breathes exercise, activity and the outdoors; which makes this accident even more devastating.

So, I'm writing to share a story that is close to me and to ask for your help! Please help in any way you can. Again, Daniel did not have insurance at the time of his accident and needs financial support!

1) Donate anything you can here.
2) Your prayers and faith will also be a tremendous blessing to Daniel as we have hope for a miraculous recovery!
3) Drop a quick email to offer encouragement here. DanielVelasco@yahoo.com
4) Share this link via Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. Let's raise some money for Daniel!

DANIEL - We love you buddy! Hang in there! If there's anyone that can get back on their feet, it's you! Stay strong and keep smiling brightly.

Creating long exposures in mid-day sun. Photographing in Kauai (Tiffin IR ND Filters)

2011-03-22T16:55:00.001-06:00

Location: Kauai, HI (Hanalei bay pier)

Photographing land and seascapes in Kauai is an epic experience and the Hanalei bay pier is just one location to check out when you visit. On my recent trip to the islands, I was primarily shooting film and video for a commercial project I'm working on. Of course, the beauty of filming on DSLR's (the primary tool for this project), is that there's always the opportunity to shoot a photograph without much of a set-up change. Such was the case for this shot.

Let's talk shop for a minute - there are two things you might pick up on in this image:

1) There's direct sunlight hitting the pier.

2) The water is at a complete standstill.

The truth is that this image was taken on one of the best surf days of the year in Kauai. There was a 20-30 foot swell that followed the disastrous Japan Tsunami all the way to the islands (fortunately doing little damage to the islands) and the tow-in surfers were out in spades getting in on the swell. The large sets were breaking well outside of this frame, but there was a decent little break all the way to the beach.

So how do we expose for long periods of time with that much light and create the effect of a sea of glass? ND filters to the rescue! I pushed this exposure to 30 seconds and f/22 using one of my favorite tools, a 77mm Tiffin, 7-stop (2.1), IRND filter. A 7 stop filter is an awesome tool for pushing your seascape photography into a different realm. All of the sudden you can start experimenting with longer exposures at high noon on a bluebird day!

For more info on the filters I use and why:

I hate to carry more gear than needed, especially when traveling, so I have one set of filters that I use for both Video and photography - Tiffin IR-ND series filters - 7 Filters total (1-7 stops). I won't go anywhere without these babies. This is the first filter specifically designed to shoot video on DSLR's and produce the best image (no IR contamination) bar none. They rule for photographs in the same way. Check Shane Hurlbut's Tiffin IR ND Filter test, for an industry leading opinion if you have any questions. They're a bit spendy, but well worth it.

Video Note: [Why you need ND filters for filming: As many of you do, I shoot a lot of film/video in addition to my photographic work and ND filters are one of the most important tools to create a shallow depth of field in brightly lit situations for film. Shooting video on a DSLR (or any camera) means that your shutter speed is a constant (e.g. 1/50th of a second for 24p footage) and thus the only way to shoot at say f/2.8 or wider in bright light is to pull out the ND's. You can't bump your shutter up to 1/5,000 of a second anymore.]

-Kevin Winzeler

Active lifestyle, sport and commercial photographer

CarboRocket - Winner of the Photo Shoot Giveaway

2010-12-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

And the winner is....CarboRocket!

As many of you know, we had a plethora of great entries into the photo shoot giveaway. I'm pleased to announce that after much deliberation and research into each of these organizations, we've come to a decision on the winning company for the photo shoot. Congratulations to founder and owner Brad Keyes and CarboRocket! We look forward to creating some epic imagery for your company Brad.

For those unfamiliar with this company (as I was), just take a quick read of Brad's story and you'll become quite curious about who this guy is and what this little company is all about. I was rolling on the ground laughing after the first paragraph: In his words: "I'm kind of a wimp. My wife hates to admit it but she's married to a delicate man. Sure, I like to punish myself on day long rides and can be found racing my mountain bike nearly every weekend all summer long. I like to think I'm tough. I'm not." -- finish the story here

I conversed with Brad via email multiple times during the decision process and was really impressed with his vision, love and passion for the outdoors and desire to help people get out there and live an active lifestyle. As I told Brad, I also have a soft spot for anyone that takes a risk by going out on their own and doing what they love which he as done with this company. In a brutally competitive market (think Gatorade, Energy Drinks, Hammer, Powerbar, etc.), he's serving up a product that is getting rave reviews and helping both the elite athlete as well as the average Joe (me) stay hydrated and refueled from a product filled with natural ingredients and not a bunch of sugar and chemical non-sense. He mentioned the company is at a tipping point where if they can pick up a few key distributors there's potential to reach thousands of retailers nation-wide. We hope photo shoot will get you on your way to landing those big distributors Brad!

As this blog entry goes live, we'll be informing CarboRocket of the good news! For all the Photographers out there interested in the BTS goods, we'll also be taking you behind the scenes showing you the photo shoot from pre-production to the big day, so stick with us for some fun times ahead.

GIVEAWAY DAY 4 - Shimano XTR Pedals, Tech4o Watch, Clik Pack

2010-11-22T09:57:00.004-07:00

LAST GIVEAWAY DAY: Get your fitness on!!!

*PLEASE NOTE! - To WIN, first nominate a company and then share this idea (link) with at least 10 PEOPLE you know (Facebook, Email, Etc.). In the spirit of Thanksgiving :)

FIRST NAME DRAWN: -New 2011 Shimano PD-M980 XTR Pedals ($200)

SECOND NAME DRAWN: Clik Compact Sport Pack ($150)

THIRD NAME DRAWN: Tech4o Accelerator Carbon Watch ($70)

Here's how you win:

1) Think of a start-up company or non-profit organization in the fitness, outdoor or sports industry for the Grand Prize Giveaway - A fully paid, commercial Photo Shoot.
2) Write their name in the comments section and share this link with at least 10 more people (Facebook, Email, etc.)
3) Win cool gear!

More details (below):

Here's the scoop: We want to help a new company or non-profit successfully get their name and product out into the marketplace by giving away a full blown commercial photo shoot - for free! This will include everything from a preproduction phone call with the owners, directors or creative department to a full day of shooting with models and all the equipment necessary and lastly all post-production required to tie the shoot together. I'm extremely excited to help a deserving organization out!

Now, In addition to this grand prize, we are doing a daily give-away just for nominating a company you think deserves this opportunity. You can't nominate your own company (but a friend can). To win, enter a new company name (no repeats please). The drawing will be at random at the end today at 10:00pm MST (12:00pm EST). Please think of an organization or individual that is really deserving and fits the criteria mentioned above. If they don't have a website or information, please tell us a little bit about them.

For anyone interested in getting involved either giving away something this week or participating in the shoot, please email me (info (at) kevinwinzeler.com) with details. I would love to see a Creative & art directors, models, assistants donate their time for this project.

Huge thanks to the Shimano, Clik and Tech4o

GIVEAWAY DAY 3 - Adobe Photoshop CS5, Lastolite, Tiffen, Smugmug

2010-11-19T10:12:00.016-07:00

TODAY's GIVEAWAY: Over $1100 worth of goods!!

*PLEASE NOTE TODAY's RULE CHANGE! - In addion to nominating a company, you must share this link with at least 10 PEOPLE you know (Facebook, Email, Etc.). In the spirit of Thanksgiving :)

FIRST NAME DRAWN: -Full license of Adobe Photoshop CS5 ($699)

SECOND NAME DRAWN: Tiffen Dfx Software & Lastolite Triflip Kit LR3696 ($300)

THIRD NAME DRAWN: Smugmug Pro Account ($150)

Huge thanks to the Tiffen, Bogen and Smugmug

GIVEAWAY DAY 2 - Snowbird Lift Tickets, 20x30 Print, Skullcandy ($700!)

2010-11-18T10:36:00.004-07:00

TODAY's GIVEAWAY: $700 worth!!

