Living in the Unknown

Assuming that I die in my 70′s (though this is optimistic), I have spent about half of my life so far trying to learn things.  Sometimes this has gone really well, and sometimes the learning process has been more than difficult.  These things have been in a variety of subjects and most have been unrelated.  Somewhere along the line, though, I have felt compelled to know certain things:  the basics of politics, the functions of the human body, the language of visual media, how business works, how people think and make decisions, why paper money has value, why humans believe in certain things, how weather works, how to suppress forest fires, why people die (this one is very complex), how to make them live, why so few Americans refuse to understand the Middle East, and the list goes on.  It’s actually quite infinite, as my little list just scratched truly the knowledge that exists currently in the world.

This is why when a gentleman asked for my help in understanding his Nikon D3200 in order to help get started on his film, I didn’t know where to start.

“What are you trying to do?  What’s your end product?” I asked.

“I want to make a film, a documentary and submit it to Sundance,” he said.  Got it.  This was one of those moments when you decide not to tell someone that Sundance receives at least 10,000 entries a year, a number which they say is growing annually.

Having been through his process over the past several years, I was more than happy to help.  The problem?  The person did not understand what he didn’t know.  This, of course, seems like a paradox.  How can you know what you don’t know?  You can’t.  That’s the point.  You simply have to know that you don’t know it, and figure out ways for people to tell you the unknown.  I find myself always asking myself (and those who know more about a subject), “What else?”

In this person’s case, he was trying to shoot 1080p on a Nikon D3200 on a rickety tripod from the 80′s (?) that had one leg duct taped together.  There was no way to have fluid movement of the head.  When he wanted to know about a microphone for the camera, he could barely stomach the “extra” $150 from the Nikon ME-1.   There is nothing wrong with the equipment that he was using (in fact ten years ago we wouldn’t have believed it existed for such a price!), but I mentioned that if he were going to make quality footage, he may want to consider some devices that would enhance (or salvage) the footage, improve the sound quality immensely, or assist in post-processing.  But of course, he didn’t want to hear anything about post-processing or the need for software.  He just wanted to make his movie.

At that point, you just have to give up.  With time, and much frustration, he will probably start to understand that movie making is a very difficult, an expensive, and a time-consuming process.  There is a reason why films are budgeted millions of dollars and more to produce.  Yes, there are some great little shorts, wonderful pieces, etc. but the majority of quality filmmaking is costing a lot of money and includes the intricacies of many, many specialized professionals.  The DIY attitude is great, but as I found out (and figured beforehand), it will take more equipment than you were planning on, more time than you allowed, and more frustration than you had budgeted.

The concept that I’ve developed over the years is that I should live in a space where I am comfortable with what I know, and always be asking myself and others what I don’t know.  And realize that the latter problem is likely far larger than the first.

RELATED ARTICLES

Manarola at Sunset, Manarola at Dusk
When I Love f/5.6 and All Other Apertures
Valuing Fine Art Print Photography

Campaign Launch! “From the Eyes of Buddha” Documentary

Screening camp by the Tilganga Eye Institute, Kathmandu, Nepal. Photograph by Joel Addams

KATHMANDU, NEPAL

Check out the trailer on YouTube

I am excited to announce that the trailer has been made for my documentary project, “From the Eyes of Buddha,” and we are launching a fundraiser campaign on Kickstarter.com (visit the YouTube link currently) to raise the funds so we can followup with recipients of cornea transplants in their own homes to see them in their productive lives of farming, tending water buffalo, and continuing their education.  The campaign end April 27, 2012 at 7 p.m.  You can donate as little as $1 and there are sweet rewards for $10 or more!

I was initially interested in this project when I went to the Tilganga Eye Institute in 2006 and wrote an 80-page book on developing an eye banking system in developing countries.  The Nepal Eye Bank managers were fabulous to work with, and they were great again when I showed up with a couple of video cameras in July 2011 to start filming.  We followed the corneas that were extracted on the funeral pyres in the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu into a special solution and then into the recipients in surgery.  One recipient was a perfectly healthy girl from the Indian border who became progressively blind during her youth.  This happened from a genetic problem, and her education, ability to help her family, and marriage prospects (a major part of the Nepali culture) were finished…until she made her way to Kathmandu and the Tilganga Eye Institute.  We filmed her second surgery, but now we need to return to see her new productive life at home, thanks to brave donor families and innovative Eye Bank personnel and skilled Nepali surgeons.

