http://silvertrace.com Silvertrace - Creative Photography for the Arts and Entertainment Industries Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:08:00 +0000 http://snappages.com en http://silvertrace.com/blog/2012/02/22/multiple-camera-techniques-find-a-client-base http://silvertrace.com/blog/2012/02/22/multiple-camera-techniques-find-a-client-base Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:08:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2012/02/22/multiple-camera-techniques-find-a-client-base Human Locomotion Project), it was very exciting to have a chance to problem-solve a commercial job with a multiple-camera solution. Rather [...]]]> Human Locomotion Project), it was very exciting to have a chance to problem-solve a commercial job with a multiple-camera solution. Rather than 16 cameras in a studio environment, this time it was just 4 cameras we had a wrangle, but on a city rooftop!

My client needed to show the views across the Adelaide skyline for the promotional launch of a new city highrise residential development. The images needed to be able to be projected large onto 4 massive screens surrounding a rooftop bar set in a city theatre. The idea was that the guests could exerience an immersive highrise city view whilst sipping cocktails at ground-level. Rather than just 4 spectacular still views I suggested a timelapse of the 4 views, synchronised so that wherever you looked in the theatre you'd see an authentic simultaneous view. They loved the idea, so we got onto making it happen. After scouting a few rooftops, we decided on one that offered easy and simple access, power, and excellent views.



Above is a snap of some of our kit bags on the rooftop. We hired 4 Canon 5D Mark IIs from Urban Cine, who were brilliant at sourcing the 16mm focal length lenses we needed across the 4 cameras. We also hired 4 sturdy tripods with spirit levels, which in the end proved so tricky to set up it took longer to set up the tripods than streamlining the settings on all 4 cameras! After fiddling for ages with the tripods in the ever-changing lighting conditions I just couldn't wait to start shooting! I set the cameras up at 100 ISO shooting in Aperture Priority mode to maintain a consistent and stable image across the timelapse, set at f16. Using the Grid overlay in live view I was able to get the horizon line reasonably similar from 4 quite distant positions on the rooftop. I have to admit that when we first started planning the shoot it was going to be from a crane suspended above the city (wow!!) but I was worried about the stability of the crane (I'm guessing it might wobble in the wind?) and it required some days of induction and we couldn't afford the time. So what was going to be a 360 degree pivotal panorama turned out to be 4 quite remote viewpoints.



The camera synchronisation was achieved using a custom built controller. Peter Stanley from Kranium designed and built the cotroller so be very easy to use, allowing us to reset the duration between shots as we worked. We started with a 2-minute interval (I wanted to shoot with 20s intervals but the client didn't want hundreds of images because they were going to be run manually with image fades using some kind of VJ equipment). and ended up with a 5 min interval at night to accommodate the much longer shutter speeds that resulted. The controller was absolutely brilliant, positioned centrally on the rooftop with 10m cables to the various cameras. The 4 5Ds were synchronised this way, and I also ran 2 Nikons using the built-in intervalometer in the D700 to get a more ambitious timelapse.



Above is the timelapse shot with a D700. The Canon images were delivered to the client in 4 folders with corresponding filenames and were projected successfully on the night. I have been sent some documentation from Rann Communication who did the event management, so here are some shots from the event (photographer: Bryan Charlton). The set design is by the brilliant Morag Cook, and the event is the Mandala Developments party!





So, here are the images synchronised into a little timelapse on the one screen. This was done in Adobe Premiere and was really simple to achieve - so I am encouraged to do a lot more with this simple technique to generate a multiple-viewpoint timelapse as a panorama. Now, I just need more clients to tackle multiple camera work to continue exploring and experimenting with what can be achieved for a very reasonable cost!

Thanks to Peter Stanley for technology development and assisting! Thanks to Urban Cine for their continued support of my multiple camera projects. Thanks to Morag Cook for believing in me :)

]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2012/01/26/a-busy-week-in-the-studio http://silvertrace.com/blog/2012/01/26/a-busy-week-in-the-studio Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:29:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2012/01/26/a-busy-week-in-the-studio Aesha who is the grand-daughter of the incredible actor Nicholas Hope. Hope contacted me to shoot Aesha for a modelling portfolio, so we shot as many images as we could to give her a range for a [...]]]> Aesha who is the grand-daughter of the incredible actor Nicholas Hope. Hope contacted me to shoot Aesha for a modelling portfolio, so we shot as many images as we could to give her a range for a 'comp card'. I'd like to have shot a greater diversity of backgrounds and maybe some location work, but we did what we could. Aesha is not Adelaide-based but I hope to be able to shoot some location images for her next time she's in town. I kept the lighting very simple for a clean and elegant look.



