film

Unearthed bts from the past few years

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Four images I shot while DP’ing a day with a camera car in Tennessee. The MotoCrane came from Shift Dynamics, and their team (precision driver and crane operator) were excellent collaborators. Also featured is director Brittany Reeber and my 1st AC for this project, Gabe Colvin.

Following that are 3 images taken by Felix Walworth from the two Tomberlin music videos that I shot (directed by Ryan Schnackenberg), and a bts pic by gaffer Gavin Cantrell on the set of a BetterVet commercial in Austin, TX.

On Photography

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I’ve had this photo saved as a draft here for quite a while, along with different disconnected thoughts on my relationship to photography - and how that relates to my understanding of cinematography. I just sat and looked at this image for the first time in a few months and decided to deleted all of that.

I took this photo of my friend Adir embracing his fiancée (now wife) Britt a few years ago while we were wrapping up a music video. I had panned a 750w leko off from set and saw the nice cut it was creating on the wall - so I grabbed my Bronica, placed the two of them, and just waited for a moment. I think I only took two shots and this one came out as one of my favorite still images i’ve ever captured.

The composition and lighting is nice, but it just serves as aesthetic window dressing to capture the tangible emotions emanating between the two of them. I happen to know that Adir was basically dead on his feet from a 14 hour day of performing and Britt had been just as busy set dressing - and maybe that shows in the image, but it isn’t what I feel when I see it. The image feels like caring.

Now maybe only I feel that when I see it. I hope not, but that would be fine. Those who are passionate about creating images tend to hold themselves to a very high standard, so acknowledging that something you created is good can often be a feat in and of itself. To take it one step further and say “this one makes me feel something,” is quite rare (at least for me).

Making an image - whether in motion or not - that can illicit a singular emotional response is incredibly difficult. Most of the time it takes a combination of incredibly talented individuals with a shared understanding of goals, as well as a lot of meticulous planning. Sometimes though, it’s as simple as putting the right people in the right light and waiting.

Color Photography (some recent, some not)

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Assorted color shots. Top row is from 2018-2019 shot on an Olympus point-and-shoot with Kodak and Fuji 35mm stock. Following rows are medium format from my Bronica all experimenting with flavors of Kodak Portra. All of the medium format is from 2020.

Doc Series BTS (in Medium Format)

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Some medium format shots from the set of a Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries:

Assorted Medium Format Photos From 2019

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As far as this is the only outlet that I publish still photography on outside of instagram…i’m pretty bad at keeping it up-to-date.

These are all from various points across last year. Shot on Bronica ETRSi w/ 50mm and 75mm lenses. Variety of stocks used throughout, each noted in the captions.

Winter 2020 In Black and White

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Some b&w’s from this winter. The first half are all taken in Ridgewood, Queens and Bedstuy, Brooklyn. The other half were taken in Washington and Oregon while traveling there for a doc shoot. These are from the first few rolls through my refurbished Minolta X-570 (fixed up by Garry’s Camera in Buffalo Grove, Illinois - i’d 100% recommend his shop if you have a 35mm camera in need of repair). I absolutely love this camera, it’s super lightweight and reliable. I believe all of these were taken with the Rokkor 35mm f1.8, which is stunningly sharp.

As usual, Illford Hp5+, pushed two stops - developed and scanned at home.

Loose Ends

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A mixture of shots that I like, but didn’t seem to have any other home. Camera and film type are in the caption.

Getting By - A Long Beard Music Video on Super 16

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“Getting By” premiered today. This was an exciting change of pace to shoot super 16mm in a semi-documentary style, utilizing a very small team and only available light. Director Tara Bayat brought the work of Eadweard Muybridge as a key influence, and we worked together to figure out how to incorporate series of still photographs that convey a sense of motion into the piece. The tools in play ended up being an Aaton XTR paired with Kodak Vision 3 250D (metered at 160iso) and an array of 35mm analog cameras from Olympus and Minolta paired with Kodak Portra 400 (metered at 320iso). I’m quite proud of the combined result.

The video and accompanying Stereogum write up can be found here. Below are some bts shots (also Portra 400) by Tara and Producer/1st AC Mike Caridi.

Winter 2019 In Black and White

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Some select photos from this winter. I believe that these were all shot on my Olympus Stylus Epic. As usual, I used Illford Hp5+ pushed 2 stops, developed and scanned by hand.

Better Oblivion Community Center "Dylan Thomas" Music Video

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A quick word about working on the first video for Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers’ Better Oblivion Community Center. Director Michelle Zauner came to me with an expansive treatment that we developed into a color saturated visual, pulling references from Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut and Cary Joji Fukunaga’s Maniac. Translating that on set in LA with a crew of (mostly) new faces was a fun challenge. On a personal note, i’d been a fan of Conor’s since first hearing his album Fevers and Mirrors in 2002, so obviously I was excited to be on set with him.

Check out some bts below, taken from a series of photos by the talented Dustin Liu, who’s work you can see here: www.dustinzliu.com

Black and White Film in Mexico

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A few shots I managed to pop off on a trip to Mexico in December. We spent a few days traveling around the Yucatan Peninsula, and most of these shots (the four daytime ones) are from Tulum.

All on Illford Hp5+ pushed 2 stops, developed and scanned by myself. Shot with my Olympus OM-2n and 28mm f/2.8.

Fall 2018 In Black and White Pt. 2

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More from this fall. All on Illford Hp5+ pushed 2 stops, developed and scanned by myself.

The first eight images are from my Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 80, which has some really interesting distortion and flaring. I was happily surprised by at the optical quality it delivers, considering that it’s a cheapo point-and-shoot. This was also my first roll of dx hacked film (the only way to get my preferred push-process on a point-and-shoot) and i can happily say it worked seamlessly.

The bottom row of images is from Thanksgiving at my parent’s house in NJ, shot on my Olympus OM-2n and 28mm f/2.8.

Fall 2018 In Black and White Pt. 1

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A series of images shot over the course of this fall. All on Illford Hp5+ pushed 2 stops, developed and scanned by myself. Final image (of me) shot by Phil Solokoff.

Summer 2018 In Black and White

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A series of images shot over the course of this summer. Mostly hand-developed and scanned by myself, with the exception of the images shot on P3200. 

Cameras Used: Olympus OM-2n MD and Fujifilm DL-290 Zoom