Today we will give away to THREE PEOPLE, so keep the nominations coming in.

FIRST NAME DRAWN:
20X30 Signed Print ("Mineral Basin from the Tram" - currently in Skiing Magazine)
+ 2 Snowbird Lift Tickets (Total value of $470)
SECOND NAME DRAWN: -New Photo/Video website from Smugmug (Pro Account - $150)

THIRD NAME DRAWN: -Skullcandy Earbuds FMJ - ($70)

Here's how you win:

1) Think of a start-up company or non-profit organization in the fitness, outdoor or sports industry for the Photo Shoot.
2) Write their name in the comments section of the daily giveaway (below).
3) Win cool gear!

Huge thanks to the Snowbird, Skullcandy and Smugmug

GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY- Commercial Photo Shoot (Lightroom3, Clik Elite, Smugmug)

2010-11-17T13:11:00.002-07:00

Here's the scoop: We want to help a new company or non-profit successfully get their name and product out into the marketplace by giving away a full blown commercial photo shoot - for free! This will include everything from a preproduction phone call with the owners, directors or creative department to a full day of shooting with models and all the equipment necessary and lastly all post-production required to tie the shoot together. I'm extremely excited to help a deserving organization out!

Now, In addition to this grand prize, we are doing a daily give-away just for nominating a company you think deserves this opportunity. You can't nominate your own company (but a friend can). For the next three days (starting right NOW), we'll be giving away cOOl gear! You can enter to win every day by entering a new company name (no repeats please). The drawing will be at random at the end of each day (10:00pm MST, 12:00pm EST). Please think of an organization or individual that is really deserving and fits the criteria mentioned above. If they don't have a website or information, please tell us a little bit about them.

For anyone interested in getting involved either giving away something this week or participating in the shoot, please email me (info (at) kevinwinzeler.com) with details. I would love to see a Creative & art directors, models, assistants donate their time for this project.
______________________________________________________________________

Win Free Gear - Today's Giveaway!

1) Think of a start-up company or non-profit organization in the fitness, outdoor or sports industry for the Photo Shoot.

2) Write their name in the comments section of the daily giveaway (below).

3) Win cool gear!

TODAY's GIVEAWAY: OVER $600!!!

1) Clik Elite Compact Sport pack & Filter holder ($185 value).

2) Adobe Lightroom3 ($300 value)

3) New Website from Smugmug (Pro Account - $150)

Huge thanks to the companies helping in the giveaway - Clik Elite & Smugmug!

*The grand prize will be awarded to the company I feel is most deserving in terms of their overall need for the services, opportunity for success and good will they are doing.

*Please note that all expenses involved in the photo shoot will be paid for by Kevin Winzeler Photography including local travel in Utah. For travel to other States or worldwide, the only thing the company will pay for is travel and lodging.

Live in Utah, Work at Adobe: Commercial, Film: Director of Photography

2010-11-15T18:15:00.012-07:00

The Adobe Company approached me recently to help shoot a commercial/film highlighting all that the State of Utah has to offer as a place to work, live and play. My first thought was along the lines of, "We're going to need feature film length time to showcase this amazing State and we still won't get to northern Utah (think Moab, Arches, Lake Powell, Zion, Bryce...phew)." Of course, I was ecstatic with the opportunity not only because I love where I live and work, but also because of the creative freedom I had on this project and the chance to shoot more motion and video; something I've been pushing into much more intensely this past year. As a photographer and film maker, I have images in my mind that I look forward to shooting when the time is right, and this was one of those times.

We made the most of our key locations and worked with local talent for most outdoor, sports and lifestyle shots to nail down the key shots within our deadline and budget. I also pulled out some more seasonal imagery (i.e. Lake Powell, Winter) I'd shot prior to help supplement the story line as well. I also had the chance to play both director and director of photography during the project which was an absolute blast. The nightlife, education and technology imagery was done in a more run and gun style, which I'll get to in later posts.

Props also go to CMG for their work shooting part of the piece (a joint effort) including some of the interviews and other landscape footage. And a huge thanks to BenC, the man with vision and for tying it all together!

Upcoming blog posts will detail my favorite shots, including behind the scenes video. Don't miss the helmet cam footage and one of the most unusual underwater chest rigs that has ever been devised for the water ski shots at Deer Creek. Stay tuned.

Watch in Full HD here: Living in Utah, Working at Adobe

For the gear heads out there, here is most of what I used. Feel free to write in the comments section with any specific questions.

Cameras:

Canon 5D Mark II

Canon 7D at both 24p and 60p

GoPro HD

Lenses (all Canon):

Primes:

35 f/1.4

45 Tilt/shift f/2.8

85 f1.8

135 f/2

100mm Macro

400mm f/5.6

Zooms:

70-200 f2.8

16-35 f/2.8

24-105 f/4

Support, Focus and other key elements:

Bogen/Manfrotto Tripod535/536 & 504 Head

Glidecam HD4000

Handheld shots with Redrock Micro Captain Stubling

PVC Dolly System (not sure what brand)

EWA housing

Tiffen ND Filters (1-7 stop 77mm IRND) for those silky smooth, shallow depth of field shots.

Long board - as in the kind you ride, for fun. Or for a quick and cheap dolly move

-Kevin Winzeler
Director of Photography, Photographer

Kelly Slater and 10 World Titles - What's your focus in Photography and Film?

2010-11-09T14:24:00.049-07:00

This clip inspires me for a couple of reasons and wanted to share with you: First, my heart goes out to good friends for the loss of one of their close buddies and surf legend, Andy Irons. He will be missed!
Second, top athletes, people and businesses have an unyielding focus on a very specific goal. Whether it's a championship ring, winning a world title in surfing or launching a new product to first position in the marketplace, the drive and focus are the same. It's a pretty simple formula; set a goal and focus acutely until it's accomplished.

There's of course an irony I must mention in the two things that strike me about this clip; sometimes when we lose something in life, like those closest to us (family and friends), our priorities shift and so does the focus we've worked so hard to achieve. What seemed like everything in life can in an instant become hollow and empty. This process has happened on occasion to me and as a result helped refine my 'focus' on the goals that matter most. There is however a difference between shifting our focus to find a better balance and being unfocused altogether. We all need a kick to the backside once in a while and people like Mr. Slater usually inspire us to get up, move and work toward whatever the goal is we hope to achieve.

Let's hear your thoughts!?

-Kevin Winzeler
Advertising Photographer and Director of Photography

Time Lapse Test - Telephone Poll under Moon Light

2010-09-29T22:41:00.021-06:00

I was out testing some time lapse the other night in front of our local grocery store of all places and saw this interesting composition. We've essentially got a two light set-up going on :)...a mixture of moon light (creating a rim light) and street lamps (creating some funky warm glow - probably @ a WB of 15 kagillion kelvin).

View an HD (high res) version here: Telephone Poll Time Lapse

The clip is a total of 150 shots combined at 24fps to create motion.

Tools to make it happen:
Canon 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon 24-105 @ 105mm
Intervalometer
f/4.0
10 second exposure

The first image of the sequence was processed in Adobe Lightroom 3 the settings shown below. The settings were then synced across all 150 Raw images and brought into Adobe After Affects to give it motion. Each image was sped up and cut to 24p courtesy of AE guru Ben Unguren.

-Kevin Winzeler

Advertising Photographer / Director of Photography

Commerical Photographers: Hit the Bullseye on your estimates (Pre-Shoot Questinnaire)

2010-09-16T17:02:00.011-06:00

As a professional photographer and business owner a primary goal with all projects is to exceed client expectations! (see "shoot for the cover" post) Every time! No exceptions! Hitting the target is good. Hitting the bullseye is better!

So, how do you do this? The first step is to understand and narrow the scope of every project you write an estimate for. Does an email like this ring a bell?

