APhotoContributor

marketing genius.

granted, i don't understand japanese corporate mentality.  i know it's different than what i know about north american and european corporate culture ...

but, seriously, canon japan was so inconceivably stupid today ... it made even me question anything they do.  that whole mark 3 bullshit coulda killed them.  only because shooters are invested in glass did a good number stick with canon.

yes, guys, totally-totally-totally remove one of the best pieces of viral marketing you could ever think of having produced.

i think that's the issue though:  they didn't think of it.

so typical of corporate idiots.

i guess by writing this i'll probably never have a cool relationship with canon japan.  whatever.

had this conversation with a friend the other day ... about photography ... about the fact you can never ever be as good as the camera you have ... about gear-allegiance. 

I'll digress.  i shot nikon for years and years and years.  i'll bet there are people younger than how long i shot nikon.  the f5 was superb.  the f4 was superb.  hell ... the f3's and fm2's and fm3a's i shot were all superb.  i always looked at canon as kinda funny looking and perhaps even cheap looking.  the nikons were solid sexy beasts.

then digital happened.  had the d1.  then the d1x.  for what it did at the time it did it ... it was amazing.  had a shutterbox go.  had it replaced.  had a few bodies go at the same time.  heard that one of the wires was moving to canon and that i should do that as well.  got a 1d and used it as the ambient body.  i liked what it did and although i thought flash sucked with canon.  the mark 2 came out and although flash still wasn't great, i went canon all the way.  ciao-ciao nikon.  nikon's digital sucked ass until only recently really.

seems as though the nikon japan people are a bit smarter than their canon counterparts.  now, at least.

the whole mark three bullshit with autofocus really hurt canon.  my friends told me endless stories about missing shots or getting the shots but the the mark 3's didn't focus correctly.  pissed a lot of people off.  in fact, i know a lot of people who now shoot nikon yet only a month or so ago there were canons on their shoulders.  dunno if the "traditional wires" will switch but i know others who may or may not have "had a better take" at the olympics ... were shooting the new nikons.

interesting that canon has the successor to a camera system PLAGUED with issues ... and they pull one of the dumbest selfish moves ... ever.

they have the chance to fire back to nikon's newest ... and ...

they do that.

since the advent of digital i have far less camera loyalty than i had in the past.  it was sad selling the f4's and getting the f5's.  even though the d1's were groundbreaking i didn't feel bad selling them nor any other digital gear after that.

don't get me wrong my 1dsm3's are amazing cameras.  i don't shoot sports ... and except for the rare spaniel running at me ... my subjects are less than fast-moving.  in fact, i don't even usually shoot canon glass so autofocus isn't as important to me as it is to MOST of my friends -- a good number, of which, are shooting nikon now.  i love love love the 5dm2 not only because of what it can do with motion but because it's a phenomenal camera ... it's the 3-series bmw of the camera world. 

they only really fail with on-camera flash.  nikon's new stuff looks pretty nice.

thing is ... i'm happy with the equipment i'm using irrespective of the manufacturer.  would i switch?  i mean ... sure ... i'd go back.  i liked nikon glass well enough.

it's funny because ... there are two brands of which i'd never switch ... leica and apple.  if you're not just "in it for the status" leica can do more for your serious photography than canon or nikon ever could.  apple just works.  pc-people can say whatever they'd like; apple kicks ass.  i know more than a few network security people who "never want to see a fuckin' windows box" at home. ;)  they know who they are.

it's funny watching canon and nikon playing the iso game right now.  i know i know i know ... 6400's amazing with the new nikons.  i haven't used the new mark 4 but i'm told it's one of the better features of the camera.  i know 3200 and definitely 1600 are pretty damn good with the 5dm2's and 1dsm3's.  i use them regularly.

i was "meh" about the mark 4.  won't be buying one.  i'd use one, though, just to see what's up.  the only camera i've been excited about in the last year is the m9.  yeah, i know ... rangefinders have weaknesses.  so the fuck what.  i guess it's easier for some to just forget about what they loved shooting to what they felt was more pragmatic to shoot.  even when the m9 wasn't around i still shot my third body which was a leica mp or whatever i felt like picking off the shelf.  the timeliness of the images may have made them a bit irrelevant at the end of the day but ... they're still images i loved making and could have only made with a rangefinder.

