Triathlete Cover / Time Lapse

Got a call a few months ago from Nils Nilsen, photo editor at Triathlete Magazine. They were wrapping a complete redesign and wanted to create something special for the cover.  The new design was scheduled to launch in the lead up to the Ironman in Kona this October.

Nils and his crew somehow managed to wrangle 8 of the best triathletes in the world, and brought them together for a shoot on the stage of a beautiful 100 year old theater.  [Click to enlarge]:

Nils is a Brookie that knows his way around a camera, and was nice enough to shoot and edit a killer time lapse video of the whole shoot:

This was a pretty full day that required many days of planning.  Even then, the shoot itself was only about 20 minutes long.  Goes to show it's all about prepro.....

Thanks to everyone involved for pulling this together, as well as Dan @ Danklife, Wes @ LA Digital Assistant, Dillon, and the whole crew.

24 Hours of Winnipeg

Got a call from ESPN at 10am on Thursday to do a shoot at 10am on Friday.  In Winnipeg.

This is for anyone that thinks traveling for work is really glamorous.

New Yorker Vids

It's always nice to see video pieces that utilize stills in a way that provides more weight and substance than is possible with motion.  Like this short video piece by Benjamin Lowy for the The New Yorker.  It's a great use of stills, and it's nice to hear the writers voice as well.  This was especially powerful after having read the article:

And this made me laugh. Especially the guy in the neckbrace:

Emily and Me, down in the Valley

Emily Shur is very good at making pictures.  She is also an excellent writer.  I always love catching up on her blog.

Here is an honest post about the difficulties of what we do, and how it can force us into some pretty uncomfortable spots.

The last few years weren't awesome for me either.  I'm not criscrossing the globe with a huge crew in tow, shooting global ad campaigns.   I'm spending a lot of time reading, writing, sketching in my journal, checking my compass, and trying to figure out where I want to go.  It has been hard, and I've been losing sleep, but I am making progress.

It's always nice when someone else has the clarity to put something you've been feeling into words.  Especially when it's something that you've been struggling with, and are confused by, but haven't quite put a finger on. 

Thanks to Emily for adding some perspective. 

Films we love: Sweetgrass

Sweetgrass is stunning, wild imagery mixed with rich, interesting sound.  Not too much talking or camera movement.  The life comes from the unique subject.  Each shot tends to last just long enough to make you uncomfortable, at which point you notice a few more things, which leads to a deeper connection with the film.

Scene that's not to be missed: slow pan of a sweeping mountain view while we hear a cowboy sobbing to his mother over his mobile phone. 

But this is just one of many mind blowing scenes.  Overall, it's a completely immersive work of art.

And it came at a price.  From the producer's statement:  "When Lucien got down from the mountains that fall, he was unrecognizable – bearded beyond belief, 20 lbs lighter, carrying a ton of footage, and limping. He would later be diagnosed with trauma‐induced advanced degenerative arthritis, caused by carrying the equipment day and night, and need double foot surgery."

Montana