"Hi photographer xyzfstop:
In general, can you give me a ballpark figure to take a few shots for a project we have coming up? "

Sure, this is a bit exaggerated, but you get the point. How in the world will you ever even meet a clients expectations let alone exceed them with such vague language? You won't. The scope of the project must be defined and narrowed to ensure success and provide an estimate. A while back, I started sending a Photography Pre-Shoot questionnaire in response which helps A) get a feel for how serious the request is and B) narrows the scope of the project to the point that the I'm 100% confident on delivering the goods within the allotted time frame and budget. The questionnaire is really a simple tool that almost goes without saying. However, putting a project description in writing will kick off a great conversation with a serious client and build trust in you as a professional in the industry.

Feel free to hit me up at (info (at) kevinwinzeler.com) and I'll shoot you over either a PDF or Apple 'Pages' version to customize to your business. It's also available as a free download on the resources section of my site along with the Photography Gear Checklist. (Note: tailor the information in either document to your specific target market and needs).

Photography Pre-shoot - Questionnaire

1) Photography Location (street name, number, city, state, country):

2) Short description of project:

3) Number of total shots needed and type of shots:

4) Estimated number of days:

5) Type of mood to be conveyed (Twilight/Daytime - tight - wide angle, etc.):

6) End use of images (publications, portfolio, web, wall display)

7) Date (s) of the photo shoot:

8) Other considerations (Models, Producer, Stylist, Pre-production days, Travel, etc.):

9) Date and time you are available to further discuss on the phone:

-Kevin Winzeler

Shoot for the "COVER".

2010-08-31T23:02:00.005-06:00

Recently a fitness magazine editor contacted me for a cover image in an upcoming magazine (Which was a fantastic change from the otherwise obsurd submission process, but I digress). After selecting a sending a few options over, he came back to congratulate me on the cover shot for an upcoming publication. I was stoked!

After thinking for a bit about what makes a cover image, I came to the conclusion that photographing for the "cover" is a mentality; a mentality that dictates that every time I pick up the camera and head out to shoot, I'm going to deliver the best possible work I'm capable of, a cover image if you will. However you define that term "cover", the mentality is the same. Maybe you dream about displaying your first panoramic print in a gallery or delivering a stellar bridal image to a client or taking a genuine portrait of your grandparents. In my mind those are your "covers". Remember there's only one cover image at the end of the day. So what does that panoramic print look like? What's the composition, lighting, subject matter and moment? However you define it, I'll bet your next shoot will take on new meaning and purpose if you decide to shoot a "cover" that day. It's the mentality I take to commercial shoots. It's also the mentality I define my personal work by. It's what helps me push my photography and film further each day. So go get it! Your cover shot, that is!

Tech: 5D II, 70-200 @ f/2.8, 580EX II and shoot through umbrella. Edited via Lightroom 3

Advertising and fitness photographer: Kevin Winzeler
Model: Caroline Gleich

Hey Photographers..."A little bit more"

2010-08-11T14:07:00.004-06:00

‎"Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more." ~A. Lou Vickery~

As photographers, how about a little bit more...
~Time working a composition.
~Patience for better light.
~Delivery to our clients.
~Interest in the people we are photographing.
~Appreciation of the great photographers before us.
~Thoughtfulness about why we shoot what we shoot.
~Decision about picking locations.
~Confidence in our personal vision.

What would you add from your experience?

-Kevin Winzeler
Sports and Fitness Photographer

Cover of Trail Runner Magazine: Photography

2010-07-26T17:39:00.007-06:00

I'm super stoked to bring you a few behind the scenes clips from images that appeared on this month (July/August) issue of Trail Runner magazine as well as earlier this year in March. On both occasions, the opportunity came to shoot a couple of commercial photography assignments and on a side note, these two images also get picked up by Trail Runner magazine for covers. This months cover was taken on the island of Kauai, one of the most gorgeous places on earth (anyone interested in a "Location Lighting" workshop in 2011??). We whipped up a little BTS video earlier this year from our shoot out there, showing some lighting techniques, so check that out too - Kauai Trail Running - Photography.

I hope you enjoy a quick behind the scenes from each of the trail running Cover Shots! Feel free to fire away with any questions about the shoot!

-Kevin Winzeler

Tour de France - Big Picture (photography)

2010-07-19T09:36:00.013-06:00

ONLY in the TOUR...

Photo courtesy: Bogdan Cristel
I try to frequent the Boston Globe "Big Picture" at least once every few weeks to take in stories from around the world. I was stoked to see shots from the first half of the Tour de France as I opened the page this morning. If you've never watched a stage of the biggest bike race in the world, do yourself a favor and check out one of the mountain stages (Pyrenees) over the next three days. You'll see both epic battles on the steep mountain slopes and some of the craziest folk you've ever laid eyes on. Check all 40 out here
:http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/07/2010_tour_de_france_-_part_i.html

After checking out the link, let us know which are your favorite images (first, second, third). Also, whether or not you're a cyclist and if you've watched any of the race either this year or in the past.

-Kevin

I had an absolute blast shooting a few of the stages during the 2006 Tour de France, including the Prologue (opening time trial) in Strasbourg France.
commercial and sports photography

WINZ Photo Tip: Find a compelling Foreground

2010-07-06T16:47:00.019-06:00

(Right-click on the picture to your right and "open" in a new window)

When composing photographs, I quickly fire through the following checklist in my head:

1) Foreground (What is the best foreground to draw interest to my subject?)
2) Subject (what am I composing my shot around)
3) Background (Is this the best background to draw interest to my subject?)
Sure, this is photography 101 stuff, subject, foreground, background, but acute attention to the details of these three things will make or break your photography.

The first image was taken during the Salt Lake ski shootout this past winter.

Notice a couple of things about the foreground element in the Ski shot:

1) It's taking up roughly 2/3rds of the frame.
2) Color = Red. Cyan (sky) and Red (sign) are complementary colors and draw our eyes into a scene quickly.
3) The text "Experts Only" supports the the subject and tells a story.

Next, are two images taken at Pipeline on the North shore of Oahu, one of the top surf spots in the world. The difference between aiming your camera toward the surf and framing your subject through an interesting foreground element is huge. The silhouetted coconut trees above felt like I was peering out of a window frame into the scene. The large wave rolling in with lots of little bobbing surfer heads just below it are an interesting subject as well. If I could change one thing.... (this was a candid image and if I could have directed one part of the shot, I would have created a bit more separation between the boy (also silhouette) on the lower left-hand side of the frame and the tree. He creates an additional foreground element and adds to the story as you can imagine he might be dreaming of being out there himself.)
The take-away here is to do look at anything that could be used in the foreground (purposefully) to add depth to the image.

-Kevin Winzeler
More Sports Photography

Inspiration Monday: Time Lapse Photography

2010-06-28T15:15:00.003-06:00

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

2010-06-22T14:55:00.012-06:00

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!

.

-Kevin Winzeler
Professional Photographer

CreativeLive w/Zack Arias - Photography workshop worth buying!

2010-06-16T19:31:00.001-06:00

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.

2010-06-02T16:46:00.004-06:00

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

Buying Strobes? Do you know the Flash Duration? (How to Stop Action in Photography)

2010-05-27T20:10:00.210-06:00

The following question came recently:

"Kevin,
I am a big fan of your work after seeing you on strobist, I am now doing quite a bit of adventure oriented advertising photography. I hope you can answer one question for me.... I am deciding between the Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS pack with "S" freelight head or Ranger RX pack with "A" freelight head. CAN THE "S" FREEZE ACTION FAIRLY WELL OR DO I HAVE TO GO WITH THE "A"? I understand you are very busy but hope you can lay a little info on me.
I use Canon 5d II, 16-35 II, 24-105, 70-200 f4. pocketwizard plus ii's
Thanks!"