if you hate rangefinders, i don't care.  you can leave your pithy-ass anonymous comment.  don't give a rat's ass.

i guess what i'm trying to say is that it's so refreshing to see a camera company take a chance and really do it right ... with the m9. 

the other "noise" is just kinda funny.

and sadly stupid that they would have their heads so far up their asses because of corporate cowardice and selfishness. 

even though they fired their counterstrike to the d3s, i think i can hear that tennis umpire say "advantage nikon."  dumb move dumb asses.

because leica became so relevant again with their little wondercamera ... it continues to replace my canon ambient body more and more and more ...

i know my shoulder's happy about it.

okay ... sorry ... was just pissed tonight.

hope you're all well!

cheers from a still-warm los angeles.

-c

hype

as much as i want canon to succeed in this apparent iso-competition between canon and nikon ... it just makes me laugh.  canon announced the mark 4 today.  it's been being tested by beta-testers since at least that world soccer thing in south africa. 

from what i heard there wasn't any "buzz" -- the kind that doesn't make it on the friggin' internet -- about the video and high iso functions.  all i was hearing about was the autofocus ... seeing as how the mark 3's were ... well ... a bit less than what shooters wanted.

would i switch back to nikon?  no.  i'm not doing sports.  in as much as my friends who are "back to shooting nikon" show me the results with on-camera flash ... well ... what i have is still plenty good.

i'm not impressed by iso's in the 100,000+ range.  camera manufacturers want us all to think ... we need the newest equipment.  that's total bs.  in fact, my cameras are far better at making files than i am. 

if i were to go out and spend $10K on new golf clubs, i'd still be unable to break 100.

same thing goes for cameras.

i know that i've made a nine foot wide print with the files coming out of my 5dm2's and 1dsm3's.  21 mp is perfectly fine for the work i do.  if i need something bigger, i'll rent it.  looking forward to the time i need to use something like the s2! :)

back to iso.  back in the day film slrs would tout themselves as "the fastest," the smallest, the most feature-packed, etc., etc.  i think now it's gonna be a race to iso prominence.  i mean ... like that matters.  honestly, there's never been a shot i've missed due to my cameras not being able to shoot fast-enough isos.  i guess if you're shooting "kit glass" it could matter but i prefer shooting the fastest available glass. there's no substitute for good, fast glass.

then again, if you can't shoot, none of it really matters.

let's see what else?  oh, yeah, the 5dm2 and it's future 24/25p capabilities.  i don't believe shit i believe on the web.  having been part of the m9 project i can tell you ... the shit you see on the web is laughable.  my favourite piece of bullshit was the "the m9 will have the 5dm2 sensor" or the dude who took apart an m8 to prove it couldn't ever be full-frame.  BULLSHIT.  thing is ... even though both of the people who put that up on whatever board it was ... i'm sure they're still posting.  posting bullshit.

i'm sure they're still making horrible photos. ;)

honestly, from the film industry people i know who were using the 5dm2 on real film sets told me that the cameras came from canon but included some kind of hardware change and that at the time 24/25p couldn't be achieved with just a "firmware update."  interesting.

honestly, though, i don't know why people are so excited about 24/25p ... please tell me when you're gonna have this projected ... 'cause that's the only reason you'd want 24/25p.  i'm good with 29.97.  i just wish canon and even nikon would fucking forget this h264 bullshit.  i think they should output to apple prores 422!  do you know how much time i'd save in transcoding? ;)

get with the fucking program.  screw h264.  funny thing is that some "film expert" who's a friend of a friend told me "you can totally edit in h264."  um, sure, buddy.  you keep believing that.  funny 'cause i saw what this "film expert" shot himself and i almost threw up in my mouth.

whatever.

at least zeiss got another lens out for us canon-users!  so looking forward to both the 21 and the 28.  unsure about the 35 as i almost don't think it's gonna be wide enough to justify purchasing. dunno.  we'll see.