This is a story of changing and a story of hope.  Join us in the campaign by supporting for as little as $10 or simply repost the campaign on your Facebook, Twitter account, or personal blog (the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjMUy6mmAUk&feature=plcp).  Any exposure will help!  Thanks for your interest.

RELATED ARTICLES

Nepali Man with Staff
Photography of Sadhus, Old and New, Kathmandu, Nepal
Urbanization – Slums of Kathmandu

Photo Slam Portraits – Using Your Time Wisely – Parallelism

Some of you may have noticed that the world has become multimedia.  Look around at all of the good self-promoters and there they are, killing it at every turn by capitalizing on each experience.  Not only did they land the job, but they used the job itself to self promote.  Probably in your best interest to start thinking about this as you move forward with your work.

I continue to photograph my friends.  Why?  They interest me.  And the one defining point that I make with anything personal that I do and most things professional that I do is that it should interest you somehow.  If it interests you, then you want to become involved with it.  You want to turn it around in your hands for awhile and study it.  In a way, you want to be a part of it.  This is also important as you launch yourself into work that may consume your life.  Are you really that interested in it?  If not, will it hold your attention for long enough to finish it or even make money at it?  If you’re not truly interested it…well, you’re probably just doing it for another reason.  I think that you might take some jobs just for the money.  That’s OK.  I’ve done that too.  I have to admit, though, that it takes extra energy to finish that project off well.  A lot of extra energy.

You’re just not into it.  (And sometimes, “He’s just not into you.”  But that’s another story.)

So when I photoslammed my friends, which makes for an exciting afternoon, of course I had to shoot some extra clips on the 5D Mark II and splice them together.  When I approached this little two – minute or less jobbie, I thought to myself: “Self, how do I want to arrange all of these clips?”  I knew I wanted to slam all of the RAW images together in a stop motion, but then I remembered…”Self, you gotta make them PARALLEL.”  Parallelism is a classic concept in writing and in design.  Simply stated, parallelism means like goes with like, sets go with sets, styles go with styles.  So then I set off making chunks of highlights around each person.  One friend has a motion piece, the same friend has a stop motion piece, and then that same friend has a zoom-in on a still black and white finished photograph.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

Parallelism ain’t that hard, but it can sure make a piece more coherent and add a touch of professionalism.  Enjoy.

 

 

CLIP:  ”Photo Slam Portraits”

DIRECTED:  Joel Addams

EDITED: Joel Addams

EQUIPMENT: Canon 5D Mark II, 50 mm 1.2 lens

SETTINGS: 24 fps, ISO 200

MODELS: Christian Ward, Dianne Orcutt, Jill Pettijohn, Devin Horton, Zachary Proctor

MUSIC: Creative Commons License, “Friendly Me”

LENGTH:   1:34

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO4R_tCe7ec

Joel Addams | Photography

www.joeladdams.com

YouTube Channel:  JoelAddamsPhoto

Highs and Lows of Filming “Grand Teton National Park”

As the lines between still and motion “photography” (film, really), begin to converge and the demands for multimedia are increasing, I am loving the opportunity to learn motion fast and furiously.   I will never leave the still photograph; in fact, I continue to photograph more and more, expanding my breadth of black and white into a chemical silver gelatin process and as I continue to license more and more commercial photographs.  Alongside this increase, however, the excitement of pursuing my inspiration in the documentary and commercial production is consuming a lot of my “free time.”  Recently, I collected stills and motion from Grand Teton National Park into a five minute collection of music, video, and stills to give viewers a sense of how I like to photograph one of my favorite national parks.  In so doing, though, I was reminded of some of the pitfalls and frustrations of editing motion and some of the joys of it as well.  I’ll recap:

1) Theme and storytelling.  I deliberately chose my own theme and tailored the images around that.  Since I didn’t have a particular story to tell (i.e. “Snowshoeing in Grand Teton” or the “Migration of Eagles through the Park”) I chose to focus on my own photography and tell the story of how I like to photograph the place.  Tailored, definitely.  Without a story, the random images don’t seem to hold the attention of the viewer as well.  Sure, an essay of images is OK, but a story pushes people’s interest along through to the end.