This is a great question because it addresses one of the most important, yet overlooked items to consider when buying a new set of strobes, especially for sports photography, that of Flash Duration. The key difference between the two heads in question is the flash duration, the "A" head being twice as fast as the "S" head. Flash duration, just like shutter speed, is measured in fractions of a second and becomes your action stopping measurement when working in low light or dark (studio) situations. Typically, you want the shortest/fastest flash duration possible, just like you would want the fastest shutter speed possible when shooting and trying to stop action.

To visualize this, find a room in your house that you can turn completely dark (no ambient light leaking in). Put your camera on a tripod and open your shutter for 30 seconds. Now, let's say during your exposure, the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, runs in front of your lens and just as he passes by, you fire your strobe. Will he be in focus, blurry or a combination of the two? Remember, your shutter is open for 30 seconds, so wouldn't he just be a blurry abstract blob in the final image? The truth of the matter, is that the action freezes based entirely upon your strobe (remember no ambient light) and the accompanying flash duration of that strobe, or in other words, how QUICKLY your strobe goes on and then off. So if your strobes flash duration is 1/125th of a second, Usain is going to be blurry! So what is your strobes flash duration? In the case of an Elinchrom Ranger it is a combination of which head, pack and power setting is used.

If I were shooting Mr. Bolt in a studio with my Ranger AS Speed pack, A head and Full power on the B channel (366 w/s), the absolute best (shortest) flash duration I could achieve would be 1/1700th of a second, plenty fast to stop the action (see my note on using the t.1 rating instead of what the mfg suggested t.5). However, with the same settings but switching to the "S head" my results would be 1/850th of a second. Now, what if I needed full power from my pack (1100 w/s)? Note the chart above with 1 A head @ Full power = 1/2300 s and 1 S head @ Full power = 1/1250 s. For the A head, my action stopping power has been reduced from 1/1700th to 1/766th and S head from 1/850th to 1/400th, which starts to creep into the blurry zone for action stuff on the S head. Lower power settings would result in an even slower duration and more chance for motion blur.

Skiing photograph shot during the SLC shootout. Skier: Jason West. 4 strobes used in total: 2 Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS Packs, 3 "A" heads and 1 Canon 580EXII fired via Skyports. Lighting set-up here The action in this shot is entirely stopped by the strobes (roughly 1/2000th of a second flash duration).

Phew...so, what does all of this mean in the real world and why is it important? If you are using strobes while shooting ANYTHING moving, then just like knowing what shutter speed to pick to create a sharp, crisp image, you should also know what flash duration you'll be getting from your strobe:

-hummingbird feeding
-gymnast during a floor exercise
-outdoor portrait of model on a windy day (blowing hair)
-pouring a bottle of Coca-cola into a glass for a product shot
-cyclist descending Cormet de Roselend during the Tour de France

IN SUMMARY:
1. Flash duration stops the action and becomes your shutter speed (in low-light and dark settings)
2. Flash duration changes (typically is fastest at full power)- check mfg specs
3. If your strobe manufacturer uses the t.5 number, divide by 3 for the true stopping power of your flash.

So, what's the answer to the question? For the most flexibility stopping motion, get the "A" head. This is one of the main reasons I chose the Elinchrom system because most of their lights have very fast flash durations at a reasonable price. However, just like buying any piece of equipment, consider why you need the faster flash duration head and how it will fit into your work as a photographer and buy what fits your needs.

And one final CURVE BALL to end on: If you shoot location work during daylight (much of what I do) then your true stopping power becomes a combination of your cameras sync speed and your strobes flash duration OR worse yet, entirely dependent on your cameras sync speed. In the next blog post we'll discuss using strobes with ambient light, on-location.

-Kevin Winzeler
Advertising and Commercial Photographer based in Salt Lake City, Utah
Tags: Elinchrom, Ranger RX Speed AS, Commercial Photographers

5D Mark II shoots the Season Finale of "House". Greg Yaitanes interview.

2010-05-20T10:21:00.005-06:00

Phillip Bloom interviews the Director and producer of of the hit TV series House, Greg Yaitanes, in this interview. The fact that the director of a major TV series decides to shoot it's season finale (not just parts of an episode) is unreal. As photographers and film makers, we have access to an unbelievable number of tools to tell and share stories. Exciting times ahead folks!

It sounds like the Canon primes won on set along with a couple of zooms to ease the transition of shooting different focal lengths. Of note were the 50 f/1.2, 85 f/1.2, 100mm Macro (used in the opening sequence below) and 70-200 f/2.8 II.

There's a good discussion happening over at Cinema 5D on the topic and hopefully we'll see some behind the scenes footage and further discussion soon.

If you missed the show this week, download an HD version at the iTunes store.

-Kevin
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Commercial and Advertising Photographer

Advanced camera panning techniques (Sports and Action photography)

2010-05-14T11:01:00.007-06:00

When we think of sports photography, usually we think of shooting at the highest shutter speed possible and wide open apertures in order to stop the subject dead in his/her tracks. The sharper the image, the better, right? Let's talk about breaking this rule for a minute and working to capture more of a sense of motion in your images. How do you translate the feeling of a cyclist racing across the asphalt at 30mph? How about the movement of a propeller as an airplane leaves the ground at take-off? Or a sail boat piercing it's way through an open ocean? Or what about a skier tunneling through three feet of freshly fallen snow? One way to create movement in our imagery is through the use of slow shutter speeds and panning the camera. As a commercial photographer, I'm constantly striving to create the most intriguing and compelling photographs. Of the many techniques available to photographers, panning and the use of slow shutter speeds is an excellent tool to add movement and energy when shooting action.
Skiing image: panning at 1/30th of a second

The easiest way to practice this technique is to pick up the camera, walk out of your front door and point the camera at moving cars. You can experiment with different shutter speeds, backgrounds and subjects this way. To take panning to the next level, the trick is to get the camera into a position that it can move at the same speed as your subject.

Road cycling image: panning at 1/20th of a second from the back of a van.

Some other points to consider when panning:

1) Pick the important elements to keep sharp:
What are the important elements to keep sharp in the final image? If I'm shooting people, I generally want head and facial features sharp. If it's a commercial shoot, keeping logos, product names or other elements we are advertising is also critical.

2) Move with your subject:
Once you have the location and subject matter, next decide on your composition. The easiest way to explore the technique of panning is to move the camera parallel to your subject as they ride, ski, swim, walk past you. For example, during the 2006 Tour de France, I captured this image of cyclist, David Millar during the prologue stage of the tour. And a few months ago during the Salt Lake Shootout, I captured this skiing photograph with roughly the same technique. However, if you're working in a more controlled environment, try getting into a position where you can keep the camera still and move with the subject. Whether it be a bike, motorcycle, car or other rig, try the camera into a position is moving at the same speed and direction as the subject. For the following image, I wanted a head-on perspective and so we jumped in the back of a mini-van and with the tailgate up, started shooting. I love the gritty feel of getting the camera close to the moving pavement, while keeping the rider and bike in focus.

3) Choose your shutter speed.
Panning requires a steady hand and experimentation with your shutter speed. For example, when shooting a cyclist, I'll start in the 1/25th of a second range and move up or down from there to get the right blend of motion and sharpness. Also, keep in mind your background colors when choosing your shutter speed to create either something that's recognizeable or completely blurred giving an ethereal and abstract feel.

Lifestyle shoot: Panning at 1/5th of a second (strobed w/ Elinchrom Ranger)

Lastly:

1. Use ND Filters. If you're shooting on a sunny day, throw a neutral density filter or polarizer on your lens to bring your exposure back to 1/30th of a second (or whatever shutter speed you decide on). As a LAST resort if you can drop your iso to 50 and crank your aperture to f/22, but make sure your sensor is clean!
2. Bring lot's of memory. We shot roughly 300 images of one athlete in the span of 2 minutes or so on the 5D Mark II (3.9 FPS). We had roughly 10-15 keepers.
3. Safety first. If you are hanging off or a motorcycle or out of the back of a van, make sure to communicate to everyone involved. You, the driver and the athlete need to be on the same page. The last thing you want is for the driver to suddenly hit the brakes while your cyclist is trailing 3 feet behind at 30 MPH. Keep it safe.