i'm sure you've seen laforet's latest production?  god damn do i hate linking to anything with the smugmug name in it.  that's the stupidest friggin' name on the planet.  smugmug?  fuck me.

i've been having a private conversation -- which arose from me taking something the wrong way -- with a longtime hollywood professional in the "camera department."  what i think is funny about "nocturne" is that it's a production.  yes, it's pretty to look at.  yes, it's edited beautifully. 

but can you do it?  well ... if you have a nice dolly, access to aerial stuff, rad stabilization gear, um ... a total steadicam pro and like 30 other people ... sure you can friggin' do it, too.  

i don't think that laforet has seen the cinevate stuff, surely, if he did he'd be using it ...

of course, unless, redrock has a big "marketing budget." ;)

there's this quote ... my friend dan ... one of the best grips and people i know.  he'll see something i'm working on and say "now that's gripping my friend."  i'd text him right now but i know he's sleeping as he's working nights on one of the only big-budget films shooting in town right now.

anyway ... it's this quote about how to make a movie ... and needing an army of people to accomplish it. 

just going out with "you and your friend" and a 5dm2 or 7d or whatever variant you use ... you'll never be able to do what laforet does.

ask laforet if he "focuses himself."  bet he doesn't. 

i remember going to the premiere of some movie ... as a guest.  pretty enough.  i wouldn't expect any less.  i did notice a lot of flaws which ... for me ... because i'm an asshole took away from the story.  so ... at the after-party the person who brought me says "let's go say hi to xxx."

okay.

he says "so what did you think about the film?"

knowing he's a "leica guy" i knew i could say something other than what the ass-kissers would say, "um, may i be honest?"

"of course."

"it was a nice film except for the focusing on the close-ups."

he takes me by the arm away from a sea of suits -- people i know to be disgusting talent agents.  those suits were pissed that some "nobody" was getting the ear of one of the most successful producers on the planet.

after we're away from the earshot of "the suits" ... he says "that dumb motherfucker gave me 1 to 3 takes and i told him i wanted more."

i smile.

he goes on "those were the best-focused takes even though the takes weren't all that great.  i told him to fire the 1st asst. camera and he refused."

my smile dissolved to astonishment that this dude was sharing this kind of info, "... i told him i'd never use him again."

so .. i went and checked (i meant to in the past) ... the last and only film homeboy ever worked on ... as a director ... was the film mr. producer hired him for.  i love it when someone big in hollywood is NOT full of shit.  i won't go into exactly what mr. producer said but everything he said was true.

focus is important.

we then talked 30 minutes about everything leica.  the suits were glaring the entire time and when mr. producer actually gave me a hug ... and i left ... i said to one of the suits -- of course, a really short little guy -- "bro, you got an ugly spot on your tie."

he didn't but i thought i'd fuck with him as he clearly thought mr. producer and i had a relationship that ... we did not.

what he said to me ... lives inside my brain, though, and i think about it every time i'm shooting some little project.

my next project shoots soon.

and, yes, i'll be using a professional focus-puller or 1st a.c. as they're called ...

anyone who thinks they can do what laforet did alone, is smoking something funny.  you need a fucking army.

i know that sounds very american.

but the army i'm talking about isn't the kind which prosecutes improper and illegal wars...

they just make movies.

hope you're all well.

while i'm at it ... i want to thank you guys for continuing to read my site, making comments, sending me private emails ...

you guys are the best.

what i like the best about you guys?  is that you're all good shooters ...

unlike those other sites ... who's readers are just a bunch of old white guys who can't shoot their respective ways out of paper-fucking-bags.  and, no, leica is not just a status symbol.  if you actually knew the photo business -- like you claim to -- you'd know that leica is very much in the game.  then again, you'd have to talk to real photographers and not sycophants who -- for what reason i have no idea -- kiss your ass so that you mention them in your blog.  seriously, mate, please take some pictures so that we can see that you are talented. ;)  being a high school photo teacher doesn't mean shit ... nor does a bfa in photography.  in fact, a bfa usually means you can't shoot shit.  just so you know.  photos of trees and lawn furniture ... doesn't mean shit.

okay ... gotta jump in the shower.

cheers from a partly cloudy l.a.!