Next shoot was for Zephyr Quartet, who are doing a show with visual artist Jo Kerlogue. 'Micro Macro' needed some publicity shots and the idea was for one of the musicians to lie on the floor whilst Jo created an image around her. I liked the idea of using the opportunity to create a little timelapse piece which would capture the way Jo improvises her work, and the production of the image for the photograph. However, the angle was a bit awkward with my camera attached to a counter-weighted lighting boom and I didn't have enough time to rig it as I would have liked (tethered capture via a laptop, and rigged using a superclamp on a boom directly overhead). We shot the scene anyway with the rigged camera set to shoot a frame every 3 seconds (using the built-in intervalometer) while I shot a range of lower angles and set up a few ideas during Jo's creation. After that we shot a few portraits with some new ideas and at the end set up another quick stop-motion shoot to explore the moving image idea in a different way. Here are some of the results.



This is the second moving image piece - it was an interesting idea to shoot 'portrait' for a traditional landscape frame. I resolved it by creating a black canvas for the work so that Jo Kerlogue could edit it with sound and text for the final promo. The final piece with sound can be seen on Nonchalant Sally's facebook page. I will post the aerial timelapse as soon as I finish working on it..



Shoot # 3 for the week was for long-time collaborator and friend Billie Cook - a dance artist who is working on a new piece with Gabrielle Nankivell as a mentor. The work is titled 'Mound of Dirt' and these shots were documentation of one of her studio sessions with Gabrielle in Leigh Warren's studio in Adelaide. I lugged some lighting up the stairs but in the end I went with straight available light, even though the light varied considerably at the ends of the room versus the centre. That kept me on my toes, as I was shooting in manual because of the large windows I was often shooting into, creating a lot of backlight. I chose to shoot with a long lens for the entire shoot rather than having to get close to the dancers as they worked (fly on the wall style). Great fun! Here are some results...





Shoot #4 for the week was shot on a really HOT day in a small forest on the property of a winery in the Adelaide Hills. Another dance shoot, this one was for dancer Lisa Lonero who is a fellow South African living in Australia. She has an upcoming Fringe show that she needed some promotional imagery for. She looked amazing as a Zebra (!) for her work based on a Zebra Crossing, and we worked with some choroegraphy but mostly just documenting her improvised movement in the location. Besides the massive forest mosquiotoes who were devouring us both, we had a great shoot. There are deer roaming the forest and it is a magical spot - this is the 'theatre' for Lisa's site specific show so it will be great for audiences to experience. I worked with a long lens at first, thinking the compression of the space would work well, but after a while I thought it might be fun to shoot ultra-wide and that' resulted in the more magical shots. Here are some results...





And so to the final shoot of the week - this one for producer Mark Patterson doing stills for his ABC TV documentary 'Olympic Dreams'. I photographed Paralympic Equestrian athlete Grace Bowman with her horse Rolly. It was almost 40 degrees so we decided to shoot the portraits in a huge hayshed at Kirby Park Stud, where it was quite pleasant. Grace was amazing to shoot - very natural and lively, and Rolly was just a beautiful horse - their bond was evident and there are some great shots of the 2 of them. I don't know if I can publish these shots until the ABC broadcasts the program as I am usually bound by contract to restrict when images can be used in my portfolio. Here is a funny snap of Rolly getting to know the microphone, and a cute snap of a kitten who was hanging around the hayshed..



Overall, a fun, interesting and busy week of diverse shoots. Bring on more weeks like this please for 2012..

]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2012/01/11/resolution-to-post-more-often http://silvertrace.com/blog/2012/01/11/resolution-to-post-more-often Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:20:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2012/01/11/resolution-to-post-more-often
Since my last post - wow! 2011 was a really amazing year, especially the latter part which is probably why my blog has been silent - just too busy with a really diverse [...]]]>
Since my last post - wow! 2011 was a really amazing year, especially the latter part which is probably why my blog has been silent - just too busy with a really diverse range and projects and exciting colleborations. The HIGHLIGHT was really the opportunity to shoot work for a new screen dance development working with the incredible choreographic facilitator Carol Wellman Kelly and the amazing dancer Lisa Grififths. We worked on a piece titled 'The Human Locomotion Project' which has it's own blog, so check it out here..We were able to work with an amazing technical team to shoot Time Slice ('Bullet Time') sequences with an array of 15 cameras - pretty exciting stuff. I will post more about it as the edit progresses.