What are some of your techniques for panning? Let's hear it. Next, we'll talk about panning with the use of strobes (big and small).

-Kevin

More behind the scenes videos and photography

Inspiring Documentary: Up There

2010-05-05T20:35:00.002-06:00

A few quick thoughts from the documentary "Up There".

First, I hope in addition to shooting a ton of photographs lately, that you are also experimenting with video on your DSLR. As a commercial photographer often working with people, I can say that the number one benefit from shooting and understanding motion and film has been learning to direct people. Film also helps me to think in terms of story telling with my photography, which I worked on more this past weekend while photographing Ironman, St. George, Utah (photos coming soon).

Second, both the artists in the story as well as the artist, Malcolm Murray telling the story inspire me to be patient and continuously improve my craft as a photographer. I love how these folks talk about the process of learning and the time and sacrifice involved in becoming an artist in their field. In this fast paced world, where truck loads of free information are available at our finger tips, we can at times be a bit too anxious. Amazing doesn't happen in minutes, but rather it takes a long time and sometimes a lifetime. Let's step back and appreciate the photographers that have paved the way for us, as well as steadily improve as artists. Patience is a virtue I believe...

Third, shoot photos and stories you are passionate about. This story is told with a sense of pride and passion.

-Kevin

Parkour - Free Running Photo Shoot

2010-04-21T18:23:00.015-06:00

I've been working on a few personal projects lately, including a photographing some local Parkour, Free Running talent. I love the combination of technical, physical and mental strength required to pull off the moves these guys do. The sheer power they display blows my mind. Ironically, the day we shot the following pictures started out as more of a scouting trip for a short film I'm working on, but ended up becoming the focus of the day as I just couldn't pass up the chance to photograph this stuff. Here's a quick breakdown of a few shots from the day as well as bts video below:

For the first shot, athlete, Devon Bardole, popped up on a railing and literally stayed in a handstand position for minutes (not seconds). I quickly grabbed the fisheye lens and started working a few shots telling him to hold on for just a bit longer. The fisheye lens came to mind first in order to get an "in your face" feel and to capture the intensity of the eyes, while also showing the surrounding environment (tall buildings, urban setting). The concentration is really impressive from these athletes as Parkour is an extremely technical and mental sport. As you can see in the quick behind the scenes clip, the rail drops a good six feet on one side (shooting position) and I'm working several different angles during one take. We had the sun almost directly behind the subject, so I exposed for the face and skin tones allowing the sun to blow out a bit behind and create a halo look. We could have also brought in a little fill flash (either soft or hard light), but I'm quite happy with the resulting image we got.

Second, we worked into a location with more of a back alley feel, where the athlete's (Devon, Bobby and Ellis Robinson) were picking different lines, popping, flipping and dropping off of everything imagineable. When one of the athletes (Ellis) flag-poled the side of this a old, gritty building, I quickly set-up a shot to capture the move. My thought process when I see something I want to capture is to first think about the type of light that will work best for the location and subject. In this case we had a really nice shaded light that was soft and stunning. I popped an Elinchrom Ranger at 100 w/s for just a touch of fill light (7 degree reflector from camera right), but otherwise kept the soft feel. Next, I looked at other aspects of the environment to enhance the shot and in particular for foregrounds and backgrounds that would provide either texture, interesting lines, color and sometimes a combination of all three. This is also where the choice of lens length comes into play as well as depth of field and whether you want the viewer to see a tack sharp image front to back or isolate the subjects to avoid a cluttered background. While I was drawn to elements of the foreground and background, I quickly made the choice to isolate the subject with a f/2.8 aperture at 200mm on a Canon 5D Mark II and enhanced that feel with a slight vignette in post-production.

Lastly, we worked a large gap drop that provided a another nice fisheye perspective from directly underneath the take-off zone. The drop involved a "Kong" move, (blindly I might add) over the wall and down roughly 12-15 feet onto cement, an insanely big move. Here I'm using a Ranger at near full power, 1000 w/s or so and a standard reflector to light the athlete and retaining wall as well as slightly over-power the sun by a stop or so.

The process for this shoot evolved quite quickly as I mentioned we initially wanted to shoot a few stills and scout locations for film work. That said, the on-the-fly direction worked out really. When you're shooting in a run-in-gun type fashion like this, you have to make quick decisions. First, I'll analyze the light and whether I need to add or subtract light or even whether or not I have time as often it will ruin the spontaneity of the shot. Foregrounds and backgrounds come into play next and other supporting aspects of the environment that I think will enhance the shot (include) or detract (exclude). Theses types of shoots are a balance of documentary or event type work (where "key moments" won't be repeated) and a commercial photo shoot like our recent trail running shoot for example where prior to taking a shot, we had scouted locations, diagrammed lighting scenarios, and chosen our color palette, compositions and art direction.

See more Parkour and Free Running pictures from our day in downtown Salt Lake City. Also, stay tuned for the short film we are currently in the process of making!

-Kevin Winzeler
Commercial Photographer

Recent work in Print | Photography

2010-04-12T11:07:00.008-06:00

It's time for a quick post with some recent photography that went to press; including a couple of magazine covers, ads and campaign work. It's always fun to see how an image you photograph translates into print.

-Kevin Winzeler

Advertising and Commercial Photographer

Be Inspired. Find your creativity.

2010-04-05T14:27:00.006-06:00

Pictage Films put out this nice little piece on creativity. The interviewees hit it out of the park on a few points as far as I'm concerned:

"The best thing about deadlines is that it forces our creativity to come to the surface" - Blake Howard
"The main feeling I go through when I'm writing a new song is...this sucks!" - Nick Kirk
"When you have a story that needs to be told, you can't help but go out and make it (tell it). If you were to say no, you're doing yourself and others a disservice...you're walking away from the muse that says you need to go make this and it's important that you make this...every film maker, photographer and writer..." - Brandon McCormick

Creativity for me, is a lot like what is described by these individuals. As a photographer, creating images that I feel good about requires an immense amount of hard work, while forcing myself to set deadlines and editing out all the images that "suck". The majority of us out there work hard to develop creativity.
If I put myself in an environment to be creative and by that I mean, always shooting, studying, listening, collaborating, and repeating, I'll improve as an artist and individual. The "environment" is not a geographic location (i.e. Borders Cafe) where creativity flows continuously, but rather the entire process of WORK.

So keep working!

I'm curious to hear what your creative process is? Chime in below:

-Kevin
Commercial photographer

2010 PhotoCamp Utah: On-location Photography. SCOUT. LIGHT. CREATE

2010-03-29T09:03:00.016-06:00

Participating in this years PhotoCamp Utah was an absolute blast!

Photographers! - If you weren't able to attend this years PhotoCamp, I'd highly recommend getting on board for 2011. Just make sure you register early (like within the first 6 hours of registration opening). I guess there were 400+ people on the waiting list this year which doesn't surprise me given the dirt cheap price ($15) for a solid day of all things photography. It was a packed day of excellent presentations and networking opportunities as well as a final Keynote address by Zack Arias, which rocked the house. Thanks for making the trip out Zack!

Photograph: stitched pano shot during my "On-Location" presentation (minute 11:01) while showing recycle time of the Ranger.

I presented toward the beginning of the day and was stoked to see so many people interested in learning about photography on-location as well as lighting. We had 60-70 people crammed into a smallish room all anxious to share and learn. Check out the presentation below and the slides here: Photography and Lighting On-Location
I'd love to continue the Q&A session as well. Please chime in with any questions, comments and your experiences with location work, scouting and lighting.

A HUGE thanks to all the people behind the scenes that pulled this thing off (Jeremy, Ann and crew)! Until next year...

