Snapfactory

Useful Info February 18, 2010 No comments

iPhone Inspiration

Some photographers get it. They know that what’s in their head is much more important than what’s in their hand. I’m impressed with photographers like Andre of Striped Shirt or Michael Seneschal who take iPhone photos two an entirely new level.

These guys, and many like them, are a constant source of inspiration to me. Unfortunately you may have never seen their work before. Well, Adorama is trying to change that by giving everyone a place to post their best iPhone shots. For the next two weeks you can post your best work on their iPhone Photo Contest site. They have a panel of judges ready to look at your work and then hand out some very groovy prizes.

The thing I love about iPhone photography is that it lets you concentrate on the story that you’re telling without worrying about the technical aspects of the shot. It also allows you to build your skills at making images instead of simply taking images. If you’ve been a reader of our blog for a while you know that I’m a big fan of the iPhone and it’s abilities. Here are a few of my favorite iPhone lessons:

Inspiration in the Rocks

A couple of years ago I challenged a friend of mine to a photo duel. He was having a tough time finding things to shoot with his new super fancy camera. So we took his camera and my iPhone out to a pile of rocks (literally) and started shooting. Before long he was able to forget about all the technical barriers and free his mind to simply shoot. You can read all about it by clicking here.

Capturing the Moment

My trusty iPhone was also the camera I used to capture some of the images that are most memorable to me. I recently had the privilege of meeting James Nachtwey. His work has had a huge impact on my photography and how I approach life. Without my iPhone I would have no documentation of our meeting. Read more about my experience of creating a “disgusting” photo.

Getting Closer

Last year I took a very close look at what photography meant to me on a personal level. I discovered that my iPhone helped me document and process events that were very close to my heart, like my dog Luka undergoing treatment for an unknown illness. Later we discovered he had Cancer. The thousands of iPhone photos we took during his lifetime helped us remember him after his death.

“Photography is an extension of who I am. Photography is a way for me to document, remember, share, and quantify my experiences. It’s the way I tell my version of the story.” – Mark Wallace

With my iPhone I am able to get closer, physically as well as emotionally, to my subjects. Read more about getting closer and how it may impact the way you see life.

What about you?

So what about your iPhone shots? Do you have a story to tell? Are you looking for inspiration? If you do then visit the Adorama iPhone Contest site and get involved. Sure you can win a bunch of great prizes, but more importantly you can inspire someone to try something new.

What are you waiting for?

workshops February 6, 2010 1 Comment

The Mark Wallace Meetup Tour: Live

The live version of the Mark Wallace US Meetup Tour sponsored by PocketWizard begins at 1:00PST February 6th, 2010. You can watch the live version (and the replay if you missed it) in the window below.

If you’re tuning in live you can tweet your questions to: @jmarkwallace. Use the hashtag #mwtour so everyone can see your tweet.

Webcam chat at Ustream

Meetup Tour, workshops December 3, 2009 8 Comments

Shots from the road

The Mark Wallace US Meetup Tour sponsored by PocketWizard continues to be a blast. We’ve been to Miami and Seattle and are headed to NY tomorrow. At each of the stops I’m encouraging participants to upload their shots to the Mark Wallace Tour Flickr Group. Follow the link to see all of the shots (or upload your own).

We’ve had some pretty amazing shots along the way. Here are a few that give you a hint at the type of fun we’re having at the event. We even have a bonus stop action video shot by Adrian Collier (click the photos for credit and Flickr info):

SPA Studio & Mark Wallace from adriancollier on Vimeo.

Meetup Tour November 18, 2009 7 Comments

Thank You Miami!

I had a blast in Miami this past weekend and I’d like to say “Thank You” to all of you who made it to the Meetup. MAPS Studios was a terrific location.

The evening before the meetup a few of us went to Books & Books Cafe’ to have some coffee and chat about photography. I really enjoyed hanging out and meeting a few new friends:

The next day we were all in the studio having a blast. Here are a few shots from the event taken by some of our participants:

A few of the attendees posed for a group shot. This was lit using a single Profoto AcuteB 600R head.

Mark Demonstrating the PocketWizard FlexTT5 with Model Jocelyn Binder.

Mark outside demonstrating High Speed Synch with the PocketWizard Mini and Flex.

Mark demonstrating the Xrite ColorChecker Passport Lightroom plug-in. Perfect skin tones!

Another lighting demo.

Mark walks the group through the steps of using high speed synch to get great bikini shots. Our Model, Izabela S, was freezing in the white robe behind Mark.

And the shot by photographer Armando Orraca

Behind The Scenes November 2, 2009 12 Comments

iGo Video Shoot

Here are a few behind-the-scenes videos from a recent shoot for iGo. We shot 6 videos for the iGo product line, one of the finished videos is at the bottom. We were honored to be chosen by our good friends at SiteWire to shoot these videos.

Behind The Scenes October 31, 2009 7 Comments

Shooting Gorman

Last month I shot a short video of Greg Gorman for Xrite. Here’s a short breakdown of the production.

The video was all shot on a Canon XH A1. This is a great little camera and perfect for shooting on location when you need to keep things simple. I only had a few hours to shoot everything so speed and mobility were key.

I used a modified Zacuto newsman kit to help keep things moving along. When shooting on a tripod I used basic Zacuto baseplate and Zamerican arm with a Marshall HD Monitor. When I needed to shoot handheld it only took about 3 minutes to rig the camera for a shoulder mount kit.

The Zacuto rig and Marshall Monitor. The indoor interview was lit using natural light.

Shooting the studio session.