Here's a shot from the project..



I also worked on a residency at Flinders Medical Centre, shooting timelapse work as a moving image snapshot of what goes on in the hospital - pretty intense and fascinating stuff. The outcomes of this work will be shown during the Adelaide Fringe Festival. I also worked on a project called 'Word on the Street' which was a more documentary-style project in the city, working with artists Steve Noonan and Sandy Elvard. On top of that I continued working with a diverse range of clients on commercial photography, including corporate client Maxxia along with the usual range of creative clients including the Adelaide Fringe. It was fantasic to combine architectural work for Maxxia with portaits of their Adelaide staff. Here are a few shots from that shoot. The Adelaide Icons were used for a tender that Maxxia was delivering, to show their commitment to Adelaide.



On the creative side, here are some images shot for performer for Steve Sheehan as publicity images for his show 'Stevl Shefn and his Translator Fatima'...I was giggling so much during the shoot because Steve is genuinely hilarious, and this show is soooo funny.





I also shot the annual Ausdance SA Xmas Dance Spectacular show in Rundle Mall. Here are a few shots from that show - always a huge challenge to shoot, but I do really enjoy trying to capture the diversity, energy and range of styles presented.



January 2012 is shaping up nicely given I'm only working for a couple of weeks this month, and then heading off to the Island for a week. I have taught my first Lightroom workshop - at the Centre for Creative Photography in early January. It's really exciting to branch into teaching Lightroom. It broadens the range of my photography teaching to complement my teaching in Digital Photography and photographic styles & history.

This month will so far also see a model portfolio, another shoot for Zephyr Quartet, and a shoot with dancers Billie Cook and Gabrielle Nankivell. I am also editing the first 'vignette' from the Human Locomotion Project, which is very exciting. So, more posts more ofen this year - hoping for another fun year of creative and challenging photography and moving image work :)xx

]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/07/26/a-brilliant-new-opportunity http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/07/26/a-brilliant-new-opportunity Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:20:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/07/26/a-brilliant-new-opportunity
The design as it stands is really simple - but I have some new ideas which are a little more complex. However, until I can secure more funding for the set, I feel I can't really let my imagination run wild. I have applied to 2 more funds for support, and have also had the project listed with AbaF (Australian Business Arts Foundation) to be able to raise funds via donations. The good thing about this set is that once it's built I can develop the project further and it can be used in the final stage of production - making work for an exhibition of moving image works at Obscura Gallery (Melbourne) in 2012.



The Human Locomotion Project

I will be working with dancers Lisa Griffiths (pictured above) and Adam Synnott. They are currently presenting 'Side to One', a new work at the State Theatre's 'Space Theatre' (I'm looking forward to seeing this on Saturday night - girls' night out!). Also on board is choreographic facilitator Carol Wellman Kelly, who is well known for her work as Assistant Director for Garry Stewart and Australian Dance Theatre for 8 years. We also have a brilliant data wrangler and editing assistant in Cleland Jones.

Although I am primarily as stills photographer, I have dabbled in moving image work for the past few years. This project reflects on the movement studies that Eadweard Muybridge did in the 1880s using multiple cameras. We will be using his images as inspiration for new movement and new moving image works, to be shown on screen but also in flip-books and lenticular prints. We have the support of Flinders University's Digital Media department with access to their multi-camera rig to explore bullet time's orbital viepoint, and are also working with Uni SA's anthropometric scanner to explore 3D mapping of the dancers.

Because this project is so technologically heavy, it is quite an expensive endeavour. But it will undoubtedly create an environment for unique and innovative imagery and ideas. We are currently looking for project supporters, and any donations are tax deducible thanks to AbaF. For more information, please check out our project page here, or go to AbaF's website to view more about the project and how to donate.

I am so excited about this project - it will really push me as an image maker into brand new territory. With enough support I will also be able to create the infrastructure for a camera array rig with associated hardware and software, which could support other artists to explore multi-dimensional image making, including bullet time.