-Kevin

Advertising Photographer in Utah

Photographers: Add space and BACK-UP your images today! 2TB Drives and Mac Pro Optical Bay

2010-03-20T21:57:00.016-06:00

As a professional photographer, hard drive space is a constant battle! Of course, we hear all the time how "cheap" HD space is, so what's the problem? Well, what most people "experts" don't acknowledge is the real cost of adding space to your working system. I'm talking about the hours of researching reliable drives, planning for future growth, installing and reconfiguring your current system and/or paying for someone to help to do all of that for you. Time is money and there's a lot more involved than cost per/GB when it comes to running things reliably and professionally. Second, you rarely hear talk of a serious back-up plan which should at a minimum consist of two complete copies of all your data (one being off-site). With file sizes as large as they are as well as the addition of HD video to most cameras this can start to add up quickly, even for "cheap" space!

If your system is getting full (say a single drive in an iMac for example), then you're stuck either upgrading that drive or adding external drives. If adding externals, buy drives with the fastest connection your computer will handle (eSata, iScsi, Firewire 800, Firewire 400, USB), but realize this solution is simply a band-aid. Externals are great for archiving or back-up to, and yes, I'd include the drobo in this group, but not so great when editing large photography or video files (5D Mark II or larger) (New drobo (iscsi) may be an exception, but I've heard mixed reviews on speeds). With the exception of eSata, Read/write and transfer speeds of externals becomes too difficult to work with. You need your drives working FAST, especially on data you access daily. At some point you'll need to upgrade to a box (Mac Pro). More on the back-up plan below.
If you already own a Mac Pro, still running out of space, there's another solution for you. The beauty of the Mac Pro is the ability to expand from 4 drives into 6 or even 8 by taking over the optical bays (Screenshot below). A few weeks ago, I found myself in this situation and opted to add two Samsung 2TB drives in the 2nd optical bay (below the DVD drive/burner) via a Pro Caddy 2 from Transintl for roughly $450. This is awesome! The future possibility for growth here is: 8 bays x 2TB drives = 16TB of onboard data.

My current Mac Pro is set-up as follows:

-Early 2008 2.8Ghz 8 Core Mac Pro

-16GB RAM

-Hard Drive set-up:

Bay 1 - 320GB Factory Drive - Holds OSX and all Applications

[Drives 2-4 are set as a software RAID 0 (through the disk utility in your applications]

Bay 2 - 1TB Western Digital Black

Bay 3 - 1TB Western Digital Black

Bay 4 - 1TB Western Digital Black

-NEW: 4 Terabytes of space for $450

2nd Optical Bay- 2 x 2 Terabyte Samsung Drives via Pro Caddy 2 ---[currently set as a RAID 0]

[Note: There are cheaper 2TB drives on the market. They don't look as reliable as the Samsungs. Saving $40 on an HD that is of questionable reliability, which 2TB still are, even the Samsung, is about the most insane thing you could do as a photographer, in my opinion.]

In summary, the "Mounted" drives sitting on my desktop are as follows (remember drives 2-4 and the optical are set-up as RAID "0's" so they appear on your desktop as 1 drive):

Mounted Drive 1 - OS/Apps

Mounted Drive 2 - 3TB in RAID 0 - Current years work with 64GB partition for Photoshop scratch disk

Mounted Drive 3 - 4TB in RAID 0 - All data (Photos, Documents, Music, Motion/Video)

WARNING -- ***DO NOT SET-UP ANYTHING IN RAID 0, WITHOUT A REALLY, REALLY SOLID BACK-UP AND RESTORE PLAN (In my current set-up, If my "bay 2 drive" crashes, then I lose all photography (data) across 3 drives (bays 2-4). So in my mind, I have to ask myself - "When a drive crashes, can I get my photographs back?" AND "How long will it take to restore the data?"

BACK-UP PLAN
Probably the most important part of your data management plan as a photographer is to have a consistent back-up plan in place. When I say consistent, I really mean automated. If it's not automated, something will slip through the cracks.

Mine's not foolproof, but it's solid and a good place to start...

STEP 1: Back-up all of your live data locally and continuously.

Part A) Drive #1 (OS/APPS) backed up via Time Machine to a USB drive

Part B) Drives #2-6 backed up to Server via Gigabit ethernet. My main block of live data (i.e. Photographs, video, docs, music) spans 5 hard drives within my Mac Pro, equalling 8 Terabytes of space. My server consists of a 10 Drive, RAID 6 box which will handle all 8TB's of data. RAID 6 just means that two drives can completely fail and the data will still be in tact within the server. A drive will fail on you at some point. Plan on it. If you can't afford or don't need a server, get a Drobo or even a simple external Hard drive from Costco that has enough space to completely mirror your entire data set). Another option if your a Mac Pro user, is to simply use the remaining Bay's for back-up (remember you have up to 6 bays with the Pro Caddy 2). This is the cheapest and cleanest method if the space is available.

STEP 2: Back-up all of your data offsite.
You need to back-up your data to a place that will still be around if current location experiences a natural disaster such as a flood or fire. The external HD's get backed-up and stored securely off-site at least monthly and more often if possible.

STEP3: Back-up offsite again - Online.
I'm currently evaluating CrashPlan and Backblaze for online back-up (both around $50/year). I'll let you know soon which I prefer. So far I'm leaning toward CrashPlan for 2 reasons 1) You can send a 1TB upload initially via a Hard Drive and 2) If and when you have to restore the data Crashplan is a few hundred dollars, Backblaze is several thousand. Both programs run continuously in the background and update only the files that have changed/added on your computer.

STEP 4: AUTOMATE everything.
I use Chronosync ($30) to automate my main drive back-up (Drives 2-5) to my Server. I also use chronosync for my monthly external, offsite back-ups. The beauty of this program, is that you don't have to re-copy your entire library of photographs. For example, let's say I go into Lightroom and tweak my Saturation on a RAW file shot way back in 2005. When I sync my hard drives with Chronosync, it will notice the change to that file (XMP) and add the saturation change to the back-up.

STEP 5: BACK-UP one more time.
IF you're extremely paranoid (like me), hook-up an additional external drive (or box) via eSata, FW800, or Ethernet directly to your Mac Pro (iMac or PC) to acts as another back-up source to either all of your data or your most important files/folders. A drobo would be an example of such a box.

*IF you're on a budget, take STEPS 1 and 3 at a MINIMUM. This is the least expensive, yet viable option.

I realize this could either be completely overwhelming to you OR too basic, depending on which camp you fall into on the techy side of things. Don't stress too much if it sounds overwhelming, just enough to decide to put a back-up plan in place! If you have questions about your particular system or where to start, please put them in the Comments section and let's generate a good discussion.

Also, please chime in with your experience and plan for both adding more space for data and backing it up. I would love to hear your thoughts!

-Kevin

Park City Utah Professional Photographer

On-Location, Big Lights Photography: Presentation Feedback Needed!

2010-03-15T12:22:00.004-06:00

So, I was asked to present this coming weekend at PhotoCamp Utah 2010 on the topic of "on-location photography and big light techniques", which is going to be a blast! The one day event is completely sold out (with 400 people on a waiting list...sorry ya'll). I think Mr. Zack Arias has something to do with that.

Here's the deal. I only have 45 minutes to present before they yank me out of the room (which has been threatened). It's just enough time to talk through some scouting ideas as well as show a few behind the scenes examples, but not nearly enough time to set-up a true demo. If YOU were going to attend my class (or are), what would you want to get out of it?? I plan on talking about the behind the scenes from this Kauai, Trail Running Photograph as well as the lighting set-up for some of the images from the recent Salt Lake City Shootout: Powder Skiing image 1 and Powder Skiing photograph 2.

Here's the course description :
On-location Photography: from scouting great locations to delivering results with BIG light techniques

This class will focus on what it takes to achieve stellar imagery on-location. We will review two location based "BIG light" shoots and the resulting imagery

Starting point: Please come with a basic understanding of the technical side of working with off-camera lights. A love for the outdoors and location based work is a bonus. Ending point: Getting past the technical stuff and finding greater vision when shooting on location including the use of BIG lights.