-c

UPDATE:  it would appear that laforet posted a blog to answer some questions.

also, the quote i was looking for was from orson welles ... "A writer needs a pen, an artist needs a brush, but a filmmaker needs an army."true then, true today, true about the laforet videos.  no way you're doing that with 2 people. ;)

mixed bag.

since i've been on this digital-tear with the leica m9 ... well ... i think the lab has been a bit neglected as of late.  in fact, i've just looked at some scans.  there was a roll in the venerable mp, which has been giving me dirty brassed glances of late, which was shot in june and i recently finished it.  apx 25. 

it's so interesting to me ... this whole film vs. digi-thing.  a visual effects supervisor friend told me about some symposium they had about the issue in the context of cinematography.  they had every single one of the best cameras on some giant rig shooting the same thing.  one of the biggest issues was that film captures sun/light flare much-much-much better than digi any day of the week.  that was true of every camera tested ... even ones that guys like me will probably never get to operate due to cost.

it's all good.  i'm happy shooting my 5dm2.  so happy i didn't cut my motion-teeth on camcorders with results all looking like they're shot at f/8.

also ... i've scrapped all of the cavision stuff in my video bag besides the matte box ... for cinevate stuff.  the build quality of cinevate's stuff is ridiculous.  the "leaders-cough-cough" like zacuto and redrock ... well ... i'll just say nothing.  don't believe the hype.

how about an homage to mr. rockwell? ;)  should have had an nd grad filter on it, though, for a true homage and perhaps shot on velvia. ;)

ever since he called me out in his blog ... we've gotten to know each other ... and ...

he's not a bad guy.  in fact, he's pretty damn nice.  in fact, what i've really discovered is that he loves photography ... and ... i'm good with that. his photo of an oak tree's pretty nice, too.

don't think i'll be friends with the onlinephotographer-dude any time soon.  at least ken makes photos and doesn't just craft words together to impress others who ... probably can't shoot either.

the world has not ended.

not even according to the mayans. 

this was our guide at the tulum archaeological site.  he knew everything.

then again, he was a guide, right?  he should know everything about that site.  besides the shard of glass that almost punctured my foot -- not just the flip-flop -- that place is rad.

yes, i said rad.

don't care if you don't like it.

nor do i care if you like my black-bordered photos on flickr.

i think j was iguana-papping.  unsure.  the film was from june.

my memory isn't that long.

those mayans sure knew where to build a nice resort.  temple.  resort.  whatever.

same thing.

where that woman is standing is where a piece of really nasty glass almost went into my foot.  thank you reef for making flip-flops which don't allow nasty pieces of strewn glass to puncture feet. 

i don't like southern accents.

sorry.

they piss me off.

random.  i know.  but i'm in an airport and the assholes behind me are ... just annoying.

j found a friend.

damn i forgot how much i love film.

damn m9.

cancun had a very nice airport, actually.

where's waldo?

then skip forward like 3 months. ;)

had to expose those few last frames on something before i had to drive back from the icky west side to drop off at the lab.

homeboy is there every time i walk past.  every time.  i don't think he goes anywhere.

took b street-shooting.  she asked if we could go.  got an m8-two and the 1.4/24 mounted up for her and we took a metro to one of the best street-shooting hunting grounds on the planet.  hollywood blvd on a sunday afternoon.

i looked at her stuff and she actually did quite well.  most of the frames were perfectly focused.  put the auto-iso feature on.  set it on A.  started teaching her about f/stops. 

pretty cool day that was.

i even saw mj's angel.

you know it's gonna be a great day when you see mj's angel.  right?

that's bella.  we rescued her.  she stayed with us two weeks.  she ripped my heart out of my chest.

but ... her heart is all good according to our vet. :)

hadn't ever connected with a dog in the way i connected with her.  sadly, hadn't even really connected with murph the way i connected with her.

i think murph misses his playmate.

cavs play the same way.  they connect.  it's a breed-thing.  our friend says it's a royalty-thing, though.

dunno.