]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/07/02/working-on-film-sets http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/07/02/working-on-film-sets Sat, 02 Jul 2011 21:09:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/07/02/working-on-film-sets
I've been trawling through backup drives and Lightroom catalogues, through [...]]]>
I've been trawling through backup drives and Lightroom catalogues, through negative sleeves in storage, and through boxes of rejected transparencies. I had quite a tight deadline so in the end I delivered 95% digital files, with only a few images scanned from neg / print. There just wasn't the time to adequately digitise these images for their consideration. It's interesting how inaccessible my reasonably well archived film work really is, in this day and age. Everything is needed "yesterday", and with digital turnaround times so well established in client expectations, the film work remains largely un-recognised. I just know there are some real gems in there, reflecting not only a variety of styles of photography but of course telling stories about what happens on set, what a 'behind-the-scenes' looks like behind the veneer of various fictions, and also what moments were caught 'off-camera' by another camera lurking on set.

When I first started working in film & television, I always captured a good range of 'on set' images, driven by my interest in capturing the special nuances of what unfolds before my lens, and by my sincere passion for observation - and enjoying the complex interpretation that is possible of that observed moment. I have found recently that producers actually request that limited crew photos are delivered, or that only very specific images are requested. I must say that this has impacted on how I shoot on set, and I generally shoot less digital 'on set' work now than when I was shooting transparency film! This image of Cinematographer Roger Dowling is still one of my favourites, shot on B&W film on set for the first seies of Chuck Finn. It was such a different world back then. I remember cruising around on set with at least 3 cameras, having to be equipped at all times with low ISO for daylight and high ISO for interiors, as well as good ol' HP5 Plus 400 ISO, and the obligatory Hoya 25A for B&W opportunities.

It is actually quite a surreal world on a film set. The intricacies of what has to happen before the camera rolls is just amazing. It has to be said that often the last person anyone wants to see is the stills photographer, who is pretty much the only person on set (besides the publicist) who is not a cog that needs to be in place for 'action' to be called. The photographer is generally considered to be a nuisance (which is one of the many reasons I often use a long focal length and lurk like a papparazzi photographer) and no one likes to hear the clicking of the shutter during a rehearsal where the actors are forced to endure being in costume despite the unfavourable weather conditions! It takes a pretty thick skin to get the shots some of the time. But when I am working with a good publicist, and when the director and producer are both focussed on the importance of shit-hot stills for their distribution/release publicity, it is just the best job in the world. I LOVE the opportunity to be in incredible locations at the best times of the day. I love the people, and we do have a wonderful family of filmmakers in South Australia, who are generally friendly, fun, considerate and supportive of one another's various pressures. I love the challenge of getting shots that resonate with the complexity of the narative, and the challnge of doing this against all odds. And I love observing the unfolding of a new truth as the script comes to life before the silent crew as the sun sets on a new drama / romance / comedy.











]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/07/02/recent-work http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/07/02/recent-work Sat, 02 Jul 2011 13:50:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/07/02/recent-work
The past couple of months have been busy with a couple of unusual projects for me, with much of my time taken by 2 'residencies'. One [...]]]>
The past couple of months have been busy with a couple of unusual projects for me, with much of my time taken by 2 'residencies'. One is an ongoing residency at Flinders Medical Centre, where I am working on a group arts project as a timelapse artist. It is very interesting working with my cameras with movement in mind, and what has been most interesting has been that my approach to timelapse has had to be very different to the usual shoots. Rather than using an intervalometer and locking off a shoot for a few hours / days at a time, this project involves lots of fast shooting and changing camera angles and lenses to follow the action of what is happening at the hospital. It is fantastic working with the other artists, including a musician, video artist and visual artist. This project will continue over the next few months, so stay posted for information about that..

The other project has been at Flinders University working as an artist in residence, again with a number of other artists across various disciplines. Co-incidentally, this is another job where I have been engaged as a timelapse /moving-image maker. This has just completed, and it was really interesting to work in the university environment.

In terms of shoots, some interesting bits and pieces have been happening. Highlights include another shoot for Zephyr Quartet, shooting some promotional images for a new collaboration coming up with a singer (see left). We chose to shoot at Himeji Gardens in the Adelaide Parklands, a delightfully serene place to spend a morning. Despite the contrasty light, we shot entirely with natural light and it was a simple and fun shoot.