HIT me below with your feedback (comments). I'm also toying with the Chase Jarvis idea of doing either a live feed from the presentation or at a minimum recording it and putting it up here in the near future.

-Kevin

Park City Utah Professional Photographer

Adobe Lightroom Workflow: Single catalog or multiple catalogs?

2010-03-08T11:11:00.002-07:00

Adobe Lightroom users, I need your help!

What is the most effecient way you've found to manage your library of images?

Please tell us if you are using a single catalog or multiple catalogs or a combination of both and what the advantages of your system are? Also, specify the following in your response:

1) What version of LR you're running? (For Beta 3 users, specify any differences you see in speed between the two)
2) How big your catalog (s) is (# of images)?
3) How fast the program runs for basic viewing and developing features (adjusting saturation, switching tasks - develop to library grid, etc.). I realize this is subjective, but is the program running fast enough to actually get work done...
4) How your computer system is set-up (Type, Processor speed, RAM, HD configuration -- LR Catalog on Drive A, Images on separate drives, and any other nuances)

In addition, do you have any feature requests for Adobe? -- My #1 feature request is to be able to open more than one catalog at once.

Looking forward to hearing your experience!

-Kevin
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Utah Photographers

2010 Salt Lake City Ski Photography Shootout: Winner!

2010-03-01T20:00:00.024-07:00

2010 Salt Lake Shootout Winning Photograph: "Best of Show" and first place in "Air" category
Equipment: Canon 7D, 10-22mm lens, beautiful morning sunlight

100% Crop of Jason just after lift-off

This last week is an absolute blur! The annual Salt Lake Ski Photography shootout took place this past week and I was stoked to get a first time invite. Anytime you take 10 professional photographers and mix in 20 pro skiers good things are bound to happen and this years contest was no different. The guidelines were pretty straightforward:

A) 4 days of skiing and shooting at each of the Cottonwood canyon resorts (Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude)
B) Working with 2 different athletes per day
C) Submit 3 images per category (Air, Powder, Big Mountain, City Lifestyle, Mountain Lifestlye)
D) ALL submissions due by 10PM on Friday (4th day)! No exceptions!

I was expecting to do pretty well, get some publishable images and call it a solid week of work, but in all honesty was not necessarily expecting to win anything. There was an extremely talented pool of photographers participating from as far away as Norway and Vancouver as well as some local talent. So when the slide for first place rolled up during the awards ceremony with one of my images, I was pretty floored, to say the least. The shot of Jason West (above) not only took first place in the"Air" category, but went on to win the "Best of Show", grand prize award. What a feeling of both humility and extreme excitement! It was awesome. The conditions proved awesome, with each day bringing something a bit different to work with. I've got to give a thank you to every athlete I worked with. Thanks for hiking back up the mountain for "one more shot" assisting with lights and keeping things so positive the whole time. You made my job easy (er). And a course special shout-out to Jason West for his epic line off of the fantasy ridge cliff at Solitude Ski resort that won the thing. Awesome work my friend!

We worked on some late afternoon/ early evening shots and this was one of my submissions in the Powder category. Athlete Jason West making a turn just after dusk at Brighton Ski resort near Salt Lake City, Utah

Here's a behind the scenes look of one of our lighting set-ups: Equipment used: Elinchrom Ranger (2 packs, 3 heads), 580EX II x 1, Skyport Triggers, mixed with late ambient light.

Parting shot entered in the "Mountain Lifestyle" category. Location: Snowbird Ski Resort - Athlete: Cody Barnhill with Leopard dude and Zebra lady

-Kevin

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Utah Photographer

Commercial Photography Checklist: On-location

2010-02-22T10:23:00.017-07:00

I love flying airplanes. In fact, long before I picked up a camera for the first time and well before my commercial photography days, I was intent on becoming a pilot. Within six months after starting flight school I received my private pilots license and had a whopping 40 hours of flight experience under my belt. I was stoked! 6 short months later I was close to my instrument rating and half way through my commercial rating and was pushing 100 hours of flight time. At every step in my short aviation career, this notion of using a "checklist" was pounded into my head. After deciding I'd rather do barrel rolls than bus people around from point A to B, I left my pursuit of becoming a commercial pilot. That was years ago, but to this day I can still recite from memory several of the checklists that were engrained in my head. Checklists are a way of life in aviation. Pre-flight, prior to take-off, emergencies, crossing different airspace, communicating, landing...the list goes on and on. There's a checklist for EVERYthing you do in aviation and a pilot will have a short life if he ignores his checklists. You are taught to never rely solely on your memory, but to reference your checklist, item by item, every time!

Have you ever forgotten an important item on a photo shoot (lens, CF cards, lights)? I have and it's a sickening feeling (take my word for it if you haven't). Granted we as Photographers don't get into life and death "situations" per se, but we do have a lot of stuff to remember and if you're like me your memory can only handle so much. So pilots use checklists. Why not photographers? (maybe you already do) -- This past week I had a location based shoot and was scrambling around checking the 20 different places I keep my equipment (ughh). I needed a checklist, just like in my flying days. So I opened up a spreadsheet, listed my all my equipment in an order that makes sense to me, printed it and voila, was right back in the Pilots seat. Here's what I came up with: commercial photography checklist. If it's a helpful starting point for you, drop a comment below or email us and I'll make it available as a downloadable spreadsheet file (created in Apple Numbers) so you can customize it to your gear and working style. I'll likely follow this up with a production checklist for self-produced shoots.

I've organized the checklist into categories and subcategories. The lighting section for example, is organized around different lighting kits I use depending on the size and location of my shoot (Small, Medium and Large Kits). The last thing I do before leaving on a shoot is confirm everything required for the shoot is in my vehicle ready to go. Don't start checking stuff off before it's physically in the car. (I wouldn't start my landing checklist 50 miles out from the airport) You'll forget something!

I'd love to hear how you organize and keep track of what is needed when you go on a shoot. Drop a comment with any thoughts or ways to improve this checklist.

-Kevin Winzeler
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Utah professional photographer
Photography | Motion | Stock

Failure & Fear: Photography - Keep Moving

2010-02-15T13:39:00.062-07:00

I've spoken about failure as a "good thing" in a prior photography related blog post and so when I across this Harvard commencement address by J.K. Rowling (aka Harry Potter for those living in a closet) recently, I was again quite inspired once again. There is something profound in the notion of coming to grips with our fears and failures in photography (and life) and moving forward despite all of it. It's not that I believe people really seek failure, maybe some do, but those that have failed miserably and persisted to greatness are particularly inspiring. The idea is beautifully expressed through her address.

Fear often paralyzes us before we even get to the starting gate. I know when I NEED to do something by the nerve racking feeling inside that causes a semi-paralysis of thought turning into over-exaggerated fear of all the reasons I might fail, if I do this "thing". I guarantee [and I rarely use that word] we all experience fear of failure about something in life, whether it be a job, relationship, public speaking or simply photographing something new. I sure felt this way leaving a corporate position in a Fortune 500 company to become a professional photographer, all while considering my family responsibilities, mortgage, and future "retirement". Failures have come along the way and will surely come in the future, but those failures shape me as a person and an artist.