2) Relearning some basics.  It had been several months since I had pushed through on another project, so I was rusty on some of the basics.  I had a subscription to lynda.com still up, and I had to rehash many of the lessons in order to figure out why some keystrokes were not working…only to find out that I had forgotten them.  Keep up to date on your knowledge and reserve some time each day to review, edit, or learn new tricks.

3) Music.  Music can thrill or chill the crowd…often it can chill them.  Remember that if you want people to respect your copyright, you need to respect theirs.  Look for groups who will allow free downloads as long as you credit them or the music is clearly marked as able to be used.  This is important because people can actually sue you for improper uses, and it’s just bad form.  I decided to use a free download of Native American music because the Grand Teton is so steeped in the traditions of the American Indians.  I wanted something solitary since I had photographed alone there so many times and I always free pretty “out there” when I’m standing watching the weather roll in or out.

4) Ken Burns.  Need I say more?  Thank you Ken Burns for the scrolling (panning) effect that I love so much.  With the Ken Burns effect, you can show your still photography in a more interesting way, panning across it from any side and zooming in or out simultaneously.  Killer.  And easy.  Look up “Keyframing” in any search and you are set to go.

5) Don’t overestimate your tripod.  Really. Don’t.  If you’re shooting HD, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of have a really, really solid tripod.  Really solid.  I can’t tell you have many clips I’ve discarded or at least made “in” and “out” points to delete shaky sections.  The camera will settle down, but really.  Big and fat tripod, please.

The Short:  ”Photographing Grand Teton National Park”

Time: 5:22

Directed: Joel Addams

Produced: Joel Addams

Edited: You guessed it.

Equipment: Canon 5D Mark II, Gitzo Tripod, Manfrotto Video Head

The Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwOW-Re8A8c

Facebook: Joel Addams | Photography

Website: www.joeladdams.com

eNewsletter: email joel {@} joeladdams.com

Week 5-6 Wrapup – 80 DAYS OF IMAGES

As we wrap up this last week in 80 DAYS OF IMAGES, I am happy to announce that the search term “80 DAYS OF IMAGES” now has the first three spots in a Google search, which is then followed by “80 Days Around the World.”  They can have the fourth spot.  We’re content.

The last two weeks for me has been learning video.  Once the 5D Mark II came out with HD 1080p abilities,I have been dying to get my hands dirty doing some filming.  Well, I got my opportunity with an assignment from the Himalayan Kitchen in downtown Salt Lake City.  The Himalayan Kitchen is run by Surya Bastakoti and wife Carmen Fournier and staffed by some of the world’s friendliest people.  From the Tandoor Chef to the dishwasher, I wanted to portray the people in their environment and happy doing their work.  I set up in one area of the restaurant where the soft light was entering from one side and set up a continuous softbox  for my main light.  To make sure my sound was spot on during the interviews, I used a rented, expensive lavalier mic system.  The interviews went well, and there were plenty of candid moments to choose from for the final selects of film.  In addition, the “B” roll from the kitchen was probably my favorite.  There was something about filming the actual process of making this delicious Nepali and Indian food that made it so enjoyable.  Check out the promo:

Learning the Final Cut Pro enough to produce a good piece of footage was not easy.  Just learning enough to put out this video still took about 25 – 30 hours of online tutorials and trial and error.  If you are serious about learning such a program and have never cut video before, I would highly recommend subscribing to http://www.lynda.com and watching the tutorials as you produce your edit.  A note to those who use the 5D Mark II:  your footage needs to be transcoded from 29.97 to 30 frames per second.  This is important!  There is a good PDF tutorial online here if you don’t want to search about figuring how to conform this footage.  Learning new programs, new systems is what the 80 DAYS OF IMAGES is all about.  I challenged myself to learn new things every day and photograph (and now film!) more than I usually do.  Final Cut Pro and filming overall were definitely some of the more difficult things I’ve learned yet on 80 DAYS.