The Zacuto rig in action.

A closer look at the newsman rig.

I used a Rode NG-3 shotgun mic with a Dead Cat wind screen for all of the audio. I was very impressed at how well the Dead Cat worked so close to the ocean. It was pretty windy and the Rhode gear handled everything perfectly.

The Rode NG-3 and Dead Cat.

Everything was edited in Final Cut Pro and then converted to H.264 for the web using Compressor. And here’s how it all turned out:

Meetup Tour October 30, 2009 111 Comments

Vote for your city!

If you’d like the Mark Wallace US Meetup Tour to come to your city here’s your chance. The rules are simple:

To be included in the list I must receive at least 10 individual nominations.
U.S. Cites only.
To nominate a city just leave a comment, send a tweet to @jmarkwallace, or enter your city in the “other” field below.
Once I have at least 10 nominations for your city it will be added to the poll.
Vote for your favorite city in the Poll (once per person only)
The city with the most votes on December 25, 2009 (12:00pm MST) wins!

inspiration October 25, 2009 25 Comments

How To Make a “Disgusting” Photo

My “Disgusting” photo of James Nachtwey.

Yesterday I was very excited to have the opportunity to hear James Nachtwey speak at Photo Plus Expo in New York City. James Nachtwey is no ordinary photographer and for me to see him speak, and even have a remote chance of shaking his hand, was a dream come true. James Nachtwey is one of my heroes and a source of inspiration. When asked, “If you could meet anyone in history?” I usually answer, “James Nachtwey.”

When the door opened for his Keynote address I pushed my way through the crowd and somehow got a seat on the front row right in the center. James was on stage trying to get his computer working and the crowd waited. I decided to pull out my camera and shoot a few frames.

The light was very low so I put a flash on my camera. I decided to use my 200mm lens so I could get a decent shot. I took a few photos and then something totally unexpected happened. The guy next to me began to critique my skills.

He began by shaking his head and then said (with a very strong German accent), “No, no. I’m sorry but that picture is horrible. It’s disgusting. It’s not even average.”

Excuse me?

“It’s disgusting. You need to use wide angle lens, you need to get right up to him and use a spot meter and figure out the proper exposure. Do you have a light meter? Your photo tells no story, why are you even shooting?”

I didn’t know how to even respond to this guy, so I said the first thing that came to my mind, “Who are you?” I mean if this was Shaul Schwarz or Damon Winter I’d certainly want to hear what they had to say. But it wasn’t either of those guys or even anyone I’d heard of, although he did make sure I knew he “commuted from Munich to New York regularly.” Good for you dude.

He continued, “You need to frame your shot totally differently. You need to get Mr. Nachtwey and his photos at the same time, nobody will want to see your photo. Turn off your flash, why are you shooting like this?” Still amazed I replied, “It’s for my blog.”

“Your blaahg.” He drew out the “aaaah” sound for dramatic effect. “Nobody will want to see your blaaahg.”

At this point I was not a very happy camper. But I understood what the dude was saying. In the context of James Nachtwey it made sense. Nachtwey has made a career out of getting closer. I’ve even written about it on this blog. The light from my flash would be flat, the shot unflattering, no context, no story.

But I didn’t care.

I just wanted a damn shot of James Nachtwey to document the fact that I’d been in his presence, to put a visual stamp on the memory of the moment. What Mr. Munich didn’t know was that I planned on shooting many more shots during the presentation. He had no idea what my blog was about or how I’d display the photo.

When I’m shooting it’s very important to me to know the context of the presentation. It changes the way I make a photo. I don’t shoot family vacation shots the same way I shoot a scenic photography. The intent is totally different. One shot is to capture a memory and the other is to create art.

I happen to like my disgusting photo of James Nachtwey. He’s isolated and looks very introspective. He’s just as I imagined he would be.

After the lights dimmed and James began to speak I was consumed by his imagery and inspired by his message. I was moved by his passion and desire to change humanity through photography.

After the event James was besieged by hundreds of photographers who wanted to get a shot or meet the legend.

And somehow I got close…

…and talked to…

… Mr. James Nachtwey.

My friend Zowie Stapleton was there to record it all with my iPhone camera. The pictures are all wrong, average and disgusting.

I’ll cherish them for the rest of my life.

Useful Info October 25, 2009 23 Comments

PocketWizard RF Soft Shield is Free

Monday PocketWizard will announce that the new AC5 RF Soft Shield will be given to all FlexTT5 owners free of charge.

A couple of weeks ago I posted an iPhone update on YouTube about the new RF Soft Shield for the PocketWizard Mini and Flex. The big question was simple, “How much is this going to cost?” The answer: nothing. That’s right, everyone who owns a FlexTT5 can get a free AC5 RF Soft Shield from PocketWizard until January 31, 2010. Units sold in the future will have the RF Shield included in the box.

Getting a free RF Soft Shield is as simple as visiting this page: http://www.pocketwizard.com/news_events/promotions/ac5

I’ve been playing with the RF Shield, some call it “the sock”, for a few weeks now and the results are simply amazing. I’m getting ranges of several hundred yards. I’ve put the flash behind electrical units, football fields away, and had no failures. The truth is that I’ve been able to control my flash at such great distances that it’s not even practical. I’m not sure when I’d ever need to shoot with my flash 200 yards away, but I could.

The true benefit isn’t the extreme range but the reliable reception. 580 EX II owners can place their flashes anywhere they want with the confidence that the flash will fire and the exposure will be correct. But don’t take my word for it, check out this video and see for yourself.

workshops October 16, 2009 9 Comments