If we get past the initial paralysis that fear brings and do that "thing" we feared, often we still find the result is failure, despite our best efforts. I often call myself an "experimenter", but in reality it would surely be failing. With no formal photography education, I work really, really hard to understand all aspects of photography and motion from both a technical and an artistic perspective and then I experiment like mad. Just ask my wife! This past weekend for example, I was preparing for an upcoming commercial photography shoot so I took over the largest room in our house, kicked the kids out, moved the furniture and set-up shop. After three hours of experimenting (failing), I had a a few shots and concepts that I would consider successful, but not many. It seems that most of my successes in photography however, come after a lot of failure and the principle is to keep moving, moving, moving. JK Rowling kept moving both toward her true passion as well as forward in life after what she calls complete failure. It is easy to hang up the camera after having felt the fear, acted and then failed. "At least I tried", we might say to ourselves as we move to something that is less risky and ironically, less of a passion. We just aren't "visionary", "artistic", or "technical" enough to be great at photography. Wrong! In reality, most of us feel this way. We keep moving forward driven by the passion, even when we feel overwhelmed by failure. Success comes because we keep moving! Be courageous to find your vision!

I intended to simply post the video this morning, but hopefully my ramblings have been somewhat worthwhile for you. Here are a few quotes I found insightful from the address:
Quote 1: "Rock Bottom became my solid foundation"

Quote 2: "Stripping away of the inessentials"

-Kevin

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Kevin Winzeler is a Commercial Photographer based in Utah and available worldwide.

Future of commercial photography and film?

2010-02-08T11:31:00.004-07:00

I'm not sure what this means for the future of photography, particularly in the world of advertising and commercial photography which I'm a part of, but the fact that computer generated images are this realistic, makes me wonder. Alex Roman delivers the most compelling argument I've seen for computer generated (CG) imagery especially when we're talking about one guy pulling this all together not the whole Avatar team down in Weta NZ for example. It's pretty insane to think about. What blows me away is not just the realistic nature of every frame in this film, but the level of art he achieves as well. There's an interesting discussion taking place at "A Photo editor" with predictions about whether CG will or will not take over the role of a photographer as we know it. It's a fact that Photography and film are becoming more and more about compositing the "pieces" together to make the final image than shooting everything "in frame". This bow hunting image is an example from my own portflio (rain, clouds, lightning all composite work). Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your perspective, in the commercial world it's a question of resources and if the "same" film or photograph can be made cheaper, that notion will rule the day. Here's another example on the topic:

What are your thoughts? Does any of this affect the type of photography you do or how you view the world of photography? Chime in! All I know, is I that I have a ton of real, "live" locations to visit all over the world with photographs to be made in each and CG won't do any of them justice!

-Kevin
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Park City Utah, Photographer

Commercial photographers: 5 apps in my Mac Pro dock

2010-02-01T16:16:00.010-07:00

As a commercial photographer in utah there are a few applications I use almost daily. Without talking about Adobe products, here are the ones I could not live without:

1) Chronosync - (Back-up software - $30)
2) TweetDeck - (Social media - Free)
3) Latest press or publication (keep your latest press in your dock to share)
4) Cyberduck - (FTP Client - Free)
5) SnapnDrag - (Screen shot tool - $1)

What are your favorites? Share with us!

Here's why I like these applications:

1) Chronosync - My philosophy is that if your back-up system isn't automated, you're going to lose data, at some point, guaranteed! Chronosync allows you to run an automated back-up every night, hour, or at whatever interval you choose. So essentially, you can back-up as many main drives as you have to as many back-up drives as you choose. This works over both a local set of drives (USB, Firewire) or a network. Cheap peace of mind. Now I just need an automated off-site solution. Any ideas? Places like Mozy or other online back-up either A) would never be able to back-up multiple Terabytes initially or B) require a huge payment to get your data out if you ever need to.

2) TweetDeck - I hate updating both Facebook and Twitter separately. Nuff said. Not only does Tweetdeck allow you to see your social networking across multiple platforms, it also has a bunch of other cool features. There's an iphone app also.

3) Latest publications, awards and other docs. Besides my applications, I pull a bunch of other documents and items into my dock as a reminder of what I should be working on. If I'm sending out an email to a new prospect or contact, I'll often include some recent press or publication. Currently, Skiing magazine's shot of the year is handy (see below) for easy access when scripting new emails. If you have a bunch of new goals for 2010 in a spreadsheet somewhere, pull it up to your dock today. Remind yourself every morning what the focus for this year is.

4) Cyberduck - There are lot's of FTP clients out there. I prefer Cyberduck because it's trouble free, allows me to bookmark all of my FTP locations for easy access and It's free.

5) SnapnDrag - I love this application! Simple as that. It gets used every day and is one of my favorites. It's not much more than a "screenshot" tool, but it's the most effective one I've used. I'm constantly grabbing screenshots (i.e. see #3 above). One of my favorite features, is the direct email link right in the application. Grab a screenshot, click "email" and up pops your mail client with the image (screenshot) attached.
Another example: Client Z asks for a quote (Homepage website usage). You ask for the size and they point you to their website and say, "just like that top banner". You say, "great, so the size of the product shot of Kobe's shoe?" client "yep". "I'll get right back to you".
Now, pull up SnapnDrag, line up the crosshairs exactly on each side of the image, take a snapshot and name it. Next, drag to Photoshop and check the Image Size...ah...915px X 419px. Now click "email" and confirm with client or send yourself a reminder to estimate usage (since you are in the middle of a shoot right now). ***btw - yes, you can grab screenshots w/Mac shortcut "Shift, Control, Command, 4", but they automatically go to the desktop and there's no quick email feature or renaming the shot feature.

What are you using on a daily basis?

-Kevin
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Park City Photographers

Timelapse Photography

2010-01-25T17:04:00.010-07:00

This time lapse photography reel by 599 productions is pretty insane (as in awesome)! The city footage at 3:15 is particularly amazing. I contacted the photographer with a few technical questions and he (Andrew Walker) was super cool to answer them. I thought you might enjoy our conversation, so here you go...

[ME]
Hey Andrew,
Just checked out Timelapse #5. Awesome work man! Really stellar.
I've got a few "how to" questions for you:

1) How many shots per minute are you shooting?
2) What's the best way to put something like this together (Final cut?). Have you experimented with different final frame rates? Is the #5 video 10 fps or so?
Thanks in advance and keep doing great work! -Kevin

[ANDREW]
All the videos I post are at 24fps, just like film. But that is just the playback frame rate. The capture frame rate varies from shot to shot. The shots range from .5sec to 15sec intervals. So far the best way I have found to do the post processing on this is to use Lightroom and FCP. I have tried After Effects and you could do everything in that program and then some. But I have had nothing but problems outputting from it. Glad you liked the footage. I'm planning for a slightly longer video that will have my best of stuff in there. But that's a couple months away.

[ME]
Thanks for the reply Andrew. For your night shots, what are you finding is the limit on ISO with the 5DII (or find you are shooting at most of the time)? You have a ton of depth of field in almost all of your shots and relatively minimal noise. Are you using any noise reduction in LR? Also, in terms of file type and size, are you exporting all images from LR as Jpgs or Tifs (8bit, 16bit)? And merging into Final Cut. Thanks for the advice. It's really helpful. I look forward to seeing a compilation (best of) segment. Send me a link when you post it.

[ANDREW]
The ISO for the night shots vary from 200-250 for the cityscape stuff and 3200 for all the star timelapse. But I have used around 400 for some city stuff, you just need to find a good balance. For the shots that have the high ISOs I am using some noise reduction in Lightroom. All the images are resized to 1920x1080 16-bit Tiffs. I use to do 8-bit for all my stuff but I found that 16-bit handles the gradients better. Then after the output I import the frames into FCP and have it assemble the frames.
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Park City Photographers

Utah Photographers

Latest photography podcast: The Candid Frame

2010-01-09T21:20:00.032-07:00

If you're like me and can always use more quality photography material to listen to while on the road, then I highly recommend this series of Podcasts by Ibarioinex R. Perello here: The Candid Fram e. Grab the iTunes version if you have an iphone or ipod handy and enjoy the show as Ibarionex asks insightful questions to photographers spanning all genres and levels of success. Really great stuff!

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Two surfers head out for a few waves on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii / Surf Photography by Kevin Winzeler

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Kevin Winzeler

Commercial Photographer

Salt Lake City, Utah Photographer