"Mesa Sunset" Green River Overlook, Canyonlands National Park. ©Joel Addams

The week was wrapped up last week with a fun chance to teach a workshop in Canyonlands and Arches National Park near Moab, Utah.  What a great way to spend a Saturday!  We met up for some basic instruction on Friday night for about an hour or so, and then reassembled at the crack of dawn…well, about 5 a.m. well before dawn.  We first took on the Delicate Arch from the viewpoint side and spent the time juggling the difficult light of sunrise with some Singh-Ray filters.  We moved on to Balanced Rock and then searched out some great textures near the Windows.  After an editing session and some instruction during the day, we continued on to Canyonlands National Park for an afternoon and sunset shoot on the Green River Overlook.  Winds are common at sunrise and sunset in the Moab area, and Saturday was no different.  As the air cools and heats, it moves fast up and down the canyons and we were blasted on both occasions.  The participants did a great job of keeping their cool, keeping their tripods down, and moving around to find the best compositions.  What’s the key to a great workshop?  Great participants who are flexible with the weather conditions and who really want to get out there and learn.

A participant at the Red Rocks Workshop in Moab, Utah. ©Joel Addams

"Two Stones" Green River Overlook, Canyonlands National Park. ©Joel Addams

Thanks to all who have submitted images to the 80 DAYS OF IMAGES.  Keep them coming!  Also, feel free to log into Facebook and check out the submissions people have made.  Drop a comment.  People love feedback. The 80 DAYS  OF IMAGES will continue for me in two days in Spain as I try to complete the Camino de Santiago trail across northern Spain.  Walking.  No, I’m not Catholic, I just wanted to film and photograph on a great outdoor adventure that seems to have a lot of meaning for pilgrims.  I’ll keep the Facebook updated and maybe take some shots of how you carry all your equipment on your back for such a trek.

Keep moving and keep shooting.

www.joeladdams.com

Facebook Fan Page: Joel Addams | Photography

Week 3 Wrapup – 80 DAYS OF IMAGES

"Zabriskie Point at Sunrise" Death Valley National Park in California. © Joel Addams

Several things have become apparent during this week of 80 DAYS OF IMAGES.

1) THERE ARE A LOT OF GREAT PHOTOGRAPHERS out there.  We’ve seen some good submissions come in, and by perusing websites and magazines this past week, I am always overwhelmed by the vast talent that is out there.  People will always ask me, “Do you know —  ——-?”  Usually, I don’t.  Unless they are really famous or local.  My answer is, “There are thousands of great photographers.”  And there are.  Including you.

2) THERE ARE VERY FEW PHOTOGRAPHERS who really know what their style is.  These are usually the developed and well-known professionals.  They have developed a way they shoot photographs, and they stick with it.  This gives them a distinct advantage in a branding sense; people simply know a “Nate Nelson” or a “Will Thompson” photograph when they see one.  I suppose this was not a new revelation, but it certainly has become apparent as I’ve sifted through thousands of images this week.

3) ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS will need to know multimedia.  There will always be a place for still photography, but photographers will need to know how to write copy/stories, and they will need to know how produce video for a variety of reasons.  First, the single image stock photography industry is becoming glutted with images, and the buyers are becoming less finicky about quality. This means that access to imagery can be dirt cheap if the buyer doesn’t care about everyone else branding with that same image.   Photographers will become more and more storytellers (which generally is not a part of the stock world), and part of that story is actually writing it or filming it (or paying someone else to do it for you).   Second, the use of the Web as media transmission is part of the ease and desire for more video.  Clients are beginning to ask photographers to include a 3-minute web promo or something similar.  The capability of doing that has become available with the advent of HD video in dSLRs, and it is certainly within the ability of most still photographers who can quickly learn these techniques.  Costs remain high for this, however, considering a decent setup for video can initially run the photographer $5,000 -$10,000 depending on the quality of the equipment.

4) ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS need to charge a client money.  If you have an image someone wants, please charge them for it.  Not only are you using your time and creative abilities, but you are also using your equipment (a healthy investment).  Everyone can pay something.  A great article in PDN (Photo District News) recently came out and explained how most professionals interact with the non-profit world.  Most non-profits make it sound as if they can’t pay anything, when indeed, they have a marketing budget and can sometimes reallocate funds.  Photographers don’t need to sacrifice their lives if they shoot for non-profits. They just simply need to negotiate a non-profit rate that is comfortable for both parties.  Photographers, unfortunately, are not non-profit.  My philosophy is that if you survive on another job, then all the better that you charge a reasonable industry fee, since you are not really living on that money anyway.  In the end, you will be more appreciated for your work, and you won’t continually tried to be taken advantage of.

5) GREAT IMAGES ARE EVERYWHERE.  They really are.

Keep up the submissions to me at joel@joeladdams.com.  You’re all welcome to submit two images total to 80 DAYS and we’ll draw for another print (“Illumination” Run of 45 8 x 10″ print) at 1100 fans. Keep shooting!

Website: www.joeladdams.com

Facebook: Joel Addams | Photography

First Reel – Starting Up Video Production

The Golden Gate Bridge on California's Highway 1

During the 80 DAYS OF IMAGES (now), I was finally able to buy a microphone and put my Canon 5D Mark II to use.  Check out the finished product here. The video modes themselves are very straightforward, but putting them together at the last minute (using LiveView, 1080 vs 720) is not.  Google a good tutorial and bring along your manual if you have to jump into the car before you can really sit down and read one.

Overall, I simply tried to shoot the approaches of certain scenes and lots of “B roll” or filler footage that places the story in context and moves scenes from one idea to the next.  The shotgun mic that I was using was a $200 off camera mic which worked well when there was not a tremendous amount of wind.  Those of you with more mulah mulah can go for the larger devices that have to be synced to the video in cutting stage.

Admittedly, the thing is a bit of a hack job.

First, a few mistakes:  1) I forgot to white balance the first segment where the young girl is talking in the gallery in San Francisco.  Also, the camera should be on a tripod at this point.  Even though I’m a pretty steady guy, I’m not that steady.  2) There are a lot of abrupt focal length changes and jarring movements, which could have been reduced in these instances with an Image Stabilized Lens and a tripod made for panning.  3) There is a ridiculous pause during the last self-interview that should have been edited out.

Kandyce Groesbeck uses the iPhone to capture textures in San Francisco.

A few nice points: (remember this is the first attempt at video). 1) The soundtrack is pretty good.  Ki: Theory should be checked out.  It matches the tone of the piece well and even downbeats when the girl is walking in Joshua Tree National Park.  2) The images were well placed, and keystone well (special thanks to Garrett Smith for the tutorial of http://www.hammersincphoto.com).

Some things to remember as you start up.  Don’t underestimate the cost of good equipment.  Good equipment is good.  Cheap equipment is not, and it usually won’t work out in the long run.  Canon 5D Mark II ($2700), Lens ($A lot), Mic ($200 in this case, but could run you much, much more), Computer ($500 – $2200), Final Cut Express ($200 or $1000 for Final Cut Pro).  You can start to see why professionals need to charge $10,000 for even good, short promos or much, much more, when creative fees, cutting days, and extra expenses are involved.  I would also remember to take PLENTY of shots.  If something didn’t look right in camera, it will not be right in editing.  Just shoot it again.  It’ll save oodles of time.

Thanks for checking out the video!  Pass it along to someone you care about, who is into photography, or just loves to travel.  Continue to shoot and send in your images (5 x 7.5 inches, 72 dpi) to joel@joeladdams.com.

80 DAYS OF IMAGES video

www.joeladdams.com

Joel Addams | Photography Facebook