The images required some variable location options, so we also shot in the nearby parklands for a more simple Australian landscape.

I always travel with location lighting options for shoots, but I have to say that unless there is enough time to play with lighting setups, this is usually the less practical option. It's far more flexible and spontaneous to be able to shoot au-naturale.



I have also shot the public performace for Dance week, presented by Ausdance SA. I always find these shoots really challenging, and this time I really blended the 3-hour shoot styles between 'natural' (that is, pretty awful gelled theatre lighting, ghastly colours and totally variable in brightness across the stage), and flash. I found that flash worked well for some some performers and not others. Trying to make the flash work effectively with the volatile stage lighting was pretty interesting! Nonetheless, there were some great results!



AND IN THE STUDIO...

I've been shooting fashion (on a charismatic mannequin) for renowned graphic designer David Zhu, whose client is launching a new range of sleepwear for women aged 45+. We have shot a range of garments for a brochure, and will be shooting the clothing on models in the next couple of weeks for his client's new website.

We had a slightly more complex lighting setup planned, but in the end we streamlined the lighting for all garments for ease of graphic layout, and worked with a simple black background. Despite the simplicity of the style of lighting, we still managed to work with 4 lights and a huge variety of cutters!

I so enjoy working in the studio and with winter setting in, I am certainly pitching for more studio shoots.





STAY TUNED.. I will be announcing an exciting opportunity for local artists to get their headshots done at the studio over the month of July..!

]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/03/24/far-too-long http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/03/24/far-too-long Thu, 24 Mar 2011 13:37:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/03/24/far-too-long
One of my recent shoots has been for Jason Cross and his wonderful project 'Three Men in a Tub'. We shot the actors on the incredible motorised vessel on a scorchingly bright day, and I was able to use my speedlights to fill the shadows to an impressive degree. Here are a few pictures from that shoot::







We wanted to do the shoot on location (rather than in the rehearsal yard) but that wasn't practical. In order to explore the idea of the travellers having traversed the globe I have done a rough montage with a couple of landscapes to see how they work. Here is an example. The extraction is really rough, an dthe perspective is wrong - but I'll tidy it up a lot more when we decide which way to go, but it's prabably a bit more playful this way.



I will post some more reacent shoots as soon as I get some time. The past week has been gloomy, cold and rainy. I have been out in the rain shooting all week and am starting to miss the summer we didn't really have!

Later.

]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/02/07/a-group-portrait-puzzle http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/02/07/a-group-portrait-puzzle Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:32:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/02/07/a-group-portrait-puzzle
The location ended up being a 'nice wall' - it did have fabulous colours and textures but ultimately I find that 2-dimensional locations like this are very difficult to work with for composing groups. I would have loved to have done the shoot in one of my scouted spots, but maybe next time? Anyway, we did a few setups and had a fun time. At the end of the shoot I pursuaded the group to let me try a little idea. I wanted to play with the idea of QUARTET and shot a simple group arrangement in four sections to be pieced together later like a puzzle. This would be very easy to do in post by simply cutting an entire image into four parts, but I liked the idea of the parts not quite fitting together to add complexity and interest to the frames (maybe not comceptually rigorous but still fun). It was quite tricky to make the parts work well together. Unfortunately the elongation and distortion to the figures and instruments were a little compromising to the integral beauty of the musicians.



The group's agent doesn't like the funky edges but when I got rid of them it didn't look as interesting. Maybe it's just too contrived but I think these sorts of experiments are worth pursuing, even if they are not ultimately successful. It's all a good learning experience and rather fun.

The image has been desturated in 2 adjustment layers and, using masks, I have varied the saturation across each frame to slightly emphasise the instruments.

]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/01/31/liquid-photography http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/01/31/liquid-photography Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:42:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2011/01/31/liquid-photography


The trickiest thing was having to tread water whilst trying to shoot - basically impossible. The cinematographer was well kitted out with snorkel, weight-belt and flippers and seemed well able to move around as required and shoot the footage. I was splashing about like a drunk seal and found that I couldn't see through the viewfinder AT ALL if I tried to shoot with my head underwater. Not a great start. Luckily there were a few lilos floating about and I dragged myself onto one and hung onto it like a nearly-drowned rat. So much for years of scuba training and total water confidence - dashed in minutes!

