Shoot Projects on the Cheap with your Peeps
Belgian photographer Bert Stephani posted a video last week that hits on a lot of cylinders for me. Taken at face value, it is a cool series of hard-lit shots of a gas-masked runner. But before you watch the video (after the jump) take a moment to notice all of the things that Bert and his buds are accomplishing with this group shoot.
A Little Stone Soup
First off, Bert is making a cool series of pictures for a photo contest, which is always nice. Second, he is doing a photos to highlight a good cause: Environmental Awareness.
But more important, he is corralling a little peer power to help him create something in a group environment. I talked to Bert in Paris about this idea of freelancer working in somewhat of a vacuum as far as camaraderie is concerned. He lamented the fact that he does not get regular contact with a group of creative people.
I miss that environment from The Sun, too. Not that you guys aren't creative, of course. But it's not the same as working person-to-person with, say, the same group of Saturday shooters for a few years.
He rounded up his shooter friends Ake, Pieter and Didier, and also got help from Dirk, a local model. So, what's in it for everyone? Let's see:
Bert and Dirk get photos that they would not have otherwise gotten. Ake, Didier (who shot video) and Pieter assist, which is always a learning experience. They all have Bert pretty much in their pocket for a later assist, too.
Everyone gets a session of creativity in a group environment, which is always a welcome change of pace from the day-to-day grind of working as an individual freelancer.
It's basically a meetup, using just a few people, wrapped around a specific series of photos. This is a win/win situation that more photographers should employ whenever they have the opportunity. I plan to be doing some of this myself, starting in January.
(Hey, Ake, Bert, Didier, Pieter and Dirk: You free to come to Baltimore to help? Beer's on me.)
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Here's what they did:
Links:
Bert's Blog Post, w/his edited pix
Ake's Blog
Pieter's Blog
Didier's Flickr Page, w/his pix from the day
Dirk's Model Page (streaming music warning, for those at work)
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Posted at 9:22 AM.
14 Comments:
I love the last shot, with the strobe-created sun.
he sure knows how to handle his flashes!
Here in Louisiana, a group of wedding photographers came together and created THe Crazies. Basically, it is nothing more than a forum but since most of the members are from Louisiana, we get to meetup about once a month officially, with an extra meeting now and then.
IT also spurred a second group to form, called the Misfits, based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
What is best about it is that up and coming photographers have a form of professional support group that isn't based just on the internet to help them out or better yet allow them to shoot next to them.
@anon-
Yes, Bert is quite the accomplished flasher...
Very cool! Is that a Peleng fish eye?
Just out of curiosity, how tall is Bert? He looks to be about 6'6" from this video.
Through special arrangement with the Russian military, Bert only uses such a lens when he shoots fisheye. He would tell us more, but he would have to kill us.
And Bert is actually 7'6" tall.
Hey Bert,
I love the photos and the lighting tricks. Excellent job! The last photo is my favorite as well.
I have a request, could you please not use that background music anymore? It's pretty repetitive and it's starting to sound like a broken record.
Benj-
Are you kidding? That would be like nuking the theme from Seinfeld!
(Bown... buh-bown-bown BOWN...)
"Are you kidding? That would be like nuking the theme from Seinfeld!"
Haha! Umm... great idea. Let's use the Seinfeld theme instead!
Ah, I feel the synchronicity of social conciousness colliding. I think that there is a natural progression revealing itself here.
Strobist.com starts > people are excited and learning > DIY stuff galore > Meetups are a huge hit summer and fall 07 > recuring meetup groups like Seattle and Florida inspire us all > smaller groups start forming their own strobist studios and 3 or 4 photographer teams.
By the way, I am starting a 5 person studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. still looking for 2 photographers. :)
flickr: amelliott
the best video from bert so far. that last pic is class.... Have to agree the back track is kinda head wrecking...... And now David, you have put words to it which I can't stop in head... ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!
Hey all!
I am trying to make this thing happen in the Finnish Strobist group "Valaisija" on flickr. So if you´re finnish or located in finland, please read more of my cluttery thoughts @ http://www.flickr.com/groups/valaisija/discuss/72157603247056985/
For the past few years, I have been hosting a "Playday" at my house. I get a group of photographers (no more than 5), models (3-5), and MUAs (1 or 2), and we just hang out for the day, taking pictures, swapping stories, helping each other, teaching each other, learning from each other. It is NOT a workshop or seminar. There is no pressure to get The Shot - just folks trying new things with the encouragement and critique of folks.
BTW, my next Playday will be a D3/D300 Playday. If you're in North Georgia and get a D3/D300, we're going to play with them in January :)
I really enjoyed Bert's video and explanantion. It's definitely very useful to co-operate with such a small group to learn from each other, something I not only missed during my studies at the academy but also at this very moment.
I'd just like to point out that you said "beer's on me" to several Belgian photographers. You should really ponder that one for the following reasons:
a) They're Belgian for goodness sake! Will they even drink beer that can be found in America?
b) They're photographers. As a demographic I think we drink far more beer than regular people.
3) Did I mention they're Belgian?
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