i do know i have more film scans to show. ;)

my friend joanna and io echo.  the venerable mp and the new wonder ... the m9 shot right next to each other.

i don't think the m9 could have handled that last photo.

digital sensors and flares aren't all that good of friends.

guess that's why i shoot both.

my right thumb gets bored shooting digital.  i could get one of those fake things people put on m8's but i don't think i will.

late-night gardening anyone?

someone needs a sensor-cleaning.

lunch.

dedicated to my austrian-homey.  dunno why but when i shot that i thought of him.

odd.

fyi.  it's apple season here.  just so you know.

those fujis are/were amazing.

not as amazing as a cavalier face, though.

juxtaposition.

was wondering where the friggin' PETA sticker was.

i love shopping-photos.

and west coast sunsets.

and bamboo.  and ... the fact my nocti doesn't back-focus any longer. :)

and the fact you can roll around l.a. and see productions everywhere.  so happy producers have tired of the false promises from detroit, boston, new mexico, south carolina, etc., etc.  bring production back to where "the professional crews" are. ;)

attn:  jon gosselin ... please go away.  attn: editors ... stop putting these douchebags on the covers of magazines ... they're not worthy.

one of the best restaurants in vegas, rm seafood.  and i love having the nocti back.

the bitch is back. ;)

she's not a bitch, though.  she's cool.  and it's fun to make fun of the same people. ;)

clean bella. :)

keeping the eye on the prize as it were.  he's like a shark. ;)

yes, light meters are still relevant.

even whilst lighting a spaniel with the new hensel lithium porty! :)

i think murph actually weighs less than the new lithium packs.

crazy-light.

even frank was in on the spaniel-tography. ;)

j ... wrangling...

the airplane is here!

hope you're all well! :)

cheers from vegas!

-c

My New Toy

About a month ago I got a package in the mail that I was absolutely stoked for. I ordered a Zeiss Ikon rangefinder camera (which to those of you who are not photographers is basically an old school film camera) and a nice fast 35mm lens. I've had it for a few weeks now and developed and scanned my first two rolls of film with them a couple days ago at my school's dark room. My first photo was, of course, a self portrait with my new camera! 

The Zeiss arrived a day before TIFF so I made a few photos of my photographer friends starting with my friend Sonia. This was after she photographed Oprah and Mariah Carey. She was actually really excited but I got her when she was feeling the effects of a week of non-stop shooting.


This is a classic Pimentel photo. I had a lot of fun with him and everyone else on the WireImage team as always.


I watched Chris' street photography video a few days before TIFF started so when I saw Mario at our hotel, I walked up to him and told him I just saw him in it. He was really fun and I'm glad I got to meet him. Here he's checking his phone after we talked for a bit while waiting for the "Whip It" premiere to start.


While waiting for a TIFF opening event to start, I grabbed a drink from a store and saw this guy hanging out. He saw my cameras and called me over and we talked about changes in weather and his dog. I think his name was Ron.


I saw this scene while going home late at night after a full day of shooting. I think this must have been around 1:30am. I didn't talk to him though, I was determined to catch a train!


I walk by this mirror almost every day. Had to make a photo with the Zeiss.


Once TIFF was over I started going to my classes and brought the Zeiss with me every day.


I like the juxtaposition between the text on his t-shirt and the environment where he is in:




I attended a lecture by a photographer to write a school paper on. I wasn't the only one that fell asleep during it. Handheld @ 1/4th of a second.


Some friends from school, Hannah and Jason:



I went street shooting with Jason one night. We chose China Town.



I wonder if this guy knew there were two people photographing him.






Went to the AGO:


Got lunch with my friend Kunaal in a food court we used to always go to during high-school:



And of course ... saw my girlfriend, Vanessa. Geeking out a bit here:


And at her res:

I'm loving this camera. It's so perfect as a camera I can take with me everywhere. I also love that it's film because it really allows me to get indulged in the art of photography not only because it's a historic process but also because I am developing it in the dark room and really involving myself in the process of creating photos. I'm really happy with the quality of photos it makes and it's, of course, really small and quiet. I've already shot a few more rolls with it since I developed these first two and can't wait to see how those look.