Well, from the relatively comfortable position of the lilo I found I was indeed able to shoot down into the water and see what I was doing. The DiCaPac was truly awkward to use - I struggled to use the zoom barrell on the lens and often couldn't locate the shutter release if I took my finger off it to reposition myself on the lilo. I relied on autofocus and was constantly shifting the focus points as the toggle was relatively accessible.



The dancer is Alison Currie, and she was simply amazing - really patient and consistent, and she worked tirelessly in the cold to get the footage required. The cinematographer was Dan (from danimations) and he did a great job from what I could assess - his vantage points from the bottom of the pool would have offered a much more dreamy and interesting perspective, and I was conscious that the lilo vantage point was compromising. But in the end I think the stills are quite effecive (they did need some post adjustment - especially in the tonality and colour). Any shots used should have the black lines in the pool eliminated, but for now they are workable and I am happy with my first efforts at shoting underwater. Next time I'll kit up and would consider a less bouyant camera housing..



]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/21/photographing-dance http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/21/photographing-dance Tue, 21 Dec 2010 00:35:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/21/photographing-dance
I've just completed work on the hundreds of images I shot at the Ausdance SA Xmas Spectacular Dance Show, which is performed annually in Rundle Mall. I have been shooting these events for Ausdance for a few years now, and I am amazed how different the images are from year to year, even with some of the same performers appearing every year. It is a huge technical challenge for me, and I feel like I've danced the hours away at the end of it, with aching arms from wielding my camera gear non stop for 3 hours.

It is difficult to predict what is about to happen on stage, and much of the shooting is intuitive in terms of lens selection, and of course exposure settings. I sometimes shoot with shallow depth of field to isolate a performer, and my shutter speeds dance between 1/8 and 1/500 in a fairly improvised choreography. For wider shots of ensemble work I work with a smaller aperture if I can, and use flash intermittently by choice, and towards the end of the gig by necessity.

This shoot my flash settings were all over the place and I found myself working in TTL with really varied results. I tried A but the results were as inconsistent. I pretty much always work in manual camera exposure with flash and adjust my flash exposure from situation to situation. I really love shooting this gig because of my proximity to the stage, and although my low vantage point often results in awkward compositions, sometime it offers interesting shots like this with the dancer hovering above the viewer.



]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/lately http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/lately Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:01:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/lately
I have been rather quiet on the blog front of late, and since both computers are busy exporting job files and importing images from this morning's shoot I find myself with some time to write - so in a way this will be a bit of a summary of the various activities that the Silvertrace shooter has been engaged in [...]]]>
I have been rather quiet on the blog front of late, and since both computers are busy exporting job files and importing images from this morning's shoot I find myself with some time to write - so in a way this will be a bit of a summary of the various activities that the Silvertrace shooter has been engaged in over the past few weeks.

Hmm, where to start? If I look over at my whiteboard I can see a list of jobs shot that still need to be invoiced - that's the best way for me to gauge my level of activity. It's a too-long list so needless to say my credit card is being well resourced to cover me until I get time to do the paperwork!

This is actually a very good reflection of the range of jobs I tend to do!

• Ausdance Choreolab
• Ingrid Voorendt Headshots
• Australian Central Credit Union / Savings & Loans Corporate Shoot
• Port Adelaide Enfield Council - Corporate Plan Portraits
• Ausdance Fresh Bred Poster & Headshots
• Steve Sheehan - Fringe Show Poster Shoot
• Flinders Drama Centre Graduating Show
• Rachael Pitman - mentoring
• Unley Museum 1940s Fashion Show

Looking at the list I love the fact that there are corporate jobs mixed in with contemporary dance, fashion, theatre and actors / directors headshots. And I love shooting that range - each shoot has been great fun for me and the various challenges do, as always, keep me on my toes (given my stature this is a good thing!) It's interesting to note that only 1/5th of the jobs (approx) were shot at my studio. I think it does reflect a trend for location-based work (or portable studio jobs) but I still really value having a great space to shoot in, and maintain that although I could survive without this space by hiring other studios, it gives me such a solid functionality to have a reliable, available and versatile space for both intimate and larger jobs. The ability to stamp my character on the space itself is also really important to me, and having the gallery setup to show my work is also very satisfying.

Possibly a highlight from the range of jobs above was the shoot for Steve Sheehan's Fringe show. We had scheduled a studio shoot followed by a location shoot, but about 5 minutes before the shoot Etsa popped in to say that they would be cutting the power to the building for about 20 minutes. We were hoping for overcast skies and looked outside to see the clouds starting to clear so decided to go straight to the location and come back later for the studio part. We go to the location to a clear sky with bright contrasty light! I had planned to use my speedlights to fill any bright sunlight we might get, and they did a good job at filling the hard shadows during the main shoot. Then we decided to just shoot the 'headshots' on location as well, so I started to play with a flash dominate ratio to underexpose the background. I loved the way that setup could create a day-for-night look, and we had a blast shooting the last images of the day. Going through the shots the next day with the director/actor, it was interesting to see that the images he selected initially were in fact the fun unplanned shots we had taken at the end of the shoot.





Another fun shoot was a portrait shoot with theatre director Ingrid Voorendt. We shot a huge range of 'looks' for her headshot and she is just such a fabulous person with a great presence. Again, it's the shot at the end of the shoot that I love the most. My stepson Hal was with me at the studio and had his cricket gear with him, so at the end of the shoot Ingrid donned the cricket helmet and we got a few 'bonus' shots. I wish I'd had time to make some changes to the lighting but we were both in a rush so this was a quick snap.

This week I have started work on a new TV series for SBS, but I can't post any images yet (possibly until the series runs on TV). It's a fantastic shoot visually and the BEST part for me as a stills photographer is that I can shoot through the takes because all of the sound will be done in post. Brilliant! Usually it's tricky because I need to shoot rehearsals, which are often performed at lower energy or less intensity; OR I need to arrange setups, which can be great but are always compromised by the shifted awareness of the performer from the scene to the stills camera.

]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/exploring-hdr http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/exploring-hdr Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:47:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/exploring-hdr
I have been teaching an Advanced Digital Photography course at Tafe, so that has absolutely absorbed my time over the past couple of week in reparation & planning as it's a new course that we are designing on the fly. It's going well though. In preparation for an HDR unit, I have been playing with HDR. As [...]]]>
I have been teaching an Advanced Digital Photography course at Tafe, so that has absolutely absorbed my time over the past couple of week in reparation & planning as it's a new course that we are designing on the fly. It's going well though. In preparation for an HDR unit, I have been playing with HDR. As much as I don't really love the HDR "look", especially as it comes out of Photomatix, it's rather like an addiction. You know it's bad for you but you just can't help pushing the tone mapping to a point that's good for the soul but bad for the body. Also playing with night photography which could also prove addictive if it wasn't for the cold nights and bad circulation. Here are a few HDR deviations, in progress..Yikes, they look bloody awful! Photoshop does a much more subtle job, but it's hard to drink water when you've had a taste of Vodka.





]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/corporate-profiles http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/corporate-profiles Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:45:00 +0000 http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/corporate-profiles
Today I shot a corporate group and individual shots of executives and board members. I despise white paper backdrops and resent having to use them. With just minutes to set up my little studio on an empty floor in a little Adelaide city low-rise, I wish I'd had time to implement the lighting I would have liked, [...]]]>
Today I shot a corporate group and individual shots of executives and board members. I despise white paper backdrops and resent having to use them. With just minutes to set up my little studio on an empty floor in a little Adelaide city low-rise, I wish I'd had time to implement the lighting I would have liked, but that's the way it goes. Set up, shoot, pack up, post. The executives warned smugly that the board would be conservative and stiff. In contrast, most of them were vibrant, interesting and rounded characters, and I actually enjoyed the shoot from that perspective. I have to learn to live with the lighting and the fact that I didn't have the time I would have liked. The story of my life..

OK, gotta prep for my class and teach about lighting and posing groups. Fun!

]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/hendrik-kerstens http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/hendrik-kerstens Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:39:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/hendrik-kerstens
I popped into the Art Gallery on the weekend and in the bookshop I found an overpriced but wonderful book of portraits by Hendrik Kerstens. This work has always struck a cord for me and I have made a little note to look further into it (and find the book at a better price).

Kerstens says, "The thing [...]]]>
I popped into the Art Gallery on the weekend and in the bookshop I found an overpriced but wonderful book of portraits by Hendrik Kerstens. This work has always struck a cord for me and I have made a little note to look further into it (and find the book at a better price).

Kerstens says, "The thing that fascinates me in particular is the way a seventeenth-century painting is seen as a surface which can be read as a description of everyday life as opposed to the paintings of the Italian Renaissance, which usually tell a story. Northern European painting relies much more on craftsmanship and the perfect rendition of the subject. In this, the use of light is instrumental.” (http://www.beautylabny.com/blog/2009/12/30/hendrik-kerstens-paula-pictures/). Indeed. His work screams 17th century Dutch Masters but very cleverly locates the work in contemporary times using signifiers of consumer waste. Love it. Will explore this further and look forward to reading the book and enjoying the thread of these ideas in his work.

]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/quadra-ranger-a-exploration http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/quadra-ranger-a-exploration Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:35:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/quadra-ranger-a-exploration
This week I've been a bit obsessed with Strobist culture - I feel a bit like a trespasser, lurking on a few topics looking in curiously and dreaming about participating. I want to throw myself into playing with light on location, I just LOVE the idea of taking control and finding a new voice in location lighting. [...]]]>
This week I've been a bit obsessed with Strobist culture - I feel a bit like a trespasser, lurking on a few topics looking in curiously and dreaming about participating. I want to throw myself into playing with light on location, I just LOVE the idea of taking control and finding a new voice in location lighting. It looks easy and totally achievable but I just need time to play. So I hired the Quadra Ranger A kit from Total Photo and took it to the kids' footy on the weekend. The trickiest part was setting up the gear in a nice spot without exposing the equipment to possible damage by flying balls and children. So I waited till pretty much the end of the game which didn't leave me enough time to get my settings sorted before I was suddenly having to shoot the enthusiastic line of boys ready for their headshot! So trial by fire. I used an ND8 and polarising filter, and since I didn't have time to figure the exposure comp using my light meter before shooting, I guessed exposures and worked at f2.8 / f4 and between 1/125 - 1/250. Seemed OK on the screen after some fiddling with the settings on the Ranger unit. I'm sure these are not what the parents had in mind when I offered to take some shots after the game, but this is what resulted. Inconsistent, over-vignetted in a rush so will refine the post when I get a chance.



]]> http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/exploring-500-photographers http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/exploring-500-photographers Wed, 08 Dec 2010 15:22:00 +0000 Sam Oster http://silvertrace.com/blog/2010/12/08/exploring-500-photographers
I set myself few goals last week - one was to spend some time looking through 500 Photographers.com, and I found that a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. I was quite inspired by Joey Lawrence - less the images that are featured than the video interview of him at dailymotion.com [...]]]>
I set myself few goals last week - one was to spend some time looking through 500 Photographers.com, and I found that a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. I was quite inspired by Joey Lawrence - less the images that are featured than the video interview of him at dailymotion.com (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xc06kr_joey-l-1_creation#from=embed) - I showed his website to a friend of mine who is also a commercial photographer and photo-based artist. He was less impressed and thought his work was too tricky - with a fake HDR look.

What I like about his approach is the highly constructed lighting, especially when applied to remote tribal portraits. We are so used to seeing the organic, raw images of that kind of subject matter that pretend to be very objective and 'real'. I think it is more honest in some ways to acknowledge the construction of a portrait - the awareness of the subject, the 'contract' between subject and photographer. At the same time Joey L takes control of the situation in terms of light to construct the image with his own character / signature. I can see why people might have an issue with that - does the photographer's needs have to overshadow those of the subject? It seems to me that he is appropriately engaged with his subjects and their culture to have the permission needed to make these sorts of images. His work is not so far in approach to that of Richard Avedon's in some ways I guess? But far less simple and seemingly more connected. Very exciting.



There are other photographers whose work I connected with on the site but I need to spend more time exploring their work.

In terms of my shooting, only shot lighting tests with my Portraiture 1 students last week. It reminds me that I would like to do a technical lighting test shoot looking at the various light modifiers so that I can make better decisions about selecting the right one/s, intuitively. It's crazy I know, but I do enjoy doing that kind of thing.

A friend lent me Michael Grecco's "Lighting and the dramatic portrait" book. I read 65 pages on the weekend over a cuppa. At first it looked rather bland - I don't love his work, but there are a few good elements to the book. Reminds me how important a technical foundation is in photography - know and understand the rules of optics before abandoning formulaic lighting and responding with intuition. It also remonds me that to teach lighting you need not only to understand it but also to be able to communicate effectively about i t. I have lots yet to learn, which is still very exciting.

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